Stephen James Smith’s story starter ‘A Christmas Story’ is read by the author.

Stephen James Smith is a Dublin poet and playwright central to the rise of the vibrant spoken word scene in Ireland today.  To date, his poetry videos have amassed over 3 million views online. Stephen has been conducting poetry workshops in secondary schools and community groups across Ireland for a number of years. He has received numerous poetry video commissions from Listowel Writer’s Week, Creative Ireland and the London Irish Centre to name but a few.

Imagine the Possibilities

Possibilities, that’s what excites me and there’s always possibilities. Even today, it might feel like any other day, but there’s magic happening right now. Somewhere in the world it’s snowing, somehow we are spinning around the sun, somewhere someone is singing and that sounds like fun. All of that is magic and gives us hope and possibilities.

So let me tell you about me and the memories that we’ll create over this Christmas. It starts with kindness and ends with happiness. It has Christmas trees with an angle on top, carol singers who don’t know when to stop, hampers full of chocolate biscuits and Christmas jumpers that no longer fit us!

This season has smells and sounds like no other, let me tell you about it. Let me tell you about my family, about my friends, about my pets and all the gifts we hope to get. But to get we must give and that’s what helps us live in a better world. So I’ll tell you, who I’d like to help. That’s the true meaning of Christmas!

There’s so much I’d like to tell you, the only thing that can stop me now is my own imagination. So let’s imagine all the possibilities together. Let’s think of all the new ways we can celebrate this year together.

These are some of the things that excite me today, so let me start by telling you this… ok?