WRITING SOCIOLOGICAL CRIME FICTION

YOU WILL HAVE YOUR DAY IN COURT

Authors

  • Phil Crockett Thomas University of Glasgow

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18432/ari29549

Keywords:

sociological fiction, crime, criminalisation, translation, ontology

Abstract

In this article I share and discuss a poetic work of experimental sociological crime fiction titled “You Will Have Your Day in Court” (in Crockett Thomas, 2020c). In it I reimagine the “true crime” story of “King Con” Paul Bint, who for a period in 2009 successfully impersonated Keir Starmer, the then Director of Public Prosecutions. I first introduce my collaborative approach to writing sociological crime fiction, connections to poststructuralist philosophy and conceptualisation of research as a process of translation. After sharing the piece, I discuss thematic aspects of the work, such as the popular fascination of fraud, desire for explanations for criminal acts, and the narrative constraints placed on people who have experienced criminalisation. I also consider stylistic elements including use of narrative voice, characterisation, and narrative structure. I hope that this article is of interest to scholars aiming to marry poststructuralist thought with an experimental approach to writing sociological fiction.

Author Biography

Phil Crockett Thomas, University of Glasgow

Phil Crockett Thomas is a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow. She is currently working on the Distant Voices project, which uses collaborative song writing with people in the criminal justice system to explore re/integration after punishment. Phil has a PhD in Visual Sociology from Goldsmiths, University of London (2018). Alongside more traditional approaches, her research methodology includes writing fiction and making films. Her key research interests are poststructuralist philosophy, ethics, collaborative and creative research methods. Her website is https://crowdedmouth.wordpress.com/

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Published

2021-04-22

How to Cite

Crockett Thomas, P. (2021). WRITING SOCIOLOGICAL CRIME FICTION : YOU WILL HAVE YOUR DAY IN COURT. Art/Research/International:/A/Transdisciplinary/Journal, 6(1), 218–250. https://doi.org/10.18432/ari29549

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021): Fiction as Research – Writing Beyond the Boundary Lines

Section

Art/Research In Action

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Phil Crockett Thomas

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