From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #269 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 Thursday, March 1 2001 Volume 01 : Number 269 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 22:54:57 -0000 From: "Dallas Robbins" Subject: [AML] Awards at the Conference The conference was great. I'll have more to say later, but here are the awards as I recall. Award for Novel: "Standing on the Promises Vol 1: One More River to Cross" by Margaret Blair Young and Darius Gray Award for Short Fiction: "Caution: Men in Trees" by Darrell Spencer Award for Drama: "I Am Jane" by Margaret Blair Young Award for Essay: "Standing for Something" by Gordon B. Hinckley Award for Devotional: "The Quiet Heart" by Patricia Holland Award for Criticism: Benson Parkinson and his work for the AML-List Honorary Lifetime Member of AML: Richard Cracroft Dallas Robbins, cloudhill@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 18:04:04 -0700 From: LuAnnStaheli Subject: Re: [AML] LDS Thrillers Brent, It was ebay all right. Sorry. I'm trying to collect inexpensive books on tape for my classroom (inexpensive since I don't get school money to pay for them, yet I receognize their value to all readers.) So, I won an auction for Book 2 on tape and Book 1 came with it in paperback as part of the deal. Lu Ann - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 18:51:10 -0700 From: "Annette Lyon" Subject: Re: [AML] Linda Paulson ADAMS, _Prodigal Journey_ (Review) My problem with the miracle scene is rather personal. As a writer, I feel very hesitant to put words into God's mouth or "make" him do anything. To do so feels rather pompous--a creator (artist) telling the Creator what to do. How can any of us really _know_ what Christ would say or do? While I have no problem with authors inventing dialogue for historical figures (like Joseph Smith, where we can find significant documentation to wager a decent guess), I cannot use the same standard for diety. In other LDS books (not in Linda's), I have cringed at certain answers to prayers the characters have, because I feel that God would _never_ have answered that way. One book in particular by a very popular writer had a such an answer. I felt it flew in the face of everything the Church teaches, yet it was portrayed as coming straight from above. Perhaps that's one reason I enjoy Fantasy so much--it's easier to put words into a god-like character's mouth, and be a step removed from the "real" thing. (I'm recalling something Scott Parkin said on the fantasy panel at the Mormon Writer's Conference, which I totally agreed with.) For me, the miracle scene would have been more comfortable had the healer been an angel--anyone, from Moroni to Michael to one we've never heard of--rather than Christ himself. That would have created a distance. Maybe I'm a bit odd here, but that's why I I think that's why I disliked the scene so much. Annette Lyon - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 20:12:58 -0600 From: Larry Jackson Subject: [AML] MN Morning News Briefs: Kent Larsen From: Kent Larsen To: Mormon News Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 15:00:00 -0500 Subject: MN Morning News Briefs: Kent Larsen 26Feb01 X1 [This excerpt from Mormon News mentions an unusual application of LDS art.] Set Designer Bill Demos, 69 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Former New York set designer Bill Demos died February 25th of congestive heart failure. An LDS Church member, Demos was a native of Provo, Utah, where he suffered from rheumatic fever as a child. After serving an LDS mission in Hawaii and attending BYU, Demos worked on the sets for the first LDS temple film. For 17 years he lived in Manhattan, where he met and married Anna Ernst in 1964. But at age 32, shortly after he married, Demos suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on the left side. He then moved to Provo, where his wife, Anna taught at BYU, while he stayed at home. Anna died in 1991 of cancer. Bill Howard Demos Salt Lake Tribune 26Feb01 P2 http://www.sltrib.com/02262001/obituari/74795.htm >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ Send join and remove commands to: majordomo@MormonsToday.com Put appropriate commands in body of the message: To join: subscribe mormon-news To leave: unsubscribe mormon-news To join digest: subscribe mormon-news-digest - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 21:36:22 -0700 From: Scott and Marny Parkin Subject: [AML] Biography/Autobiography Symposium I received a flyer in the mail today with the following information. Note the lunch registration deadline at the bottom. Marny Parkin LIVES OF THE SAINTS: WRITING MORMON BIOGRAPHY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY 17 March 2001 140 Joseph Smith Building Brigham Young University Open to the public--admission is free. A symposium sponsored by the Joseph Fielding Smith Insitute for Latter-day Saint History (8:00-8:30 a.m.) Pick up name tags and prepaid lunch tickets. Display tables by the Smith Institute, BYU Studies, and BYU Press. (8:30-10:30) Opening