From 1895 to 1921 he taught various subjects at the seminary: Italian, Latin, English, arithmetic, geography, cosmography, ecclesiastical history and Christian archaeology.

In 1921, Albert Laferla, the director of education, asked Dun Karm to compose some verses to a music score by Robert Samut.

Yet, Dun Karm is rarely labelled a "nationalist" or a "patriot" in the way such terms are usually used in the English language: he sought to put his finger on the identity of the common people of the islands, while not trying to mimic the national identities of the major European polities by Romantic movements as a reaction to the cosmopolitanism of the French Revolution and the Napolenonic Wars.

His first works in Italian reveal an early life of peace and calm; after the death of his mother, solitude became his companion.

Nonetheless, besides expressing such subjectivity, Dun Karm's works also give voice to his country's collective aspirations.

His poetry reflects a background of village life with an atmosphere of family feelings and it also portrays the Maltese countryside with a perspective imagination.

When he decided to make Maltese the medium of his creativity, Dun Karm poetically explored the history of Malta to confirm its cultural and national identity.

Dun Karm's writings include Żewġ Anġli: Inez u Emilia (translated in 1934 from an Italian novel by D Caprile) Besides these he wrote a few critical works.