Peoples Temple in the Arts 2015

suicide_clubA 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. Arts and popular culture notes
  2. The Art of Peoples Temple
    1. SDSU Art Display Nears End, But Collections Continue to Grow, by Robert Ray
  3. Books and writing projects
    1. Redefining Jonestown, by Kathryn (Tropp) Barbour, author and publisher
      1. Channeling the Pioneers, by Kathryn (Tropp) Barbour
      2. Take a Picture of This, by Craig Foreman
    2. Legacy Warrior, by Jordan Vilchez
    3. Bitter Cup Fills to Overflowing, by Jeff Guinn
    4. On the Journey with Laura Woollett
      1. From Carolyn To Evelyn
      2. Life Lessons With Peoples Temple
    5. A Search for Grace in Jonestown, by Sara Brody
    6. Reviews, author descriptions, and critiques of recent Jonestown fiction
      1. Jonestown, by Ryan Roy
        1. Jonestown as a novel (aka Raping Jim Jones for Royalties), by Matthew Thomas Farrell
        2. Fictional Account Distorts and Obscures Reality of Jonestown, by Katherine Hill
      2. White Nights, Black Paradise, by Sikivu Hutchinson
        1. “Are We Black, Proud and Socialist?”, by Annie Dawid
        2. African-American Women Find Voice in New Jonestown Novel, by Rebecca Moore
        3. On White Negroes, Jim Jones and “Sista” Rachel, by Sikivu Hutchinson
      3. Jungle Rot, by Kathleen McKenna Hewtson
        1. Jungle Rot Exposes Jonestown Holocaust, by Kathleen McKenna Hewtson
        2. Literary Rot: A Critical Review of Jungle Rot, by Katherine Hill
          1. A Response to Katherine Hill, by Tim Hewtson
          2. Katherine Hill Replies to Tim Hewtson
      4. Jane Smiley Character Dips into Peoples Temple, by Rebecca Moore
  4. Performing arts
    1. Peoples Temple Chamber Opera Performed, by Andrew Jamieson
    2. Christine Miller Opera Taking Shape, by Perry Townsend
    3. Review of Jonestown Tragedy in Iran, by Mohammad Javad Ghasemi
  5. Film and photography
    1. Researching Peoples Temple, by Richmond Arquette
    2. Navigating Trauma: A Photographic Exploration, by Kevin Kunishi
    3. Documentary Film to Depict Guyanese Perspective on Jonestown Tragedy, by Rotimi Paul
  6. Music
    1. Music of Q 932 Speaks to Real Cult in American Life, by Sergey Tretyakov
    2. The Voices of Jonestown to be Captured in Electronic Orchestration, by Jacob Elkin
    3. “Mao Tse Tung Said” by Alabama 3: Jim Jones, Irony and Revolutionary Politics, by Barry Isaacson