Plenary Session Keynote address: "The American Context of Mormon Biography," Scott E. Casper "A Joseph Smith for the Twenty-First Century," Richard L. Bushman (10:40-noon) Concurrent Sessions ***Sources: Putting Lives in Context "A Verifiable Life: What It Took to Resurrect Lewis Barney, 1808-1894," Ronald O. Barney "Giving Life to Lifeless Histories: Reconstructing the History of a Scantily Documented Ancestor," Keith A. Erekson ***Publishing Biographies and Autobiographies: Desktop or Press? "Desktop Publishing: Simplifying Autobiograpical and Biographical Publishing," Leslie A. Marchant "Notes on Publishing a Few Hundred Mormon Biograpnies and Autobiographies," Gary L. Shumway ***Auto/Biography: Fact and/or Fiction? "Oh Say, What Is Truth in Mormon Life Story Writing?" Morris A. Thurston "_Sweet Cottonwood_: Writing the Family Novel," Edward A. Geary (12:15-1:35) Plenary Session Luncheon Sponsored by the Association for Mormon Letters and the Mormon History Association "Sorting Out Private and Public Lives: Spencer W. Kimball and Emmeline B. Wells," Edward L. Kimball and Carol Cornwall Madsen (1:50-3:10) Concurrent Sessions ***Is a Life a Sermon? "Uses and Abuses of Mormon Biography: Sidney Rigdon and William McLellin as Object Lessions," Steven C. Harper "The Case of Virginia Sorensen: When Your Saint Is Also a Sinner," Susan Howe ***Digital Mediated Biographies "Digital Mediated Biographies: Technologies, Strategies, and Costs," Larrie E. Gale "Family History on Video--and on the Cheap," Dale Cressman "Publishing Biographies to the Web: Your Word Processor Will Do," S. Todd Stubbs ***Using Family Sources to Document Local and Regional History "Decoding a Daily Diary: Clues to Community Life in Lehi in the 1870s," Cherry B. Silver "Can I Be Objective?: Using Family Sources in Historical Writing," Jessie L. Embry (3:20-4:10) Closing Plenary Session "Reflections on Mormon Biography," Davis Bitton and David J. Whittaker Select from the following sandwiches. If you want more than one box lunch, please put the number of each choice. All lunches include a choice of beverage (soda, juice, or bottled water) and a brownie. ____ Roast beef and pepper jack cheese, with chipotle mayonnaise on a kaiser roll, served with southwestern pasta salad ____ Chicken salad on a croissant, served with fruit ____ Veggie wrap (assorted vegetables, grated cheese and ranch dressing) ____ Total lunches ordered, @ $8.50 each ____ Total enclosed Name____________________________________ Please make checks payable to the Association for Mormon Letters and send to: Susan Howe 3126 JKHB English Department Brigham Young University Provo, UT 84602 Checks must be RECEIVED by 6 March 2001. Pick up your lunch ticket at the Smith Institute display table the morning of the symposium. If you prefer, you may purchase your own lunch at the BYU Food Court, on the floor below the conference luncheon, and bring it upstairs. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 20:53:18 -0800 From: harlowclark@juno.com Subject: [AML] AML Session at RMMLA Convention--Call for Papers I'm chairing the AML session at RMMLA in Vancouver BC this October (11-13, I believe). If you're interested in presenting please send me a proposal. You must be an RMMLA member by April 1 in order to present. The deadline for proposals is March 1, but I don't have to get the program in that soon, so I'll take proposals a little later than that. (In the words of one of my favorite guilty pleasure TV show, "Welcome to Ancient Studies. I'm not much of a stickler for attendance. In fact, I sometimes get called away myself.") I thought the deadline was the middle of March. Gae Lyn Henderson is co-chair and we discussed a theme--though I'm not sure we need one, as none of the sessions in the call for papers list one. A broad theme is Extending the Tradition, which is a broad theme for the last two or three AML Conferences. Following are the guidelines for presenters from the RMMLA website. I note that list-member Jason Steed has proposed a special session on "The Novel into Film" (Jason Steed, 4505 Maryland Pkwy., Box 455011, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5011; jpsteed@hotmail.com; 702-454-0250; fax 702-895-0908) (BTW, Jason, you can chair one session and present at another.) You can send proposals for the AML session by snail mail to Harlow S. Clark, 955 S. 500 E., Pleasant Grove, UT 84062; or e-mail me at harlowclark@juno.com; 801-785-4481 Harlow S. Clark http://rmmla.wsu.edu/rmmla/callForPapers/call01.asp One does not have to be a member of RMMLA to propose a paper, but one must become a member by April 1 to appear in the program. Paper proposals based on a 300-word abstract and a 50-word description are due to the session chair no later than March 1, 2001. You will be notified of the chair's decision by March 15. Members may submit different papers to different session chairs, however, no one may read more than one paper at the convention. If you have a paper accepted in more than one session, please decide which one you will give, and notify the chairs, as