Matthew Payne is a spoken word artist from south east London. In 2019, he graduated from the University of East London with a degree in Creative and Professional Writing. He was the Poetry Editor for his university's annual publication called The Gallion, and a two-time Creative Producer of the spoken word event Write Now, giving creative writing students the opportunity to share their stories with a wider audience.

Here, he discovered his love of spoken word, finding a way to combine his need to b heard as a young adult with autism, now working for a charity called Resources for Autism, with the aesthetic beauty of word play. He not only writes about his experiences. His debut collection The Lonely Hour will establish a new way of examining the relationship between stereotypes, representations of autism and the lives of those living with autism. His poetry is riddled with personal drama, shattered dreams, forgotten aspirations, and the longing to fell anything other than lonely. It will change the way we view the world around us.