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David William Parry | |
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| Born | David William Parry 1958 (age 67–68) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | British |
| Website | |
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David William Parry is a British author.
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]
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]
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]
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]
