Michael Curran-Dorsano
Originally from Minneapolis, Michael Curran-Dorsano (he/him) is an international artist, whose career as an actor, writer, and teacher has spanned the globe. He’s also a proud graduate of Juilliard’s Drama Division and NUI Galway’s MA in Writing. As an actor, he’s performed on stage, screen and behind the mic in the US, EU and UK. Some notable highlights include 5 seasons on TNT’s The Last Ship, Richard III at the Lyric Theatre Belfast, and narrating Pax and Pax Journey Home with Harper Collins. His poetry has been published in journals such as Vox Galvia, Pendemic.ie, Smashing Times, and Spellweaver, and his debut collection Where The Dead Poets Sing will be released in February, 2026 with Wayfarer Books. On the stage and on the page, he draws from classical and contemporary influences, as well as a deep love of myth and storytelling in the bardic tradition.
As a teacher, he’s taught acting, voiceover, and creative writing at arts institutions such as The Loft Literary Center, The Guthrie BFA Program, Galway Arts Centre, and NUI Galway’s Huston Film School. He’s also served as a dialect coach on stage and screen on productions such as Sky TV’s Django and Radium Girls at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast.
poetry
Where the Dead Poets Sing
trade paperback / 6 x 9 / 130pp -- Feb 2026
In Where the Dead Poets Sing, an American immigrant seeks refuge in the West of Ireland as his country falls under the dark grip of fascism. Caught between the tectonic shifts of a global pandemic, the Irish housing crisis and the rise of A.I, he journeys through dreamscape, memory and song in a desperate attempt to find new meaning in a crumbling world. At the heart of this collection is an elegy for the dying Earth, and an ode to all the immigrants, wanderers, and lost souls who fall through the cracks. A blend of the lyrical and experimental, the mythic and the mundane, each poem is a journey toward home, divinity, and a deeper human connection in a world thrown into chaos.
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Reviews
“This beautiful book reminds us that life itself is a poem, and if we remain curious
about humanity’s darkness, we may open ourselves to fully embrace the light.”
—Phillipa Soo, author of Piper Chen Sings,
Grammy Winner and Tony nominated actor of Hamilton
“With agile and elegant wordsmithing, Michael Curran-Dorsano presents
the disembodied anxieties, instabilities and illusions that haunt the collective,
as well as the ever-available grounding and return to truth by way of the elements…
The compelling rhythms of these tenderly wrought poems will deeply resonate with your ear and your soul.”
—Elizabeth Reapy, author of Skin and Red Dirt
(Winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature)
“Poet Michael Curran-Dorsano bridges many worlds with Where the Dead Poets Sing…
His poetic lens captures snapshots of us at our most essential,
reaching for heaven while standing barefoot in clay.”
—Thomas Lloyd Qualls, award-winning author of Painted Oxen
“Each poem in Where the Dead Poets Sing is a song expertly sung by Michael Curran-Dorsano. His ear for rhythm and sound builds a lyrical stage across the natural world.”
—Michael Garrigan, author of Robbing the Pillars and River, Amen
“Where the Dead Poets Sing is a collection for the wanderers among us—and anyone who’s ever felt lost in the sea of wondering ‘what could possibly be coming next?!’”
—Heidi Barr, author of Church of Shadow and Light
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