Although he always claimed to have been born on the same day as James Joyce (February 2, 1882), James Stephens was born in Dublin, Ireland, on February 9, 1880. In 1907, he joined Sinn Féin, left-wing Irish political party. He worked as an assistant at a lawyer's buffet and as a typist, while writing poetry and philosophical texts. Until 1940 he was an active participant in the Irish nationalist movement. He died in 1950, on December 26, in London.