James Stewart Parker (20 October 1941 – 2 November 1988) was a Northern Irish poet and playwright.

Biography

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

working-class family. His birthplace is marked by an

Ulster History Circle The Ulster History Circle is a heritage organisation that administers Blue Plaques for the area that encompasses the province of Ulster on the island of Ireland. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, placing commemorative plaques in pub ...

blue plaque. While still in his teens, he contracted

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thy ...

and had a leg amputated. He studied for an MA in Poetic Drama at

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, on a scholarship, before commencing teaching in the United States at

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

. Parker was a member of a group of young writers that included

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

and

Bernard MacLaverty Bernard MacLaverty (born 14 September 1942) is an Irish fiction writer and novelist. His novels include ''Cal'' and ''Grace Notes''. He has written five books of short stories. Biography ''MacLaverty'' was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a ...

in the early 1960s at Queen's University in Belfast. In '' British Poetry since 1945'',

Edward Lucie-Smith John Edward McKenzie Lucie-Smith (born 27 February 1933), known as Edward Lucie-Smith, is a Jamaican-born English writer, poet, art critic, curator and broadcaster. He has been highly prolific in these fields, writing or editing over a hundred ...

calls him "a rawer, rougher, more unformed poet than either of the other two Belfast poets presented here" (i.e. Seamus Heaney and

Derek Mahon Derek Mahon (23 November 1941 – 1 October 2020) was an Irish poet. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland but lived in a number of cities around the world. At his death it was noted that his, "influence in the Irish poetry community, lit ...

). He notes that all three are post-Movement and neo-Georgian, owing little to

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

and not much more to

Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel ''Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life th ...

. Following his return to Northern Ireland he worked as a freelance writer, contributing a column on pop music to ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

''. He later moved to

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, where he wrote for radio, television and the stage. The musical landscape of Belfast is integral to his work as a playwright. One could arguably call him the

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

Irish theatre The history of Irish theatre begins with the rise of the English administration in Dublin at the start of the 17th century. Over the next 400 years this small country was to make a disproportionate contribution to drama in English. In the ea ...

. He would have been honoured by the title, as Van Morrison was one of his favourite artists. Parker died of stomach cancer in London on 2 November 1988.

Work

His plays include ''Spokesong'' (1975), a musical ''Kingdom Come'' (1977), ''Catchpenny Twist'' (1977), ''Nightshade'' (1979), ''Pratt's Fall'' (1981), ''The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner'' (radio 1979, filmed 1981), ''Northern Star'' (1984), ''Heavenly Bodies'' (1986) and ''Pentecost'' (1987). The 1979

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

production of ''The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner'' featured

John le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation c ...

, among others. The stage plays are published by Methuen Drama. ''Stewart Parker: Plays 1'' (2000) includes ''Spokesong'', ''Catchpenny Twist'', ''Nightshade'' and ''Pratt's Fall''. ''Stewart Parker: Plays 2'' (2000) includes ''Northern Star'', ''Heavenly Bodies'' and ''Pentecost''. An annual award (The Stewart Parker Trust Award) for best Irish debut play was set up in his name after his death. There is a cash bursary as part of the award. Previous recipients of the award include:

Conor McPherson Conor McPherson (born 6 August 1971) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded a doctorate of Literature, Honoris Causa, in June 2013 by the Un ...

Mark O'Rowe Mark O'Rowe is an Irish playwright and screenwriter. Life Mark O'Rowe was born in 1970 in Dublin, Ireland, to parents Hugh and Patricia O'Rowe (to whom he dedicated his 1999 play, ''Howie the Rookie''). He grew up in Tallaght, a working class s ...

Enda Walsh Enda Walsh (born 1967) is an Irish playwright. Biography Enda Walsh was born in Kilbarrack, North Dublin on February 7, 1967. His father ran a furniture shop and his mother had been an actress. He is the second youngest of six children. Wal ...

, Eugene O'Brien,

Gerald Murphy Gerald Clery Murphy and Sara Sherman Wiborg were wealthy, expatriate Americans who moved to the French Riviera in the early 20th century and who, with their generous hospitality and flair for parties, created a vibrant social circle, particularly ...

Lisa McGee Elizabeth "Lisa" McGee (born 1980) is an Irish playwright and screenwriter. McGee is the creator and writer of '' Derry Girls'', a comedy series that began airing on Channel 4 in the UK in January 2018. In 2018, she was listed as one of BBC's 10 ...

and

Christian O'Reilly Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Several new publications appeared in 2008, the twentieth anniversary of Parker's death. These include: * A collection of Parker's articles on popular music for ''

'' entitled ''High Pop: Irish Times Column 1970–1976'', edited by Gerald Dawe and Maria Johnston (Belfast: Lagan, 2008) * A collection of Parker's reviews and articles on culture, entitled ''Dramatis Personae and Other Writings'', edited by Gerald Dawe, Maria Johnston and Clare Wallace (Prague: Litteraria Pragensia, 2008) * A collection of Parker's plays for television, entitled ''Stewart Parker: Television Plays'', edited by Clare Wallace (Prague: Litteraria Pragensia, 2008) . The plays included are this collection are: ''Lost Belongings''; ''Radio Pictures''; ''Blue Money''; ''Iris in the Traffic, Ruby in the Rain''; ''Joyce in June''; and ''I’m a Dreamer, Montreal''.

''I’m a Dreamer, Montreal''

Parker's play ''I’m a Dreamer, Montreal'' won the

Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize was created in 1977, in memory of Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British Ambassador to Ireland, who was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1976. Founded by his Widow Jane Ewart-Biggs (fol ...

. It was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 in April 1975 and televised for

ITV Playhouse ''Playhouse'' is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour ...

in March 1979.BFI Film & TV Database
/ref> In

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, where the play is set, music librarian Nelson Gloverby ( Bryan Murray) lives in a dream world. A

showband The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...

singer by night, he is unconcerned with his audience's irritation at his inability to stick to the proper lyrics. He is innocently drawn into the brutality of

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

when he meets siren Sandra Carse (

Jeananne Crowley Jeananne Crowley (born 18 December 1949) is an Ireland, Irish actress and writer, remembered for her collaborations in United Kingdom, British film and television. She appeared in the film ''Educating Rita (film), Educating Rita'' and is possibly ...

). His world having been turned around, he takes the bus home. The bus driver is singing the lyrics "I'm a dreamer, Montreal"; however, this time it is Nelson who points out the correct lyrics: "'' I’m a Dreamer, Aren't We All?''"www.memorabletv.com

References

External links

*
Irish Playography entryLagan PressLitteraria Pragensia BooksStewart Parker Trust websiteDictionary of Ulster Biography entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Stewart 1941 births 1988 deaths 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British male writers 20th-century poets from Northern Ireland 20th-century writers from Northern Ireland Alumni of Queen's University Belfast British amputees Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize recipients Cornell University people Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from stomach cancer Male dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland Male poets from Northern Ireland Male writers from Northern Ireland People educated at Ashfield Boys' High School Writers from Belfast