POET Levi Tafari kept the audience spellbound as he performed at a free event at St Helens Central Library.

A celebrated artist, he was born and raised in Liverpool by his Jamaican parents.

He calls himself an ‘urban griot’, a storyteller, newscaster and political agitator.

He was appearing at the library as part of their Reading Activists project work, which sees reading and writing events and offering the opportunity for the public to meet writers and artists.

Levi often runs creative writing workshops in schools, universities, prisons and colleges. He also has numerous TV credits to his name including Blue Peter, Grange Hill and BBC’s Everyman.