During the International Symposium on Autoethnography and Narrative that was held from 3– 5 January 2023, Philip Markin presented a paper titled ‘The wreality wrestling arena: An approach to presentation and analysis of autoethnographic data’, which was based on an autoethnographic research methodology that he had developed for his PhD.

The Wreality Wrestling Arena is like a sports arena with a commentary box and a field that becomes a stage with all the scenery and lighting effects for presenting a drama. Having lived through various experiences while trying to make sense of reality, he himself enacted his data on the field as the wreality wrestler.

‘Wreality is the self-constructed reality that each of us form for ourselves as we pass through life. Storytelling, poetry and dramatic enactment were all part of the drama. Analysis was done by myself as the host, and I invited voices from literature and from my past to comment on and critique the events on the field’, Markin explained.

His presentation fitted into a vast range of presentations all aimed at opening up our lived experiences as we traverse the multitude of environmental blessings and challenges of life. He was intrigued by the many cameos of human life he encountered at the conference. Some of the founders of autoethnography led the conference and shared the history of this exciting research field. Markin concluded: ‘I left the conference uplifted and inspired to keep working in this important research field.’