David William Parry
British author
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David William Parry is a British author.
David William Parry | |
|---|---|
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| Born | David William Parry 1958 (age 67–68) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | British |
| Website | |
| www | |
Life
David William Parry was born in Portsmouth in 1958.[1] He was raised in Fareham by his Anglican mother and Roman Catholic stepfather.[1][2]
He graduated from King's College, London, with an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies; from Heythrop College, with a graduate degree in Pastoral Studies; and from the University of South Wales, with a PhD in English.[1][2] His doctoral thesis, "Cultivating Presence: A Conceptual Autoethnography Examining Neofolk and Its Relation to Contemporary Miracle and Mystery Traditions," was published in 2025.[3][4][5]
Career
Writing
Parry's first book, Caliban's Redemption (2004), is a collection of occult poems.[6] Writing in The London Magazine, Richard Rudgley described Parry's poetry as "homoerotic mysticism".[7]
His second, The Grammar of Witchcraft (2009), combines poetry and prose.[8] An adaptation of the poetry was staged at Etcetera Theatre in Camden in 2022.[9] John Cutler of The Reviews Hub called it "the theatrical equivalent of pâté de foie gras: dense (rich even), provocative in its ingredients, not to everyone’s taste, and probably best enjoyed only occasionally".[10]
Parry's fourth book and first play, Women in Mayhem, was also staged at the Etcetera Theatre in August 2024.[11][12]
Religion
Parry has served as a worship leader, prison visitor and Bible Study teacher in the Metropolitan Community Church in Balham; as a lay minister in "a number of British Unitarian churches"; and as the caretaking pastor of the Coverdale and Ebenezer Congregational Church in Shadwell.[2]
In 2013, Indymedia reported that Parry had been "initiated … as a Priest of Nerthus" by Freya Aswynn.[13]
Parry is presently active in the Old Catholic Apostolic Church.[14][15] As of 2021, he led the St. Valentine's Hall congregation in South London.[14][16] In August 2021, BBC London News described Parry's church "as a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community".[17] In this role he appeared as a contestant on Jimmy Carr's I Literally Just Told You in 2022.[18]
Other activities
From 2014 to 2021, Parry co-hosted a weekly podcast show called THA Talks with Paul Obertelli, intended to encourage "Free Thoughts and Open Minds".[19] According to Hope not Hate, Parry co-founded the Extremists Club with Jez Turner.[20] In 2017, The Independent reported that in an infiltration of the “alt-right” in the UK, Patrik Hermansson of Hope not Hate was introduced to The Extremists Club.[21]
In 2013, Parry was interviewed by The Guardian about the UK Border Agency's treatment of a Russian-born poet, Alex Galper (who had studied under Allen Ginsberg).[22] Parry was Chairman of Eurasian Creative Guild (ECG).[23]
In 2019, Parry spoke at TEDxLambeth alongside Haralampi G. Oroschakoff, in a talk entitled "A Chat on Conceptual Arts".[24] In 2021, he addressed TEDxLambeth on "Pop Art through the Eyes af a Queer Pastor" and "Conversations, Definitions and Stories."[25][26]
He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Royal Society of Arts.[27][2][1]
Works
- Caliban's Redemption. 1st ed. Oxford: Mandrake of Oxford, 2004.[28] 2nd ed. Finatran, 2011.[29]
- The Grammar of Witchcraft. 1st ed. Oxford: Mandrake, 2009.[8] 2nd ed. London: Hertfordshire Press, 2016.[30]
- Mount Athos Inside Me: Essays on Religion, Swedenborg and Arts. Melbourne, Aus.: Manticore, 2019.[31]
- Women in Mayhem: Or Three Nonsensical Pranks. Melbourne, Aus.: Indigo Dragon, 2024.[11]
- Cultivating Presence: A Conceptual Autoethnography Examining Neofolk and Its Relation to Contemporary Miracle and Mystery Traditions. Melbourne, Aus.: Manticore, 2025.