well as the RMMLA Secretariat of your choice. If we discover a duplication and are not able to reach you, we will have to choose for you. Chairs are discouraged from accepting papers from more than two members of his/her home institution or two members of the same institution, unless the focus of that session is somehow related to the institution or unless the third presenter from that institution is replacing another presenter who had to cancel at the last moment. No one's name may appear on the program more than twice (i.e. as chair and presenter, or twice as a chair). Service as Alternate Chair is not factored into the count. Members who propose papers are expected to attend the convention to read at the scheduled time. The Program Committee does all possible to vary the day/time a session meets from year to year, and to accommodate scheduling requests based on extraordinary circumstances, but not all requests can be granted. If you have a paper accepted for the convention, please plan to attend and share your research/work. Please notify the chair and the RMMLA Secretariat immediately if you find you are unable to present, so that a replacement might be found. It is the policy of the RMMLA not to have papers read in absentia, except under extraordinary circumstances. ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 01:17:07 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Linda Paulson ADAMS, _Prodigal Journey_ (Review) katie@aros.net wrote: > Maybe if she just lied about her Church activity and her sleeping > around, but was completely nice and agreeable around Peter, instead of whining > and being so demanding--? Maybe she would have been more believable then. At > least then I could understand his liking her. > > But it still doesn't feel right that way, either. I mean, when there's a "bad" > character around, why does he or she have to do the worst possible things to > show how evil he or she is? In this case, having Jackie sleep around and make > her little videos seems stereotypical. She's bad; therefore, she must sleep > around. Couldn't there have been something else that made her bad that didn't > involve the standard sleeping around, drinking, doing drugs, robbing a bank, > etc.? I would like to see her more carefully crafted than this. Sleeping around is good--although the video was a bit much. Lying about church activity and sleeping around would have been plenty for us to not want Peter to stay with her. Have sleeping around be a real weakness for her that she's done for a long time and is trying to overcome and feels horrible about not succeeding yet. That would make her more sympathetic, rather than her current belligerent attitude toward chastity. She could feign a belligerent attitude for her friends so she doesn't feel like a prude in front of them, as long as you make it real clear it's a front and not her true feelings. This could strengthen the poignancy of her hope that marrying Peter will help her overcome her promiscuousness, since the reader won't believe it will succeed--especially with the deception she surrounds it with. I think a person like her would obey the Word of Wisdom. She's already got a nasty weakness of the flesh, so she compensates by strictly obeying a commandment in another area of the flesh. Then make her very pleasant with Peter, so we are torn between liking how well they go together and how her secret life makes us want Peter to run as far from her as he can. > And it has to be something fairly quick, too, or else it would > take up too much of the story. I don't think doing my suggestions above would take any longer than what currently happens in the story. You won't need to show more things, just different things. > It's been several months since I've read the book, and I don't have it in front > of me now, but I don't really remember Peter being a rescuer-type. Maybe it > came through and I forgot. No, that aspect of Peter didn't come through at all. - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 12:50:24 -0500 From: Tony Markham Subject: [AML] Job Opening, SUNY-Delhi Anybody on the list facing graduation soon and the prospects of a job= search? If you are, or know of someone who may be interested, I am chair of t= his year's search committee. Delhi is a small town with an excellent public sch= ool system, an active branch (two full sets of missionaries!) and fairly close to= the Palmyra and Boston temples. Nobody "owns" classes, so if there is so= mething in the catalog you want to teach, you will have the opportunity. The fo= llowing job description will appear in the Chronicle of Higher Ed soon, but I hav= e permission from personnel to circulate it electronically as well. Pa= ss it on as you see fit. The State University of New York at Delhi invites applications for th= e following anticipated vacancy: Composition/Humanities Faculty (tenure-track, full-time term appointm= ent). Ph.D. preferred. This position will have =BD teaching and advising d= uties off-campus with a local corporate partner. We are looking for a cand= idate with a composition