From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #96 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Monday, July 10 2000 Volume 01 : Number 096 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 11:52:15 -0400 From: Tony Markham Subject: Re: [AML] Pulitzer Winners Several posts have borne the heading "Where's Our Pulitzer Winner?" The answer might be in who is being nominated. As I understand the process, every publishing house is allowed one nominee per year for the various categories. I'd be interested in knowing the Pulitzer-nominated authors and titles for fiction from some of our houses: Deseret, Bookcraft, Signature, Covenant, etc. Anyone privy to this info? I suspect we might all be a little dismayed at who the publishers are putting forward as their best, and might come a little closer to understanding why there have been no winners (yet). [Tony Markham] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 15:03:29 -0600 From: Neal Kramer Subject: [AML] THAYER, _Summer Fire_ (was: Andrew's Poll) >Rachel Ann Nunes wrote: > >> For instance, in one of Doug >> Thayer's novels (I can't remember the title now), two young boys are sent >> off to a ranch to be cowhands for the summer. I was appalled. Many list subscribers are probably too young to remember what life was like for many young men along the Wasatch Front in the 1960's. This illustrates a real challenge for anyone interested in understanding the relationship between fiction and the culture which produced it. Without understanding the complex issues of moving from adolescence to manhood in that culture, it's hard to make sense of this very fine novel. It describes a harsh world, where difficult choices are made even more difficult by powerful temptation. The obligatory summer stay at the farm, the ranch, or even the pineapple fields in Hawaii was a common way for Mormons in the city, frightened about the lack of physical labor in town, to send their sons off to work hard to become men. It was supposed to prepare them for the hard work of missions, etc. During the 60's and early 70's, thousands of Mormon boys were sent off to work. Today we have EFY. Some would say the old days were much better, and turned out better men. Thayer was building on a common Mormon experience to describe the process of working, praying, being away from home, confronting evil, facing one's own mortality, searching for a testimony, and becoming a man. Fiction based solidly in the real world--where real people gain real testimonies. No Mormon writer out there today writes as well about the challenges young Mormon men face in a world that demands physical virtue from young men at the same time as the Church demands masculine spirituality. Thayer knew what the local "fight clubs" were all about long before we had them. Real men don't date girls named "Charly" :) Neal Kramer - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 15:31:23 -0600 From: "Bill Willson" Subject: Re: [AML] What Can AML-List Do for Me? Hi All Please forgive my lack of education or sophistication or whatever you choose to call it. Could someone please explain to me what this means? D. Michael Martindale wrote: > If people won't buy literary writing, then publishers won't publish it > and authors can't sell it. On almost every Agent listed in the AAR member list it says (Literary, Adult) So if this is what they are suggesting they deal with, why is it that "publishers won't publish it." Would someone please define literary for me. Webster says it is:1 a) of or relating to, or having the characteristics of human learning or literature. b) BOOKISH 2 c) of or relating to books 2 a) WELL READ b) of or relating to authors or scholars or to their professions. In my mind anything that has to do with what people read or write could be considered literature, according to this definition. Maybe I'm too simple to understand the deeper meaning of the word. Just because something doesn't suit my literary taste, doesn't mean it is not literature. One writer's meat is another writer's poison. I'm not sure but I think this is basically the same thing D. Michael Martindale is trying to point out, but IMHO publishers still publish "literary writing." I am an eclectic reader, I enjoy everything from Peanuts and Dr. Seuss to Aristotle and Mark Twain. To me it's all literary. Regards, Bill Willson Keep your hand moving and your muse alive. bwillson@mtwest.net - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 17:55:13 -0400 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: RE: [AML] Reading Group (was: Andrew's Poll) I always got more reading done with a new baby. A great excuse to sit down. Now, with three teen-agers and four in the ten and under crowd........ I would love to read and discuss. Having a specific book would be a big help to me. I just can't guarantee I can keep up with every book Tracie PS-checked out the web site photos-lovely family - -----Original Message----- I enjoyed both the reading group and our play discussions, though it's true that the last play we read didn't generate a lot of discussion. I hesitate to volunteer to lead another online reading group, because having just had a baby I can't tell how much free time I'm going to have or even how much sleep I will be getting in the next few months. (Though the number of books I read never seems to drop just after I've had a baby; this says something about my priorities, I'm sure.) But I wonder--the list has gained a large number of new members recently; is there once again an interest in reading and discussing Mormon lit online? I know I would be interested. What say ye all? Melissa Proffitt (who might be persuaded to run such a group, if Jacob doesn't stop her) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 15:34:00 -0700 (PDT) From: Darlene Young Subject: Re: [AML] Reading Group (was: Andrew's Poll) I'm very interested in a reading group. With help, I would even be willing to lead it. (I've led live reading groups before but I'm new to this on-line thing.) ===== Darlene Young __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 15:39:04 -0700 (PDT) From: Edgar Snow Subject: Re: [AML] Genre Jason, I agree with you in the main (and I read the entire post). I use the term "boundaries" for genre writing rather than "limitations" the same way we say short people are "vertically challenged." Genre writers shouldn't feel limited, although there are boundaries that guide them. I think that's a worthwhile distinction. And regarding Thurber, he's an enigma to me. Some of his writing is not humorous and every bit as good as, say, Truman Capote, and qualifies as plain old literary writing. I'm thinking of a piece Thurber wrote covering a murder trial (can't remember the name--appeared in his _My World and Welcome to It_)that reminded me of _In Cold Blood_ a great deal. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Thurber's style influenced Capote. But then I don't know much about Capote except for his flamboyance and that he shows up as Scout's (Harper Lee's) fastidious cousin in _To Kill a Mockingbird_, an autobiographical touch among others apparently in that book. Ed ===== My collection of humorous essays entitled _Of Curious Workmanship: Musings on Things Mormon_ has just been released and can be ordered from Signature Books at 1-800-356-5687, or from their website at http://www.signaturebooksinc.com/curious.htm or from Barnes & Noble at http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=5SLFMY1TYD&mscssid=HJW5QQU1SUS12HE1001PQJ9XJ7F17G3C&srefer=&isbn=1560851368 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 15:48:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Edgar Snow Subject: [AML] Re: Price of _Of Curious Workmanship_ Yes, Scott, I know, I know. I argued with Signature about the price, but they insisted that their "audience" didn't care. I think you're evidence to the contrary. I'm wondering if going with Signature, as much as I like the people I deal with, hasn't hurt me because of (i) $$$, and (ii) their perceived "apostate" trademark. At the time it seemed like the proper outlet for a Mormon humor collection. You could demand that your local library buy the book and then you could check it out. Actually, you could probably just read it in one sitting at B&N! Ed __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 17:12:44 -0600 From: Eileen Subject: Re: [AML] PERRY, _Tathea_ Melissa wrote: >That said, I am interested in seeing how many of you have read _Tathea_ and >what your reactions were, good or bad. Anyone else want to chime in? I feel, after having read Melissa's well-reasoned review and Darlene's relief that Melissa agreed with her, almost declasse for having thoroughly enjoyed _Tathea_. I read it through once and within a week started it again. It was thought provoking for me and the essence of how I felt when reading lingers still almost a year later. Perhaps it was because I came to the book with no pre-conceived notions of what genre it was, perhaps my critical skills are are not as adept as I thought, I only know this, the book resonated with me. I also found that it provokes strong feelings from people. We had it for one of our selections for our Relief Society bookgroup and the discussion was anything but blase. The majority of the group did like the book, one participant suggesting that it broke the mold for fantasy. Eileen eileens99@bigplanet.com P.S: I have a question about the positioning of books in Barnes & Noble for instance or any other bookstore for that matter, who makes that decision? The Barnes & Noble near my home has _Tathea_ placed in the Mystery Section. I have to say I don't think it even comes close to that genre. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 17:25:49 -0600 From: "Jim and Laurel Brady" Subject: Re: [AML] AAR Agents in Utah? This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - ------=_NextPart_000_0018_01BFE838.64740180 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Re: [AML] AAR Agents in Utah? For access to the big houses, a New York = agent is pretty much necessary. And you can't get any international = coverage without a New York agent. It is the center of things, really = since only small houses exist outside of Manhattan. Let me add to this excellent answer this: A New York agent can serve = a Utah writer very well--it's not necessary to live near your agent. I = happen to have the same NY agent several of my Utah writer friends have, = and to my knowledge NONE of us have met her in person yet.=20 Laurel Brady - ------=_NextPart_000_0018_01BFE838.64740180 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Re: [AML] AAR Agents in Utah?
 For access to the big houses, a New York agent is pretty = much=20 necessary.  And you can't get any international coverage without = a New=20 York agent.  It is the center of things, really since only small = houses=20 exist outside of Manhattan.
