Liam Carson
@liamcarson.bsky.social
Author of memoir Call Mother a Lonely Field. Haiku poet (first collection Belfast Twilight just published by Salmon Poetry). Director of IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge/Irish-language Literature Festival.
old man stands
at a warhorse's grave
wasps swarm
at a warhorse's grave
wasps swarm
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
old man stands
at a warhorse's grave
wasps swarm
at a warhorse's grave
wasps swarm
'Belfast Twilight is a powerhouse of a first collection, leaving the reader hungry for more of the same, but satisfied that such testament to the haiku and senryu form exists in the Irish lexicon.'
- Colin Dardis
- Colin Dardis
The Sunday Review: ‘Belfast Twilight’ by Liam Carson
Belfast Twilight: haiku, senryu and micro-poems Salmon Poetry, 2025,ISBN 9781915022967 Throughout this, Carson's first collection, we get th...
poemalone.blogspot.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:37 PM
'Belfast Twilight is a powerhouse of a first collection, leaving the reader hungry for more of the same, but satisfied that such testament to the haiku and senryu form exists in the Irish lexicon.'
- Colin Dardis
- Colin Dardis
Alt faoi IMRAM na bliana seo. Article on this year's IMRAM.
IMRAM: a voyage of discovery that reveals the sheer energy of Irish-language literature
Curator Liam Carson explores the highlights of the annual cultural festival as Gaeilge
www.irishtimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Alt faoi IMRAM na bliana seo. Article on this year's IMRAM.
I've just signed the Open Letter to support Standing Against Hate in our Communities. Can you do the same?
Stand Against Hate in our Communities
I've just signed the Open Letter to support Standing Against Hate in our Communities. Can you do the same?
action.uplift.ie
November 4, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I've just signed the Open Letter to support Standing Against Hate in our Communities. Can you do the same?
Ag seastán IMRAM ag an Oireachtas an tseachtain seo a chuaigh thart.
November 3, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Ag seastán IMRAM ag an Oireachtas an tseachtain seo a chuaigh thart.
And if you fancy it, you could do a wee bit of shopping with your wee credit card, then go back to your wee hotel for a wee drink.
November 1, 2025 at 11:39 AM
And if you fancy it, you could do a wee bit of shopping with your wee credit card, then go back to your wee hotel for a wee drink.
Join a walking tour - on Sunday 9 November - where I'll be reading from Belfast Twilight with saxophonist Seán Mac Erlaine, acclaimed by the Irish Times as ‘one of the most interesting and adventurous musicians of his generation’. Tickets at link below.
dublinbookfestival.com/event/poetry...
dublinbookfestival.com/event/poetry...
Poetry and Music Walking Tour - Dublin Book Festival
Join an immersive walking tour where Liam Carson will be reading from Belfast Twilight (Salmon Poetry), a collection of haiku that explore landscape, nature, family life, and memory. Presented in haik...
dublinbookfestival.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Join a walking tour - on Sunday 9 November - where I'll be reading from Belfast Twilight with saxophonist Seán Mac Erlaine, acclaimed by the Irish Times as ‘one of the most interesting and adventurous musicians of his generation’. Tickets at link below.
dublinbookfestival.com/event/poetry...
dublinbookfestival.com/event/poetry...
Eithne chilling on her mid-term, drawing by Niamh.
October 27, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Eithne chilling on her mid-term, drawing by Niamh.
Having a chat with poet Nessa O'Mahony here. Thanks to her and Peter Salisbury for this lovely little film. Hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did doing it.
The Attic Sessions #29, with Liam Carson
YouTube video by The Attic Sessions
www.youtube.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Having a chat with poet Nessa O'Mahony here. Thanks to her and Peter Salisbury for this lovely little film. Hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did doing it.
Better late than never, we got into the polls at 9.30, after picking up Eithne who had travelled all the way from Belfast to vote for the first time. Democratic duty done, but a bit disheartening to hear from polling station staff that the turnout seemed to be the lowest they had ever seen.
October 24, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Better late than never, we got into the polls at 9.30, after picking up Eithne who had travelled all the way from Belfast to vote for the first time. Democratic duty done, but a bit disheartening to hear from polling station staff that the turnout seemed to be the lowest they had ever seen.
Roinnt leabhar a fuair mé inniu. Today's book booty.