background and the ability to teach introductory course= s within a general humanities program. Candidate=92s secondary interest is open= but could include: literature, drama, art history, music history, studio and/or= performing arts, public speaking, philosophy or film. Normal teaching load is 1= 2 hrs. per semester. Send cover letter, vita, and three letters of reference to= : English Search Committee Box 6, SUNY Delhi, Delhi, NY 13753. Tony Markham - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 13:51:37 -0700 From: "Annette Lyon" Subject: Re: [AML] Linda Paulson ADAMS, _Prodigal Journey_ (Review) When Linda asked me for specifics about Peter and Jackie, I had to stop and think through it (for one thing, it's been several months since I read it). I realized that "transparent" wasn't the best adjective to describe Jackie. Granted, she's transparent to the reader, but she is not outright evil around Peter. I agree with Katie's assessment of the problem--Jackie didn't have any redeeming qualities. I didn't see anything at all that explained how Peter was ever drawn to her. She did nothing but whine and demand her way. I would have perferred her to be more likeable the first few times we see her, so there's more sympathy for Peter's feelings toward her. Maybe even refer to their early courtship and some sweeter times, or something really kind or charitable she did for someone. Anything to make it more real that Peter would give her a second look, as well as give Jackie an additional layer or two (she's pretty one-dimensional right now--even villains are 100% bad). I don't agree with Katie that Jackie's evil actions are stereotypical, but that's just me. I think the story demanded something very strong to make the reader want to scream at Peter to run the other way. Quite frankly, Linda, all your other characters were so well put together, that when Jackie didn't live up to the rest of them, she stood out. That says something good about your craft! Annette Lyon - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 15:40:25 -0700 From: Scott and Marny Parkin Subject: [AML] Life, the Universe, & Everything XIX Schedule It's time once again for Life, the Universe, & Everything XIX, the science fiction and fantasy symposium at BYU. The symposium will be March 1-3 (the weekend after the AML conference) and it's FREE (except the Saturday banquet). Guests of Honor are Harry Turtledove, Tracy Hickman (LDS), and Jeanne Cavelos. Below is a pretty-much final schedule, although the panels and presentations for the art, create your own world, and workshop tracks are not listed (see the web site). Registration will be in WSC 3228, where there will be a white board for last-minute changes. For more information, see http://www.jps.net/helgem/ltue/ Marny Parkin LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, & EVERYTHING XIX Thursday, March 1, 2001 10:00-10:50 Opening Ceremonies 11:00-11:50 Main Address: Jeanne Cavelos Noon-12:50 Creating memorable villains: Using Disney, Shakespeare, etc. as role models (Using media and literary villains to show what makes a memorable villain) Noon-1:50 The oral storytelling tradition (2 hrs) (A presentation on oral storytelling, what it is, its history, etc.) 1:00-1:50 LOTR: The godfather of fantasy? 2:00-2:50 Q&A: Tracy Hickman Repeating History: Why does SF Media reflect and shadow real Earth history? (Why does SF media choose to reflect and shadow Earth history rather than create its own?) 3:00-3:50 Reading: Tracy Hickman Making writing workshops work (What makes a good writing workshop? How can you keep one going, etc.) Digital film making and streaming media on the internet (Panel discussion on what is on the Internet. Where the Internet is headed, how to use the Internet to show your films.) 4:00-4:50 Role-playing 101: So you want to play a game? (Basic role-playing technics that will help your gaming be more enjoyable, and make you a better player.) Copyright and the writer (What you as a writer need to know about copyright laws and your responsibility) 5:00-5:50 Music in SF&F (The role of music in science fiction and fantasy media) Arthur C. Clark and 2001: a look back (A look at Clark's _2001_ from the perspective of the year 2001.) 6:00-6:50 Networking for writers: how to do it and does it work? (What the writer needs to know about networking, what to do, what to avoid. How to make it work for you.) The best science fiction and fantasy for children and young adults (A look at the best science fiction and fantasy books for children and young adults.) 700-9:00 Reception (a grand reception for all guests, participants, and attendees.) Friday, March 2, 2001 10:00-10:50 From Apollo to the Space Shuttle and beyond: postulating the future of space travel (Where space travel may be headed, and where it can go.) From Captain Underpants to Harry Potter: Writing Children's and YA Novels (A look at the growth of science fiction and fantasy books for kids. Why they're so popular, and why they're so well written.) 