On St. Patrick’s Day 2017, Stephen James Smith sat a few rows back from Michael D Higgins in the presidential stand outside the GPO.

Sitting beside his father, he watched as the parade passed by on O’Connell Street. He thought about how bizarre the whole situation was. He felt humbled by the experience. Aware of the risk of getting a swelled head, he knew he had to stay focussed on the next project.

Stephen had been commissioned by St. Patrick’s Festival to produce a poem in honour of our national holiday. The parade was inspired by Stephen’s words. “It was surreal,” he says. “Almost 20 years ago I was scribbling song lyrics into my notebook, trying to be a musician.” On the 17th of March, Stephen was watching his poem ‘My Ireland’ come to life, marching by in theatrical fashion. “I thought it was amazing, seeing lines of my poem literally walking around.”

At 16, Stephen was entering battle of the bands competitions, trying to make it as a musician. “That’s it, I’m essentially a failed musician!” he laughs. “I was trying that for about four years, and then it was at a 20th birthday when I gave one of my poems a go.” The reception was good, and he put more focus into poetry than musicianship.

He began performing at music nights around Dublin. “I used to go to an open mic night in Slattery’s in Rathmines. Generally, you’ll be told to feck off, as a poet, in open mic nights.” He participated as a musician initially, but eventually tried some poetry. “It got a good reception, and it introduced me to a community of people doing similar things.”

He says that performance poetry was not the life he had expected. “My life had been mapped out for me to be a mechanical engineer,” he says. “But all of a sudden I was surrounded by other poets and performers. Suddenly poets weren’t just dead people on a page, they were people I was engaging with and learning from directly.”

Most of you will have heard ‘Dublin You Are’ and ‘My Ireland’. But his story goes back much further. “I was writing a lot about people back then. I was an introverted young man and I think I was trying to give a voice to others. But that was when I was younger. The stuff about Dublin and Ireland, that’s something different.”

He still gives that voice to others; themes of marginalisation and people are still sewn into the workings of these recent poems. But his earlier work is more direct and specific. Take ‘The Gardener’, for example. It’s a poem for his mother. And his childhood with her.

Dublin’s my home, I feel centred here, I feel connected to my art here

Through university his themes changed. “I started to analyse things differently. There was a noticeable stepping back and critiquing, almost from an objective perspective, if such a thing can be attained. I suppose it was a maturity coming around.” Stephen studied English, Media and Cultural Studies at IADT. “There was a political focus to the course, and that’s definitely had an effect on my poetry.”

‘Dublin You Are’ expresses both a love and disappointment for home. “Dublin’s my home, I feel centred here,” he says. As a writer, he is part of a unique community in Dublin. He knows other writers; poets, novelists, playwrights and songwriters. “I feel connected to my art here.”

Expanding on that concept, home, he began work on ‘My Ireland’. “It was going to be called ‘Ireland You Are’, but I wanted it to be more personal,” Stephen says. It was another new challenge, and more politically focussed. “I’ve been struggling with this ‘new Ireland’ idea,” he says. “It’s a contentious term. Ireland has such a huge diaspora, and we’ve been welcomed into some many pockets of the world. We have to embrace change too.” He refers to a binary opposition that is manifesting itself across the globe: “We’re all terribly scared of this ‘otherness’ that’s building up, and it’s dangerous. We’re picking semantics to suit us.”

With Brexit and Donald Trump either side of us, Stephen feels that Ireland has a responsibility to resist the pitfalls of xenophobic nationalism. “Racism comes up a bit in my recent poems. I think the state of direct provision is awful, and with everything going on around the world, we need to remain strong. There’s a history of treating people badly in this country, look at Tuam for example. And we’ve been treated badly ourselves. So we need to resist it now more than ever.”

Dublin You Are : words by Stephen James Smith

His approach has changed over the years. “I think it’s a maturity thing,” he laughs. “I sit down with a laptop, researching for days. I’m no longer a moody young man scribbling on napkins.” The processes vary, but with ‘My Ireland’ he needed a long process of researching and experiencing Ireland in order to write about it. “I opened a Google doc and just filled it over time with that research. I listened to people, the media, friends. I travelled about the country a bit. And then it was a matter of trying to distil that sense of a time into a piece of art.”

I’m not the finished article and I’ve a lot of work to do still. I’ve a lot of projects to finish

He says the reception to ‘My Ireland’ has been overwhelming. “I get so many emails, I struggle to respond but I am trying to get back to everyone individually. I had a 90 year old Irish/Norwegian lady contact me recently.” He says it’s incredibly heartwarming, especially when he thinks back to when it all began.

“I’m fortunate, but still struggling,” he says. “I’m not the finished article and I’ve a lot of work to do still. I’ve a lot of projects to finish.” He says it’s perseverance that got him to where he is. “It was 14 years of hard graft. And you need to try and be sound; it’s a supportive community, but opportunities diminish if you’re an arsehole no matter how talented you are. Your referrals are vital. So try and be sound, say ‘thank you’, and take the opportunities.”

To find more about Stephen James Smith’s work visit www.StephenJamesSmith.com.

Patrick studied English, Media and Cultural Studies and now works as a freelance journalist. He writes about social and cultural issues, football and a bit of technology, as well as some fiction. He's confused by the world but finds solace in the smooth rhythms of Marvin Gaye.

You might also like...

live

A City of Words: Dublin Comedy Improv

You walk up the side stairs of The International Bar. On Wicklow Street. You stroll into a dark room, pay a tenner and, instantly, you hear laughter. You’ve just made the smart move to go to see Dublin Comedy Improv. Weekly improv at The International Bar Dublin Comedy Improv is just one of the giggle-inducing acts that The International Bar Comedy Club hosts every night of the week. However, the comedy club has only been going since 1998, Dublin Comedy Improv – or DCI, for sho

the white-haired, white-bearded john sheahan is lit up on a dark stage

live

Meet a Dubliner – John Sheahan, Musician

Being in The Dubliners always made you feel like a bit of an ambassador for the city. I mean we were all instantly recognisable, and I think people felt at one with us. There’s a nice feeling of unity about being a Dub. And Dubliners in general never made any great fuss of their own sons and daughters who became well known (laughs). When The Dubliners celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2012, I had been with the band for 48 of those 50 years. I served an apprenticeship as an electrician in the ESB, and worked there as a draftsman for a few years. But the music was always a hobby, and at a certain point I had to give it up and join the lads. It was precarious in the early days, but there was always a great sense of adventure about the whole thing. We were doing it for the craic as much as anything else, and gradually it became a living. I think anybody who can extend their hobby to the extent that it becomes their livelihood, that’s a real privilege. Especially anyone who’s making music.

live

A City of Words: Temper-Mental MissElayneous

The popularity of spoken word is on the rise in Dublin and one of the stars of the scene is Elayne Harrington, AKA Temper-Mental MissElayneous. She’s a rapper and slam poet from Finglas and a standout female performer on a male-dominated scene. Dublin.ie first saw Elayne perform at a women’s storytelling night in Temple Bar’s Project Arts Centre. With her trademark hairdo of curlers in her fringe, the bold red lips and her warrior stance, she was defiant and gutsy. She set her words to the beat of h