Ron Pelias taught performance studies from 1981-2013 in the Department of Communication Studies at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and is currently Adjunct Instructor of Theatre, School of Music and Performing Arts, University of Louisiana at Layfayette. He works on the stage primarily as a director and on the page as a writer committed to non-traditional forms of scholarly representation. His most recent books exploring qualitative methods are Leaning: A Poetics of Personal Relations (2011), Performance: An Alphabet of Performative Writing (2014), and If the Truth Be Told: Accounts in Literary Forms (Sense, 2016).

Ron has has published 7 books, 1 co-authored edited book, 65 journal articles, and 18 book chapters. In addition, he has adapted, complied, or written 32 performance scripts/plays and staged them for public audiences, several at national and international conferences. He has also published poems, fiction, and essays in 82 different literary journals. He has been given the Lifetime Achievement Award in Qualitative Inquiry, International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, 2017; named as an Outstanding Scholar for the College of Liberal Arts, Southern Illinois University; and received the Distinguished Service Award from the Performance Studies Division of NCA. The National Communication Association, Central States Communication Association, and the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry have sponsored programs honoring his contributions to the field.

Acknowledgments

Prologue: An Author Begins to Play

Part I: Qualitative Methods

Chapter 1: Deploying the Self: Autoethnography

Chapter 2: Performing on the Page: Performative Writing

Chapter 3: Telling Tales: Narrative Inquiry

Chapter 4: Poeticizing the Everyday: Poetic Inquiry

Part II: Qualitative Writing Strategies

Chapter 5: Leaning In: Empathy and Ethical Research

Chapter 6: Engaging: Language and Structure

Chapter 7: Using the Words of Others: Citation

Chapter 8: Generating Texts: Collaborative Improvisation

Epilogue: Four More Chances to Play

Recommended and Referenced Sources

Index