11:00-11:50 Main Address: Tracy Hickman FOUGHT LIKE DRAGONS: SCI-FI FANTASY AND MORMON THOUGHT Noon-12:50 Playing Games as a way to get story ideas (games that can help you write, how they can help you write, and if they should be used to help you write.) Roddenberry's legacy: Star Trek and Beyond (A look at the Star Trek series, Earth, Final Conflict, and Adromeda. Also, what lies ahead for Roddenberry) 1:00-1:50 What you need to look for when you edit (Tips, tricks, etc. To help you edit your own work better.) Role-playing: Being a good player (tips and tricks) 2:00-2:50 FOUNDATIONS OF STORY (Tracy Hickman) SF&F on the stage: How to make it work and do you want to? (Science fiction and fantasy on the stage, in parody, musical, etc.) 3:00-3:50 Reality is in the details: It's the little things in your story that make it memorable (the details we often miss when we write that add depth and flavor to your story) Tricks to making your own movies (programs that work, techniques, tips and tricks to making your own movie look better.) 4:00-4:50 From dry fact to drama: using both fact and fiction in alternate histories and historicals (how to blend both fact and fiction into a seamless whole to create a good story) Music in SF&F Films: A characteristic sound? (It has been said that SF&F soundtracks have no characteristic sound. Dr. Perry gives his view of this, with illustrations.) 5:00-5:50 How to tell a good ghost story (How you tell the story is as important as the story itself. Tips to telling a ghost story that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats) writing to a deadline (how to make the deadline, set goals, work to meet a deadline) CYOW RPG: Creating a believable and fun world in which to role play 6:00-6:50 Writing fantasy for the LDS market Marketing your screenplay/play 7:00-7:50 DragonComet writing contest award ceremonies Cabaret 8:00-9:30 Fantasy and Medieval Fashion show Saturday, March 3, 2001 8:00-10:00 Killer Breakfast: Star Bores Episode II with Tracy Hickman 10:00-10:50 Historical perceptions of magic The Pirate Panel: Pirates in SF&F 11:00-11:50 Main Address: Harry Turtledove Noon-12:50 The heart of darkness: How dark should your villains be? Anime: The joy of Japanese Animation 1:00-1:50 Q&A: Harry Turtledove Live or Die: The Players' Guide to Guerilla Dungeoing 2:00-2:50 Reading: Harry Turtledove Creating story ideas: Where to look and tools to help Putting it together: The little things your costume needs to succeed 3:00-3:50 Web publishing: Where to do it and why? Space Education Center presentation Creating your own Jedi costume 4:00-4:50 Diction, Dialog and Dialect: Is how your character speaks as important as what they say? Evil reformed: The new anti-hero in SF&F Media (Forever Knight, Angel, Xena, etc.) 5:00-5:50 Casting call: blending fictional and historical characters in your novel Makeup demo Star Wars Episode 2: Separating fact from fiction 6:30-8:00 Medieval Banquet (tickets required) Sponsored by the Quill and the Sword 8:00-9:00 Charity Auction (All welcome. Donations appreciated.) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 15:14:55 -0700 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Linda Paulson ADAMS, _Prodigal Journey_ (Review) Annette Lyon wrote: > My problem with the miracle scene is rather personal. As a writer, I feel > very hesitant to put words into God's mouth or "make" him do anything. To do > so feels rather pompous--a creator (artist) telling the Creator what to do. You're not telling the Creator what to do. You are writing a piece of fiction. The Creator is under no obligation to listen to you. I'm sure he realizes that the healing scene is exactly that, a scene meant to inspire and nothing more. > How can any of us really _know_ what Christ would say or do? While I have no > problem with authors inventing dialogue for historical figures (like Joseph > Smith, where we can find significant documentation to wager a decent guess), > I cannot use the same standard for diety. A fiction writer, imo, can put any words in the mouth of any being, divine or otherwise, if it suits the dramatic purpose. > In other LDS books (not in Linda's), I have cringed at certain answers to > prayers the characters have, because I feel that God would _never_ have > answered that way. Yet above you wonde who anyone would ever know what the Lord would say. If that's the case, then why can't one writer's opinion of a divine response be as valid as anyone else's. > One book in particular by a very popular writer had a > such an answer. I felt it flew in the face of everything the Church teaches, > yet it was portrayed as coming straight from above. Perhaps that's one > reason I enjoy Fantasy so much--it's easier to put words into a god-like > character's mouth, and be a step removed from the "real" thing. But you ARE a step removed from the real thing by the mere fact of writing a story. All stories, even realisic ones, are basically of the fantasy genre, anyway, because they didn't really happen. > (I'm > recalling something Scott Parkin said on the fantasy panel at the Mormon > Writer's Conference, which I totally agreed