Artist Statement
Poetry grows out of a lithe attentiveness to oneself and the world. I have a disciplined approach to writing, usually working on a number of projects at once. My writing is a valued chance to be involved in on-going creative processes. I am always amazed at what surprises this process brings up. I am active in seeking audiences for my work and submitting to literary journals, competitions and other opportunities are an integrated part of my working life.
Awards
- 2022 Shortlisted in the Newcastle Poetry Prize for ‘Originary’
- 2021 Bruce Dawe Poetry Prize, shortlist, ‘The Philosophy of Play-doh’
- 2021 Micro Lit USA, longlist, ‘Banerry’
- 2021 Bruce Dawe Poetry Prize, shortlist, ‘The Philosophy of Play-doh’
- 2020 Martha Richardson Poetry Prize, ‘The Georges’, Highly Commended
- 2019 New South Wales Women’s Writers Poetry Competition, ‘What if the lake’
- 2017 Longlisted for the Lane Cove Poetry competition for ‘Black kites’
- 2016 shortlisted for the New Shoots Poetry Competition for ‘Arboreal sorority’
- 2015 Shortlisted for the inaugural International Ron Pretty Poetry Prize, ‘Bach and the essence of things’
- 2014 Longlisted for the inaugural Canberra University Vice Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize, ‘Motherstone is womb’
- 2013 Max Harris Poetry Competition, Commended
- 2011 Stones Winery Inaugural Poetry Competition, Equal First Prize and
Appointment as Bard of the Stables, ‘The Seduction of Shaving’ - 2010 Martha Richardson Poetry Medal, First Prize, ‘Hawkesbury Houseboat’
I have also been runner up and been shortlisted or commended in the 2010 Reason Brisbane Poetry Prize, The Shoalhaven Poetry Prize, 2009 Eastern Libraries Poetry Competition, The Inverawe Nature Writing Prize, Page Seventeen Magazine Annual Poetry Competition, City Nights Competition, 360 Programme, ABC Radio, 2008 Poetica Christi Competition.
Poetry Sampler
Heron Ministers to the Morning
Published Work
- In 2023 my full length collection The Detective’s Chair: Prose Poems about Fictional Detectives was published by Liquid Amber Press.
- In 2019 my full length collection Massaging Himmler: The Poetic Biography of Dr Felix Kersten was published by Hybrid Publishers
- In 2019 my full length collection Two Green Parrots was published by Ginninderra Publishers
- In 2017 my Chapbook Writing on the Wall was published by Mark Time Books.
- In 2013 my first full-length collection, Removing the Kimono, was published by Hybrid Press. The central heart of the book is an extended mediation on the loss of my husband – poems both deeply personal and universal. They are held by two other sections which explore my relationship with and place in the natural world, particularly drawing on the theme of regeneration after disaster. These sections also include poems about other resonant deaths.
“I observe a beautiful symmetry of mood and balance in Carson’s work. The language is precise, admirably considered and restrained; unlike any other I’ve recently read on receptiveness to transience, the numinous and grief.” Read the full Review of Removing the Kimono by Michael Sharkey on the on-line poetry journal Cordite. http://cordite.org.au/reviews/sharkey-carson/
“The poems unfold with tactile grace. Calmly, timelessly, they imbue experience with an essence of humanity that is both meaningful and opalescent.” Dr Jennifer Harrison in launch speech.
“These poems are immensely enjoyable to read in silence and aloud. I am longing for a hardcover version to hold and savour and hand down over the generations, and an audio version to play while going about life.” Marissa Ker in a review in the on-line Ecopoetry journal Plumwood Mountain.
- Expresso – a chapbook from the Café Poet project in 2012. Expresso contains poems by myself and others and was published as a result of a Community Art Project funded by the Community Grants section of the Bendigo Bank
My work has been published in a large range of literary and other journals, widely in Australia and also in the USA.
You can see my work at the following Websites:
http://mascarareview.com/issue-six/
http://cordite.org.au/content/poetry/epic/31.0
http://cordite.org.au/content/poetry/no-theme/37.0
http://cordite.org.au/content/poetry/interlocutor/40.0
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=34990
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=22619
http://pennreview.com/author/annec/
http://www.wordgathering.com/past_issues/issue24/poetry/poetry24.html
http://rabbitpoetry.com/contributions/
http://studentweb.bhtafe.edu.au/wp/divan/?p=811
Judging
- In 2022 & 2023 I (will) co-judge the Liquid Amber Poetry Prize with Founding Editor Rose Lucas
- In 2007 and 2009 (in conjunction with Bob Morrow) I was the guest Judge for the Murtoa National Poetry Competition.
Philanthropy and Social Justice
Writing on the Wall, 2017
Despairing at the way the world was going, I wondered if I could use my poetry more actively to make a contribution. This led to a wonderful collaboration between myself and Anti-slavery Australia. I donated my long modern epic, ‘Writing on the Wall’, which is about the freeing of a slave in ancient Greece, to Anti-slavery Australia as a fundraiser. The proceeds from all sales are donated to them.
Second Bite 2013/14
Second Bite is a food rescue and redistribution charity. In 2014 I ran a Poetry Competition as a fundraising venture – aiming to raise awareness about the issue of just how much food Australians throw away annually and how it could be used to feed those without food. There’s a special SecondBite Poetry Competition tab on the navigation bar for more information.
The River Soiree, 2009
Set on the beautiful Herring Island in the Yarra River at Burnley, and accessible only by punt, The River Soiree was a magical event where prominent Melbourne poets read their own poems about rivers and also the work of other poets writing about rivers.
The afternoon was a fundraiser for the Yarra Riverkeeper and planning and running it gave me the opportunity to put into practice my ongoing commitment to values of philanthropy -however modest – and social justice. The soiree also allowed me to act on my concern for the environment under pressure from climate change.
Joyce Lee
I had the privilege of working as the Personal Secretary and Editor to Joyce Lee who was briefly, at 93, Australia’s oldest poet. After her death I was appointed as her Literary Executrix. I successfully lobbied to have her hometown’s Poetry Prize – the Murtoa National Poetry Competition renamed after its most famous poet. In 2007 the prize was renamed the Joyce Lee Memorial Poetry Prize.
