Peoples Temple in the Arts

Photos Courtesy of California Historical Society, MSP 3800
Photos Courtesy of California Historical
Society, MSP 3800

A number of musicians, writers, dramatists, and filmmakers have completed – or are still working on – many creative projects which consider the people of Peoples Temple and the events in Jonestown. The articles below describe those projects, introduce the creative forces behind them, and consider how they perceive their own work.

  1. Art Notes
  2. Books and articles
    1. The Gift, by Leslie Wagner-Wilson (Cathey Fortier)
      1. Slavery of Faith: A Review, by Sylvia Marciniak
    2. Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple Published, by Rebecca Moore
      1. If you read only one book about Peoples Temple, this should be it, by Rikke Wettendorff
      2. Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple: Academic Yet Accessible, by Matthew Farrell
    3. Jonestown Survivor: A Progress Report, by Laura Johnston Kohl
    4. And Then They Were Gone: Children of Peoples Temple, San Francisco to Jonestown: A Progress Report, by Judy Bebelaar with Ron Cabral
    5. Wanted: Personal Stories, by Julia Scheeres
    6. Rounding The Corner: Reflections On Writing About Jonestown, by Sylvia Smith
    7. I wrote the book, by Kathleen McKenna
    8. Jonestown, a “hard sell,” by Annie Dawid
    9. Where Words Fail and Images Lie: Poet Develops Collection About the Residents of Jonestown, by Darlene Anita Scott
      1. Untitled
    10. Navigating the Shoals of a Jonestown Story, by Barry Isaacson

  3. Music
    1. Jonestown Project: Painting with History, by Daniel Buckley
    2. Interpretation of Death Tape to be Released, by Blake Edwards
    3. Notes on white night/white noise, by Doug Harvey
    4. “Father Cares…” by Brad Jackson
    5. Combining dialogue and music, by Ignas Krunglevicius
    6. Jim Jones, Devolution, and Speech-Music, by Bill Sallak
    7. Interview with Sofia Talvik
      1. “Jonestown” Lyrics
    8. Profile in Courage: Christine Miller, by Perry Townsend

  4. Film and Drama
    1. Jonestown as Greek Tragedy, by Donna Deverell
    2. Jonestown to be Portrayed as Betrayal of Hope, by Meghann Williams
    3. Taking an Audience to South America, 1978, by Carl Kelsch
    4. The Definitive Cinematic “Jonestown”…coming soon to a theater near you, by David Berdass
    5. Progress Continues On Marshall Kilduff Screenplay, by Jeff Keilholtz
    6. Looking at a Documentary Project … A Year Later, by Heidi Petty
    7. British Filmmaker Looks Past Horror of Last Day, by Juno Jakob