with.) > > For me, the miracle scene would have been more comfortable had the healer > been an angel--anyone, from Moroni to Michael to one we've never heard > of--rather than Christ himself. That would have created a distance. Maybe > I'm a bit odd here, but that's why I I think that's why I disliked the scene > so much. I disliked the scene but for an entirely different reason. I found it gratuitous. Thom - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 17:28:37 -0600 From: Linda Adams Subject: Re: [AML] Linda Paulson ADAMS, _Prodigal Journey_ (Review) Thank you, Annette, D. Michael, and Katie, for your commentary on Jackie. All very useful stuff, that probably could've been caught and cleaned up if I'd had Worldsmiths to take it to last summer. :-) In my mind she's more 3-D than she came out in print. In fact, I never saw her as "plain evil," myself, as much as not right for Peter, sad, misguided and in need of salvation. It's helpful to have your response, because I see that what I hoped to communicate didn't come through at all. An interesting piece of trivia here--would you like to know why Jackie makes a video? Each of the chapter headings has a definite recorded "source," if you look through it. They're from journals, books, notes, tape recordings, etc. A few of them, such as the heading where Jackie invites herself in to the guy's apartment (also the water pipeline one, and a conversation or two with Victor/Gerome), didn't have any source. The publisher asked that, for the sake of consistency, I come up with one. So that conversation got recorded on "video." I like the consistency factor; but I didn't like how it made the whole scene just... worse. Oh well. I appreciate Annette's response to this, too: At 07:51 PM 2/27/01, you wrote: >How can any of us really _know_ what Christ would say or do? That's true; we can't. Yours is a perfectly valid opinion and I won't argue with that. We've had similar discussions on the List before regarding the "Cowboy Jesus" in _The Backslider_ (which I've yet to read). All I can say is I tried very hard to make sure everything he said and did was at least "in character," meaning, it's not things I felt he would not or could not do given the circumstances. I find "mileage varies" depending on each reader's personal frame of reference and personal experiences. This portrayal is how I see him, reaching out to the one lost sheep. ... Still, it was much harder than writing the characterization of Satan (as the Caretaker), I can tell you that! BTW, nobody had a problem with Satan making personal appearances in the book...? Just the Savior? I find that odd. I felt strange enough not giving the two equally-weighted scenes, at least. Haven't heard any complaints about that yet. Anyway, thank you all for the discussion, I'm learning from this and it's good. Linda Linda Adams adamszoo@sprintmail.com http://home.sprintmail.com/~adamszoo - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 16:36:39 -0700 From: Lee Allred Subject: [AML] ALLRED Story Reading Just back from sunny Saudia Arabia, I will be reading a new sf short story of mine at the BYU sf symposium, March 1st (Thurs) at 4 pm, ELWC 3252. The story is titled "Hymnal" and, in light of a recent list thread, is not only an apocolyptic Mormon story, but a 8 trillion years from now heat-death of the universe Mormon story. The story assesses the impact of Tennyson, the Book of Job, and the 1950 ed. LDS hymnal on the end of existance. Lee Lee Allred leea@sff.net www.leeallred.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 17:26:27 -0700 (MST) From: katie@aros.net Subject: Re: [AML] Linda Paulson ADAMS, _Prodigal Journey_ (Review) Quoting "D. Michael Martindale" : > Have sleeping around be a real weakness > for > her that she's done for a long time and is trying to overcome and > feels > horrible about not succeeding yet. That would make her more > sympathetic, > rather than her current belligerent attitude toward chastity. She > could > feign a belligerent attitude for her friends so she doesn't feel like > a > prude in front of them, as long as you make it real clear it's a front > and not her true feelings. This could strengthen the poignancy of her > hope that marrying Peter will help her overcome her promiscuousness, > since the reader won't believe it will succeed--especially with the > deception she surrounds it with. > > I think a person like her would obey the Word of Wisdom. She's already > got a nasty weakness of the flesh, so she compensates by strictly > obeying a commandment in another area of the flesh. > > Then make her very pleasant with Peter, so we are torn between liking > how well they go together and how her secret life makes us want Peter > to > run as far from her as he can. > I like this idea--it takes us from the realm of "she's bad, so she does bad things" to a real human with real weaknesses. My first reaction would have been to continue to keep the reader from sympathizing with Jackie, but I like this idea, or something like it. Why not let the reader sympathize with her and her struggles (just