FREEDOM ROAD: A Creative-Critical Exploration of the Life and Work of Peter Mackay through Biofiction

Abstract

This thesis investigates the process of crafting a biofiction narrative inspired by the life and work of Peter Mackay, examining the integration of biographical research, critical analysis and creative practice within the biofiction genre. The work adopts a practice-led creative writing methodology to explore the potential of the biofiction genre to reimagine historical figures and events. Drawing on extensive research, this study creates a rigorous contextual framework on which to base the creative narrative, grounding it in the known while recreating a life through the identified conventions of biofiction. The thesis is structured in three sections. Section one provides the biographical and historical context for Freedom Road, a biofiction novel inspired and informed by research on Peter Mackay’s life and work. Section two presents Freedom Road, the central component of this practice-led creative writing PhD and an original contribution to biofiction as a genre and the historiography of the Central African Federation. Section 3 critically reflects on the integration of research and creative practice in developing a biofiction novel, analysing the dynamic, iterative process of collection, selection, evaluation, creation, reflection and redrafting from a creative and critical biofiction perspective. This section concludes with an original contribution to critical biofiction studies through a case study of Stanlake Samkange’s On Trial for My Country, examining the biofiction genre within the Zimbabwean context. Collectively, the thesis offers insights into the creative-critical dynamics of biofiction. It reflects on the decisions, disruptions, and additional projects that shaped and enriched the research, highlighting the interconnectedness of author, subject, audience, evidence, external factors and subjective narrative decision-making in determining the trajectory and outcomes of a biofiction project.