Let me add to this excellent answer this:  A = New York=20 agent can serve a Utah writer very well--it's not necessary to live = near your=20 agent. I happen to have the same NY agent several of my Utah writer = friends=20 have, and to my knowledge NONE of us have met her in person yet. =
 
Laurel = Brady
- ------=_NextPart_000_0018_01BFE838.64740180-- - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 17:48:09 -0600 From: Margaret Young Subject: Re: [AML] Andrew's Poll I wonder if the lady in Marilyn's ward who thinks "Mormon literature isn't any good" realizes that Marilyn is one of Mormonism's fine writers. Marilyn & William Brown wrote: - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 17:49:28 -0600 From: Margaret Young Subject: Re: [AML] YOUNG, _I Am Jane_ (Performances) Guess what, Jonathan--we have people coming from as far away as 8 hours to see it in Chicago. The African American Mormon population is especially eager to see their own story told. Margaret Young wrote: > Thanks for this info, Marilyn. We don't subscribe to any newspaper, so I haven't seen a review. The information I've received is that we've already pre-sold about 100 tickets for each of the remaining performances, so if any of you want to see it, you really should reserve. For those of you who live out of town, we are taking the show to Chicago, if that helps anyone. We'll perform it at Curie High School on July 29. Monday's performance was our best yet. > > [MOD: Chicago--only six hours away. Sigh...] > > - > AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature > http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 18:29:25 -0700 From: Barbara@techvoice.com (Barbara R. Hume) Subject: Re: [AML] Genre >(It is important to point out that ALL writing is of a genre, even though we >most often use the term perjoratively, as in "genre fiction," the >implication being that this is not wholly, solidly "fiction," but some >inferior subset.) I don't use the term pejoratively at all. In fact, I tend to use the terms "mainstream" or "literary" as insults. Just today we were having a discussion on a romance writers' list about why so many of us don't enjoy what Scott Card calls "li-fi." One answer that came up is that it is often self-conscious: the writer uses style, not to tell a story, but to call attention to himself. The style says, "Look at this! Watch me! Watch me!" like an annoying child who has learned to jump off the sofa onto his dad's belly. The other reason is that literary fiction so often stops telling the story to wander off and do something else, perhaps to impress the reader with the author's deep philosophical musings. Those of us who prefer genre fiction are those who care more about story than about literary flourishes. > My question is, for those who DO write what might be >classifiable as "genre fiction": How DO you toe the line and make what you >write "new" and "original" while maintaining those elements necessary to the >genre? It seems to me that this is a greater challenge for "genre" writers >than for "mainstream" blokes like myself. When I first started reading romance novels a few years ago, I was amazed, as I still am, at the wide variety of styles and stories that are possible with a genre that definitely must meet certain expectations. Basically, the expections are simple: man-woman-love-happiness. How the happiness is arrived at, what kinds of people the man and woman are, when and how they live, what kinds of experiences they go through, all of these are subject to great variety. (Even the man-woman thing has been occasionally altered, but gay love stories don't sell very well.) There are many sub-genres within the genre, and many different lines whose editors are looking for different kinds of stories. The only limitation you have as a romance writer is that you CANNOT end it with something like, "She screamed as the ship exploded out in the bay. She knew that he had sacrificed himself to save her. Even though bloody bits of him were now scattered across the waters, she would always be comforted by the knowledge that he had loved her enough to give his own life to destroy the brutal pirates." NOT! A romance hero worth his salt will not only blow up the pirate ship, but recover the stolen treasure, clear himself of the trumped-up charges against him, deliver the medication in time to save the heroine's dying brother, and then kiss her until her toes curl. And please don't blather on about "reality." If we're in the mood for reality, we can read li-fi. When we're in the mood for what this genre gives us, we read romance. Reality, IMHO, is highly overrated as a necessary component of a satisfying story. >But I've gone on long enough--did anybody read the whole post? I did, just in case I wanted to argue with anything at the end! barbara hume - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 15:34:14 -0700 From: eedh Subject: Re: [AML] PERRY, _Tathea_ [MOD: Apologies for not getting this message out in a timely manner.] Melissa Proffitt wrote: >> > That said, I am interested in seeing how many of you have read _Tathea_ and > what your reactions were, good or bad. Anyone else want to chime in? I just checked _Tathea_ out of the library about two hours ago. I've read the first few pages (before I got interrupted) and I was immediately hooked. I'm very much looking forward to immersing myself in it. I hope it turns out to be as good as it first appears to be. - -Beth Hatch - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #96 *****************************