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Bill Shute is English Professor at San
Antonio College, born in Boston, raised in Colorado and apparently
rooted in Texas. He is, perhaps, more noted for Inner Mystique, a
rock fanzine in the early 1980’s.
As the title suggests, the subject matter is a post-modern account
of the Hercules saga set in Texas, a suite comprising of 12 poems
that portray a 13-year spiritual journey eastward, stopping by
places to ruminate on both surroundings and the self.
The journey begins at Las Cruces, New Mexico 1 April 1993:
As the dream I
Placed before me, a rabbit
To my greyhound, evaporates
In the early sun
Of April, not deferred
But faded as the heat…
These are words that colour the tone, weaving a tapestry of personal
details against the ever-unfolding landscape. Although at times
immaculate, the imagery beautiful, on occasion there’s a sweep of
esoteric rushing in, or when personal vignettes creep into the
frame.
But make no mistake, this is a concentrated opus, and these private
inclusions in no way dilute the flow. There’s intelligence at work,
in both the real and mythological plain; he’s a dreamer, a seer, a
pragmatist, as in Ozona, Texas 4 July 1996:
The earth is dry…
My neighbour turns over his property
To hunting leases, where men in
Jungle Jim outfits kill
Deer…
Among the historical smatterings and the finer points of each
locale, Bill Shute - Hercules- knows what it is to be a man, and
burdens some tough decisions during this otherworldly vision, that
can be strikingly sinister:
The Boy King, unleashing a killing
Machine upon sacred, ancient ground
As if he were engineer of a toy railroad
In his basement…
And so, for seven dollars an hour, leading travellers through the
Caverns of Sonora, to the strangeness of clearing the Pasadena
swamp, to fighting a grease fire at the Waffle House, Bill Shute
transcends the usual avant garde escapism, steeling himself for the
final labour at Lake Charles, Louisiana 12 March 2005:
Over the border, a new state
Of being…
Big as Texas skies? You bet.
Douglas W. Gray
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