October 24, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Roinnt leabhar a fuair mé inniu. Today's book booty.
so fluffy…
from a seagull’s belly
a little feather falls
old dog hobbles
through fallen leaves
on his paws wee booties
side by side
swooping way low then way up
two crows
compass needle
a tree’s shadow slowly turns
in autumn sunlight
above
the golden trees
a seagull’s sunlit belly
from a seagull’s belly
a little feather falls
old dog hobbles
through fallen leaves
on his paws wee booties
side by side
swooping way low then way up
two crows
compass needle
a tree’s shadow slowly turns
in autumn sunlight
above
the golden trees
a seagull’s sunlit belly
October 22, 2025 at 8:21 PM
so fluffy…
from a seagull’s belly
a little feather falls
old dog hobbles
through fallen leaves
on his paws wee booties
side by side
swooping way low then way up
two crows
compass needle
a tree’s shadow slowly turns
in autumn sunlight
above
the golden trees
a seagull’s sunlit belly
from a seagull’s belly
a little feather falls
old dog hobbles
through fallen leaves
on his paws wee booties
side by side
swooping way low then way up
two crows
compass needle
a tree’s shadow slowly turns
in autumn sunlight
above
the golden trees
a seagull’s sunlit belly
Two gems from Dedalus Press. Neil P Doherty's translations of Turkish poets are elegant and hugely readable. Jaki McCarrick's poetry takes us through landscapes urban and rural in Ireland and England, with a gorgeous mix of the lyrical and the narrative - poems where people and tales come to life.
October 22, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Two gems from Dedalus Press. Neil P Doherty's translations of Turkish poets are elegant and hugely readable. Jaki McCarrick's poetry takes us through landscapes urban and rural in Ireland and England, with a gorgeous mix of the lyrical and the narrative - poems where people and tales come to life.
a boy’s strange shame
walking home from school
poverty in his bones
autumn darkness
a man recalls his hatred
for his childhood school
autumn darkness
the crumbling plaster
in a man’s childhood house
autumn darkness
an abbey of monks
prays for a man’s soul
walking home from school
poverty in his bones
autumn darkness
a man recalls his hatred
for his childhood school
autumn darkness
the crumbling plaster
in a man’s childhood house
autumn darkness
an abbey of monks
prays for a man’s soul
October 21, 2025 at 6:22 PM
a boy’s strange shame
walking home from school
poverty in his bones
autumn darkness
a man recalls his hatred
for his childhood school
autumn darkness
the crumbling plaster
in a man’s childhood house
autumn darkness
an abbey of monks
prays for a man’s soul
walking home from school
poverty in his bones
autumn darkness
a man recalls his hatred
for his childhood school
autumn darkness
the crumbling plaster
in a man’s childhood house
autumn darkness
an abbey of monks
prays for a man’s soul
autumn darkness
in a rain-soaked lane
a child’s broken bike
a dog barks
behind a locked door
autumn darkness
sound of rain
ebbing into silence
autumn darkness
autumn darkness
amidst fallen leaves
an abandoned suitcase
in a rain-soaked lane
a child’s broken bike
a dog barks
behind a locked door
autumn darkness
sound of rain
ebbing into silence
autumn darkness
autumn darkness
amidst fallen leaves
an abandoned suitcase
October 21, 2025 at 6:22 PM
autumn darkness
in a rain-soaked lane
a child’s broken bike
a dog barks
behind a locked door
autumn darkness
sound of rain
ebbing into silence
autumn darkness
autumn darkness
amidst fallen leaves
an abandoned suitcase
in a rain-soaked lane
a child’s broken bike
a dog barks
behind a locked door
autumn darkness
sound of rain
ebbing into silence
autumn darkness
autumn darkness
amidst fallen leaves
an abandoned suitcase
Lovely review of Belfast Twilight in latest issue of Fortnight Magazine, by Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana.
October 15, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Lovely review of Belfast Twilight in latest issue of Fortnight Magazine, by Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana.
Latest poetry book booty, looking forward to reading them all.
October 14, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Latest poetry book booty, looking forward to reading them all.
This is spectral and beautiful - a 1974 autobiographical 16mm short film about poet Frank Stanford, made by Stanford and his publisher, Irv Broughton. A weave of poetry, talk, shadow images, blues songs.
