In Merthyr Tydfil he established the Triskel Press and in 1965 he began the periodical, Poetry Wales.
[4][5] After working for the Western Mail for almost a year, from 1967 to 1990 Stephens was literature director of the Welsh Arts Council.
He was also a visiting professor in the English department of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
[4][5] Stephens is credited as the first person to create the Cofiwch Dryweryn graffiti near Llanrhystyd, Ceredigion.
[7] Stephens wrote many articles about literature in Wales for the Western Mail, as well as obituaries of eminent Welsh people for The Independent.