DUBLIN poet and playwright Stephen James Smith will perform in Settle on October 13.

Stephen, regarded as central to the rise of the vibrant spoken word scene in Ireland today, can be seen at the town’s Victoria Hall.

In 2017 Stephen was commissioned by St. Patrick’s festival to write a new poem as a “Celebratory Narrative” of Ireland.

The resultant piece ‘My Ireland’ was accompanied by a short film which has been viewed over 300,000 times and was screened at the London film festival.

Overall, Stephen’s poetry videos have amassed over 2.5 million views.

In 2018 Stephen was commissioned by Dublin stadium sponsor Aviva to write a poem to highlight the recent rugby final between England and Ireland on St Patrick’s Day.

The poem entitled “Bring it Home” chalked up over 750,000 views across the weekend - and Ireland won.

Stephen has performed at high-profile events and venues such as Electric Picnic, Other Voices, The National Concert Hall in Dublin, The Barbican in London, Vicar Street and the London Palladium (alongside Oscar winner Glen Hansard).

He has also been seen at the Glastonbury Festival, as well as the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles.

Stephen facilitates poetry workshops in schools around Ireland and is artist-in-residence with Dunamaise Arts Centre and Laois Arts Office.

His poetry is included on the syllabus at Western Connecticut State University and his work has been translated into multiple languages.

His debut collection, “Fear Not”, is published by Arlen House and was launched earlier this summer.