a little), as long as it becomes clear to the reader that this is a situation that Peter needs to get out of? But that was another thing that I felt was missing from Jackie's character--I don't remember her having any real reason for wanting to marry Peter. She's so demanding and so bent on getting her way, it seems that there should be something major she's going to get out of being married. But except for the ring, I don't remember anything. And at the same time, after she's married, she's going to have a much harder time living the lifestyle that she's used to. You'd think this would bother her. Apparently she's about as smart as Peter is when it comes to these things-- :) I did like that last chapter, though, where her antics come to light and they break their engagement. I thought that was handled believably, and Jackie even seemed likable in the first part and somewhat repentant in the second part. - --Katie Parker - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 19:01:16 -0800 (PST) From: William Morris Subject: Re: [AML] A Mormon Criticism - --- Annette Lyon wrote: > Are there any criticisms based on other religions? > From my BYU years I > remember all the different critical theories, but I > don't recall anything > Jewish-based, Buddhist-based, etc. The other only > group I can think of that > has its own criticism is African-American, but > Mormons hardly count for that > type of ethnic group. So is there any precedent for > wanting a Mormon > criticism? I think this is a really interesting question, Annette, and one that needs to be asked. It's caused my little mind to whir a bit and so while I don't have a definitive answer to your question, I do have some thoughts on the issue. Certainly if I think about critical theories that are labeled as such, it doesn't seem like there is a strong precedent for a Mormon criticism. But if I think about criticism that is done on particular authors, it becomes clear to me that some of the most successful criticism is not that which takes a particular set of heuristic tools and applies them to any random text, but rather one that is demanded by both the author and the critic. For example, I think some of the most intersting criticism on Franz Kafka (now there's a writer who's been subjected to every brand of theory possible) looks at his work in the context of the Jewish tradition----of the Kabbalah, Midrash commentary, the folklore of the great Rabbis, etc. Or to bring up an author commonly cited as an example par excellence for Mormon authors---the criticism I have read on Flannery O'Connors works is forced on some level to deal with the Catholic view of grace. This is perhaps why I think Terry Jeffress writes in an earlier post: "I don't think we have a body of quality Mormon literature large enough to justify a unique school of Mormon critical thought." Faith-based (if i can reappropriate a term) criticism happens because it is needed, because an author or many authors create works that demand it. In his reply to Travis, Terry also brings up the notion of canon: "In a sense we already have a standardized Mormon criticism. Since a Mormon critical perspective would basically apply the canon of the church to the text, the canon of the church becomes the urtext by which all other texts must achieve their value. For the church to canonize a work then becomes the ultimate compliment in the Mormon criticism." I wonder if this also complicates the idea of a Mormon criticism (i.e. beyond the absence of a body of works that demand one) because, as far as I know, Mormonism is the one religion that has appeared after the rise of literature and print culture that also has significant, scriptural, canonized texts. I know that other 'new' religions have their own sacred texts (does _Dianetics_ count?), but I know of none that make the claims, have the influence and are quite as canonical as the standard works. Yes, we graft into the Judeo-Christian tradition, and yes, the _Book of Mormon_ is an ancient text, but it's reception (along with the other canonical works) happens at the same time as the rise of the novel. So perhaps our tradition is too enmeshed in the current history of literature while at the same time paradoxically too close to the urtext (in its appearance--not time of writing) for us to expect the same sort of criticism and literary history/trajectory that other traditions have. So perhaps we shouldn't be looking to other religious traditions for models of literary criticism, but rather newer 'ethnic' literary traditions. I'm not sure what those traditions would be. The one I'm familiar with is the Romanian one (yea, I served a mission there), but I haven't come up with any precise analogs---except for an anxiety about how each fits into a larger tradition (the Romanians obsess over the question of whether they are European or not) and at the same time a concern about identifying what parts of their culture are unique, homegrown. ~~William Morris __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! 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