Abstract
This overview contextualises and places within an analytical framework three works of theatrical poetry written by me for theatre lovers (Parry, 2016; Parry, 2019; Parry, 2024). However, as a bridging thesis, it is composed inside the emerging school of creative criticism, since each of these books is intended to engage with religious stagecraft, the increasingly commodified tastes of audiences and the task of religious philosophy overall. After all, as a queer theatrical and folk Catholic priest, the opportunity to address scholarly materials around my research question on the relationship betwixt an actor’s presence and the Holy Presence had been an aim of mine for decades. Hence, I have drawn upon my previous doctoral reading on Gabriel Marcel at the University of London, as well as asides by Rudolf Otto (1946) and my ultimate source Stockhausen (1991).As such, I have divided this commentary into two sections including an autoethnographic introduction, and a conceptualist conclusion. Noted in this manner, neither my notebook-based stream of consciousness reportage, nor my submissions, are written in standard academic prose, but rather aim to evoke those autobiographical distillations appropriate to subject matter of this kind. Thus, the initial section outlines my decades-long involvement with the neofolk arts movement, whereas the latter section examines the content and subsequent evolution of each submitted publication. Indeed, these projects embody a number of original contributions to scholarship on my part which includes the development of “theatrical poetry” as an adaptation of prose poetry, a process of self-expression I have dubbed “magickal humanism”, a microgenre with the epithet “Shakespearean noir”, alongside my principal assertion that “stage presence” runs in parallel to the “Holy Presence” summoned during Catholic Mass.
It goes without saying that these manuscripts were chosen to reflect my range as a writer. One is a collection of lyrically expanded mini-sagas focussing on my literary alter-ego, Caliban. Another is a collection of theatrical poetry essays veering towards performance. Lastly, but never least, my nonsense script composed as a series of “pranks” is presented as the trajectory of my authorship generally. With this in mind, these projects mark a significant facet of my ongoing poetic investigations and demonstrate my current understanding of those processes leading to mystery and miracle productions.
Altogether, my choice of texts reflects a continuing interest in French literature, not to mention the ways in which cutting-edge scholarship is produced by challenging inherited research assumptions, as well as the nature of empirical knowledge within and outside the academy. Certainly, my overshadowing by Stockhausen compelled me to realise that received methodologies must adapt under the weight of philosophical advancement, whereas the “rebellious research” capacity to write in varying registers, tempos, and voices to strengthen and extend creative industries has become paramount on stage and beyond. Therefore, as a man standing outside of schoolrooms, my highly experimental but intellectually serious, approach to poetics is vindicated, whilst insisting on further development.
| Date of Award | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Kevin Mills (Supervisor) & Nicholas Dunlop (Supervisor) |