Remember the Past

It seems Mike Peters' influence has reached South Carolina, Florida, Ohio and Arizona. I don't believe he has very large congregations in these states, but from what I have been able to learn, they are very loyal.

One of the reasons I wrote and have revised The Ghosts of November was to warn people about the proliferation of dangerous doomsday cults and alternative religions, like the Peoples Temple. Jim Jones had a sign over his throne in the Jonestown pavilion from which he directed the deaths of 913 of his followers and their children. It read "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."

I believe it is imperative the members of Mike Peters' Churches around the country are made aware of what happened in Jonestown Guyana 29 years ago. Please make this your priority as well. You may be saving lives.

People's temple - The Play

Two years ago last month, the Berkeley Repertory Theater premiered "The People' Temple." The writer-director, Leigh Fondakowski, spent three years researching archives and interviewing surviving members of the Peoples Temple (note the absence of an apostrophe to differentiate the name of the play from the church).

The play begins in a library with a white-gloved archivist lifting a choir robe from a box. It ends in a jungle enclave in Guyana called Jonestown.

Fondakowski used interviews with survivors and copious amounts of audiotapes that were found in Jonestown as well as letters and other archival written materials as sources for the verbatim dialog of the play. This method of writing the play allowed the true feelings of those who lived the Jonestown trauma to come through.

Her writing methods are very similar to those of another play The People's Temple is sometimes compared with, "The Laramie Project." Moises Kauffman and his Tectonic Theater Project used interview transcripts to craft their powerful account of the reaction to the homophobic murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. The play has been performed in venues across the country and was turned into a well-received HBO movie.

The People's temple has only played to audiences in Berkeley and at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota as far as I can tell. However, the artistic director of the Denver Theater Company, coincidentally, where The Laramie Project premiered, has said he hopes his theater will perform it in 2008. Hopefully The People's Temple will play to many more theaters across the country in 2008 since it is the 30th anniversary year of the Jonestown Massacre.

Hi There

I consider myself very fortunate. Despite the fact I'm going on 60 years of age and have had my share of adversity, I am still standing. I have had Parkinson's disease for about 11 years, was told three years ago if I did not undergo a quintuple coronary artery bypass, I would have a heart attack, stroke or die within three months (I didn't have the surgery and still live) and have various and sundry aches and pains. I lived as a homeless derelict for almost six years, am a non-practicing compulsive gambler, and have been thrice married and twice divorced. I still haven't let life's lows get me down.

I do have some accomplishments I am very proud of, the biggest of which was the publication of THE GHOSTS OF NOVEMBER in 1998. Although it was self-published, the book was a success. Out-of-print, you can still find used copies offered on Amazon.com for many times the book's retail price. As much of a highlight this achievement was in my life, the two year rewrite and revision I just completed, adding fifty percent new material, including photos, maps and footnotes is one I am almost as proud of.

Last week, I went to the Pikes Peak Writers Conference in Colorado Springs, seeking representation from one of the literary agents who were there. I was fortunate enough to have a pitch session with one and she wanted to see my book proposal. I finally had my foot in the door!

This is the first step in a manuscript becoming a real book. As this process continues, you are invited to return to this blog on a regular basis to view progress from conception to birth. I will update the readers on problems with false labor and other setbacks and any doctoring (editing) that needs to be performed so the baby is born without any defects.

In the meantime, I'll post news and correspondence that will be related to the book and the Jonestown Massacre as we move closer to the 30th anniversary of the horrific event. I shall solicit your comments, contributions, critiques and questions. Any special events I have will be posted and I hope you will inform me of events you learn of. I hope you will join me.