Stephen James Smith
Stephen James Smith is an Irish poet, writer, performer, playwright, and educator. Born in Dublin, he received his BA with honors in English media and cultural studies at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
Smith’s short poetry films, including Dublin You Are and the Fastnet Film Festival award-winning My Ireland, have been viewed online over 2.5 million times. His writing has been published widely in anthologies, journals, and pamphlets, as well as in a full-length collection, Fear Not (Arlen Press, 2018). His work has been translated into eight languages.
Smith has performed his spoken-word poetry and plays in more than 1000 appearances in Europe, North America, and Asia over the past two decades. He has appeared at venues including the Electric Picnic, Other Voices, the National Concert Hall, the Abbey Theatre, the London Palladium, Radio City Music Hall, the Nuyorican Poetry Café, and Glastonbury, as well as alongside prominent musicians such as Eddie Vedder, Patti Smith, Bono, Imelda May, and Glen Hansard. He has also contributed words and performance to Irish television networks RTÉ, TG4, Sky Arts, and TV3 in addition to national radio programs. His debut album, See No Evil, was released by Nymphs & Thugs in 2022.
A 2018 Poetry Day Ireland Ambassador, Smith is the recipient of six Culture Ireland grants, a literature bursary from the Arts Council, and many other honors for his poetry and performance. He has held the role of artist-in-residence at numerous institutions including Wexford Arts Centre, St. Patrick’s Festival, Creative Space 4, and, most recently, Woven in Los Angeles. He facilitates poetry workshops in schools around Ireland and lives in Wexford.
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More Stephen James Smith
Video: Smith's poem film My Ireland, commissioned by St. Patrick's Festival
Audio: Smith appears on the podcast The Poet Speaks
Video: Smith performs his poem "Dublin You Are" on The Late Late Show
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Photo by Babs Daly.