It WASN'T A DREAM: IT WAS A FLOOD
YouTube video by Frank Stanford
www.youtube.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:50 PM
This is spectral and beautiful - a 1974 autobiographical 16mm short film about poet Frank Stanford, made by Stanford and his publisher, Irv Broughton. A weave of poetry, talk, shadow images, blues songs.
Film of Cultivating Voices online reading.
It was a great pleasure to read in the company of Catherine Ann Cullen, Lauren O'Donovan and Molly Twomey, whose work it was a joy to hear.
It was a great pleasure to read in the company of Catherine Ann Cullen, Lauren O'Donovan and Molly Twomey, whose work it was a joy to hear.
Cultivating Voices New Books Showcase - 12Oct202
YouTube video by Cultivating Voices Video Archive
www.youtube.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Film of Cultivating Voices online reading.
It was a great pleasure to read in the company of Catherine Ann Cullen, Lauren O'Donovan and Molly Twomey, whose work it was a joy to hear.
It was a great pleasure to read in the company of Catherine Ann Cullen, Lauren O'Donovan and Molly Twomey, whose work it was a joy to hear.
Drawings by Niamh Lawlor of poets at last night's Cultivating Voices online reading. Myself, Catherine Ann Cullen, Lauren O'Donovan and Molly Twomey. And a big thanks to Sandy Yannone for bringing us together for a lovely night of poems, and the stories within the poems, of which there were many.
October 13, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Drawings by Niamh Lawlor of poets at last night's Cultivating Voices online reading. Myself, Catherine Ann Cullen, Lauren O'Donovan and Molly Twomey. And a big thanks to Sandy Yannone for bringing us together for a lovely night of poems, and the stories within the poems, of which there were many.
a squirrel
leaps to attention
the church bell tolls
leaps to attention
the church bell tolls
October 5, 2025 at 7:05 PM
a squirrel
leaps to attention
the church bell tolls
leaps to attention
the church bell tolls
bog at night
the old man’s warning
of bottomless holes
Everest
in its melting snow
dead bodies
man scoops
ice from the river
wraps it in straw
buried
in the dark bog
hand-made butter
hands
shaping a symbol
bog body
the old man’s warning
of bottomless holes
Everest
in its melting snow
dead bodies
man scoops
ice from the river
wraps it in straw
buried
in the dark bog
hand-made butter
hands
shaping a symbol
bog body
October 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
bog at night
the old man’s warning
of bottomless holes
Everest
in its melting snow
dead bodies
man scoops
ice from the river
wraps it in straw
buried
in the dark bog
hand-made butter
hands
shaping a symbol
bog body
the old man’s warning
of bottomless holes
Everest
in its melting snow
dead bodies
man scoops
ice from the river
wraps it in straw
buried
in the dark bog
hand-made butter
hands
shaping a symbol
bog body
rainy Dublin
in a doorway’s shelter
lovers chase the dragon
side by side
in the autumn wind
lovers lost in phones
in a doorway’s shelter
lovers chase the dragon
side by side
in the autumn wind
lovers lost in phones
October 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
rainy Dublin
in a doorway’s shelter
lovers chase the dragon
side by side
in the autumn wind
lovers lost in phones
in a doorway’s shelter
lovers chase the dragon
side by side
in the autumn wind
lovers lost in phones
hanging
in a garden shed
dead father's coats
in a garden shed
dead father's coats
October 5, 2025 at 7:03 PM
hanging
in a garden shed
dead father's coats
in a garden shed
dead father's coats
Reposted by Liam Carson
I'm so horrified by the things I read
that I read with one
eye covered
and even then
I skim
because we're only seven months in
and already the country is rolling
over
and no one is
righting the ship
I thought we would
I thought,
ultimately,
we would
I did.
I really thought
the hero
would be us.
that I read with one
eye covered
and even then
I skim
because we're only seven months in
and already the country is rolling
over
and no one is
righting the ship
I thought we would
I thought,
ultimately,
we would
I did.
I really thought
the hero
would be us.
August 12, 2025 at 9:36 PM
I'm so horrified by the things I read
that I read with one
eye covered
and even then
I skim
because we're only seven months in
and already the country is rolling
over
and no one is
righting the ship
I thought we would
I thought,
ultimately,
we would
I did.
I really thought
the hero
would be us.
that I read with one
eye covered
and even then
I skim
because we're only seven months in
and already the country is rolling
over
and no one is
righting the ship
I thought we would
I thought,
ultimately,
we would
I did.
I really thought
the hero
would be us.