Follow us on Twitter or Like us on Facebook
  • Home
  • The Poets
  • Events
  • Gallery
  • fault line

Niall Campbell

Niall Campbell is originally from the Western Isles of Scotland. In 2011 he received an Eric Gregory Award. He lives in Edinburgh. His first pamphlet, After the Creel Fleet, was published by HappenStance Press in 2012. His first collection, Moontide (Bloodaxe, 2014) is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation.

Visit Niall Campbell's website.

Order Be the First to Like This
The Work

If I have to, then let me be the whaler poet,
launcher of the knife, portioning off
the pink cut, salt trim and fat, tipping
the larger waste off the side of the boat,
and then to have the poem in the drawer;


or, perhaps, let it be the poet nurse,
hearts measured by a small watch, balmer,
washer of old skin, stopping by the door
in the night –
                         or the oil-driller poet, primed
for the buried flame and heat, lips to the black,


aware how the oilfields in the evening
are lit like our own staggered desks.
Or, the horse-trader or the smith, or the waiter poet –
offering the choice wine, polishing to the light,
the bringer of the feast and the bill.

‘The Work’ from Moontide © Niall Campbell. Reprinted by kind permission of the author and Bloodaxe Books, 2014.

Listen to Niall Campbell talk about growing up on an island, his interest in spirituality without God, and the similarities between sculpture and poetry.

Watch Niall Campbell perform his poetry.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.