{"id":9,"date":"2009-04-04T18:20:42","date_gmt":"2009-04-04T23:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullofcrow.com\/crowreviews\/?p=9"},"modified":"2009-04-04T18:20:42","modified_gmt":"2009-04-04T23:20:42","slug":"point-loma-purple-bill-shute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fullofcrow.com\/crowreviews\/2009\/04\/point-loma-purple-bill-shute\/","title":{"rendered":""Point Loma Purple", Bill Shute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bill Shute: \u201cPoint Loma Purple: The Life And Work of Katherine Tingley<\/em><\/a>, An Imagined History in Mosaic Verse\u201d . <\/em>Poetry. 2007. Word Mechanics.<\/p>\n

This 2007 volume by Bill Shute is a work to revisit. He achieves something very magical in Point Loma Purple,<\/em> but keeps it accessible: he tells us a story. <\/em>
\nIn these \u201cmosaic verses\u201d, we find his themes arranged, such that their context changes depending on where the observer stands in relation to the work. Verses, beset by Shute\u2019s purposeful spacing, are as tiles suspended on a grouted plane, where divinity looms perpendicular to an earth observed.<\/p>\n

There are many things to love about \u201cPoint Loma Purple\u201d found in Shute\u2019s social and spiritual connections, playing out in a \u201cneo-narrative\u201d of Katherine Tingley. (\u201cNeo-narrative\u201d, in that he has essentially recreated her story as an \u201cimagined story\u201d, interpreted,based on the public record)<\/p>\n

But why? Why has he chosen her life, her contributions? We know Shute uses language to link domains. From symbols to architecture, he connects humans with their elements (myopic or even absurd, when he\u2019s in a critical mode) and then pushes back, humans falling back into a periphery. He takes the reader from what is individual to what is universal-moving in and then slowly zooming out. It seems fitting that he would choose a subject so connected historically to a movement of spiritual oneness in the face of diverse pluralities. Just as Shute\u2019s \u201cAcres\u201d <\/em>explores society in the industrial park minicosm, Tingley is an exploration of the individual in relation to everything beyond the fingertips.
\nWe are introduced to Katherine, (then, Catherine) in \u201cA Dream, A Seed\u201d <\/em>and Shute sets the scene, first highlighting elements of the physical realm: trees, forms, colors, perfume- then connecting them inextricably to an inner mindscape to serve as a place of anchor in upcoming transitions of both chronology and style: from earthly to ethereal, from the ontological to the soulful, human to social, youth to adulthood- for example,returning to the younger Katherine and the Chinese teapot. In these scenes, Shute draws at times from the accounts of Tingley herself, such as in \u201cThe Splendor of the Soul\u201d<\/em>. It is through translation into Shute\u2019s own language and cadence that we, as readers, are treated to a remarkable piece of writing. (continued)<\/p>\n

Who was Katherine Tingley? Tingley was a turn of the century theosophist, and like Shute\u2019s tiles of \u201cmosaic verse\u201d, the members of the Theosophical Society advanced a position of collected truths: an assemblage of elements, forward moving and evolving truths from diverse religious perspectives that again, like a mosaic, present an aggregate truth that is universal and overarching. It is, in a sense, a summation of parts, like an organism: one life, in \u201cradical unity\u201d. Truth, \u201cSpeaking through every culture.\u201d (\u201cA Dream, A Seed\u201d)
\n<\/em>
\nWas it Shute\u2019s intention to \u201cmicro-morphize\u201d Tingley as an embodiment of sorts, into this organism, bringing lofty ideas within range, into something palpable?<\/p>\n

What we learn about as we read about Tingley goes beyond the idea of reflecting on the self in relation to a higher consciousness or interconnected design, into the idea of working purpose and life examined. \u201cDeliberacy\u201d: breaking \u201cthe chain of empty habit\u201d.
\nWe watch her movements from escape to reinvention, actor to activist, becoming a public personality subject to both wrath and admiration. We see suspicion: of a woman, of a rival, of an innovator, of a person whose message was often misunderstood or feared. We see criticism- Point Loma as \u201cbourgeoisie\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tingley\u2019s story is about a certain essential imperative, reflected in the examples of charitable and social work:
\nIn \u201cBridge Building\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cNot concerned about receiving, practicing the
\nLaw of duty. She didn\u2019t think about trying to achieve
\nThese goals- she was too busy living them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026each man is a Soul; each Soul
\nMust have chance to evolve; and those who have gone
\nSo far astray are in greatest need of the Light.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Book Two: Being and Becoming<\/em>, we see Tingley\u2019s story connected to these questions of mission and purpose. Enter the Theosophical Society, and soon- her ascent and the spread of \u201ctheosophy for the masses.\u201d (\u201cThe Woman In The Wilderness\u201d) <\/em>
\nBy the time Tingley gets to Point Loma, she is clear on the need to connect work with purpose toward \u201cdivine life\u201d, mission, service, \u201ccasting pebbles in the pool of humanity\u201d (\u201cPunta de la Loma\u201d)<\/em>
\nReaching out and refining the message, she turns her attention to the establishment of the Raja-Yoga School: \u201cthe melting together of beauty and education\u201d (\u201cThe Raja-Yoga Mustard Seed\u201d) <\/em>and \u201cThe New Way\u201d, a publication intended for inmate populations. (karma, transformation, reincarnation, and transcendence.)
\nAt its core, this book is a tribute to the \u201cPurple Mother\u201d: purple, the color of \u201croyalty\u201d and \u201cwomandom\u201d. (\u201cThe Path, The Potholes\u201d)<\/em> It is a tribute to Katherine Tingley\u2019s legacy and Shute makes the case – eloquently and skillfully- for understanding and appreciating this legacy.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

About The Book<\/p>\n

Point Loma Purple: The Life And Work Of Katherine Tingley (1847-1929)<\/em><\/p>\n

An Imagined History In Mosaic Verse<\/em><\/p>\n

A 3200+ line book-length poem in 18 chapters, paralleling the 18 sections of the Bhagavad-Gita.<\/p>\n

Bill Shute, 2007<\/p>\n

Published by Word Mechanics<\/p>\n

Palm Springs, California<\/p>\n

Find more titles by Bill Shute at Kendra Steiner Editions. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bill Shute: \u201cPoint Loma Purple: The Life And Work of Katherine Tingley, An Imagined History in Mosaic Verse\u201d . Poetry. 2007. Word Mechanics. This 2007 volume by Bill Shute is a work to revisit. He achieves something very magical in Point Loma Purple, but keeps it accessible: he tells us \u2026 Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[19,37,77,78,226],"class_list":["post-9","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-point-loma-purple","tag-bill-shute","tag-kendra-steiner-editions","tag-kse","tag-poetry"],"yoast_head":"\n"Point Loma Purple", Bill Shute - Crow Reviews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fullofcrow.com\/crowreviews\/2009\/04\/point-loma-purple-bill-shute\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Point Loma Purple", Bill Shute - Crow Reviews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bill Shute: \u201cPoint Loma Purple: The Life And Work of Katherine Tingley, An Imagined History in Mosaic Verse\u201d . 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