From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #408 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 30 2001 Volume 01 : Number 408 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 20:50:24 -0700 From: "Jeff Needle" Subject: [AML] Jennie HANSEN, _The River Path_ (Review) Review ====== Jennie Hansen, "The River Path" 2000, Covenant Communications Paperback, 240 pages, $13.95 Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle "The River Path" is Hansen's eighth work of fiction for the LDS market. Reading the blurb on the back cover does not do justice to the book's complex and intriguing plot. When Matt Bingham, a cradle Mormon, chose to marry Dana Dalby, a recent convert, neither set of parents could make sense of the situation. When Dana joined the Church, her parents completely disowned her. Matt's parents, solid Latter-day Saints, had wished their son Matt would have married a woman more mature in the faith, better able to raise their children in the Gospel. A strong sense of tension -- Dana's alienation from her parents because of her decision to become a Mormon, Matt's family because of his choice of a wife -- dominates the early part of the book and creates a tension so thick you'd need a knife to cut through it. In the case of Matt's family, he, his brothers and his father work together in a construction business, and the family remains close despite their doubts about Dana. Matt and Dana's son, Joshua, becomes ill will a disease that will require a bone marrow transplant if he is to have any chance of surviving. The best bet would be a close family member, but none of the tests on Matt's family yield a close enough match. It remains for Dana's family to rescue the child from certain death - -- the family that disowned their daughter and refuses to talk with her. Matt's mother travels to California to try to convince a family member to be tested, and there sees a work of art produced by Dana reflecting her understanding of Lehi's dream of the Tree of Life. Dana had told the family of her family's total distancing of themselves from her, but no one is prepared for either the depraved condition of her father or the shocking selfishness of her mother. The title, "The River Path," comes from the painting just mentioned. In this painting, Matt's mother sees deeply into the soul of her daughter-in-law, an awakening that will affect not just her view of Dana, but also of herself and her own narrow way of thinking. A secondary plot emerges as the family business is attacked by an unknown assailant, out to bring the business down. There are plenty of suspects; it only lacks plenty of clues. Each of the major characters finds his or her way along "The River Path," coming to terms with their shortcomings, renewing their commitment to family and to the Gospel. This book is very well written. Characterizations are crisp and realistic, from the evil Mr. Dalby to the delightfully daffy Home Teacher who visits Dana as she keeps watch over her son in the hospital. Just when you think you have it all figured out, Hansen throws in a plot twist that sends you back to square one. In the end, the pieces come together in a satisfying way. There are some points of discontinuity that are puzzling. One that comes to mind involves Matt's decision to purchase cell phones for himself and for Dana. Having delivered the phone to her, she soon finds herself needing to make a call. She runs to a phone booth, finds it busy, and goes looking for another one. No explanation is given as to why she couldn't just use her cell phone. Another instance -- reference is made to a cave-in at a construction site, a query as to whether the cause had been determined. I may have missed it, but I didn't find any reference to a cave-in prior to this question being asked. Again, I may have just missed it. "The River Path" is a fine example of what Mormon fiction, addressed to a wide audience, can be. It avoids being preachy, but manages to teach solid values. Without being overly-melodramatic, Hansen delivers well-written scenes of intimacy and hungry love. I liked this book very much. I have in my stack her next book, and look forward to diving into it. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 14:16:14 -0600 From: "Paris ANDERSON" Subject: [AML] re: Mission of Mormon Letters? Something about this list is disturbing. I really like knowing there = are other people out there--somewhere--who are like me. I really like = everyone's opinions, but it bothers me to read that there should be a = "mission" to my writing. I already went on a mission. I've got kids = now. Now is the time to be happy. Anything beyond "have a good time" = is going to lead to preachiness, which was the downfall of Mormon = literature of the 70's. Be happy! Learn to love something. Write in a = way that will cause you to be happy. Even if the subject matter is dark = or disturbing if you love something happiness will come from it. (At = least, that;s what I tell myself.) Maybe that is a "mission" of sorts. Paris Anderson - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 15:17:34 -0700 From: "???n ??e" Subject: RE: [AML] Sex in Literature John Williams brings up an interesting point, which leads me to a question. I agree that there is a difference between vividly portrayed sex in film and vividly portrayed sex in literature, and that literature is a safer place for it. In modern times, however, a very popular novel will likely result in a popular film, and the sex scenes in the novel will end up in the film. I haven't seen _Jerry Maguire_, and I have no plans to see it. Another film with a very graphic, if distant sex scene that I did see was _The Name of the Rose_ from the novel by Umberto Eco. I did not read the novel, but have to believe that the scene in the movie must have come from the book, given the importance of the scene to the title. It would reveal a bit of conceit to write a novel with a movie sale in mind, I suppose, but if novels are the safe place for sex and movies are not, wouldn't a Mormon author want to bear in mind that whatever sex he puts into a novel may end up graphically portrayed in a film? This is an important question to me as I write about sexually-charged topics in my novel doing my best to avoid vivid portrayals. I can succeed in the written word, but if anyone were to make a movie out of it, I'd feel like a pornographer. I'm not even counting on being published much less making a movie sale, but I have decisions to make. Rex Goode _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 18:48:19 -0400 From: "Debra L. Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN News Briefs: Kent Larsen News Briefs In the News Today: Ryan Shupe and Rubberband Record 'Live' CD: BYU NewsNet 25Jul01 A2 Ryan Shupe and Rubberband Record 'Live' CD PROVO, UTAH -- The LDS bluegrass band Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band released a new live album June first titled "Live" which is only available at their concerts. The band, which was called the "Dave Matthews Band gone bluegrass" by MTV.com, has changed somewhat since its previous album, with the addition of Bart Olson on drums and Jeremy Nielsen on bass. Its new CD draws on previously unreleased material, recorded at two sold-out shows February 2-3 at the Junction Theater in Ogden, including a nine-minute version of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and a version of "Rainbow Connection" that leads into "Banjo Boy." The group sold over 16,000 copies of their first two albums, and also appeared in the film "God's Army" performing "Go To Hell." Band records "Live" sound on CD BYU NewsNet 25Jul01 A2 http://newsnet.byu.edu/index.cfm?story=32081 By Jared Johnson: NewsNet Staff Writer >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/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 16:02:19 -0700 (PDT) From: "R.W. Rasband" Subject: [AML] LaBute Quoted in Maureen Dowd's Column The highly amusing "New York Times" columnist Maureen Dowd wonders, in this summer of Gary Condit, if all men are dogs and talks to BYU alum Neil LaBute about it. Here are the relevant quotes and a link to the entire article: > > I called the men-are-dogs maestro, Neil LaBute, who > has done two > movies and a recent New Yorker short story exploring > the subject. I > told him about the new HBO series and asked the > director, who's in > London shooting a movie of the novel "Possession," > if men and women > have stopped evolving. Are these stale stereotypes > of married men, > pining all day for office assistants and interns and > shopgirls and > computer girls and redheads who walk by in airports, > true? > > Men, he replies, are "the gender I would trust > second. If > scientists stumble onto a third gender, there's > definitely a chance > of slippage" by women away from men. > > He acknowledged that men are drawn to the > "unknowability" of new > conquests, even if it's just in fantasy. > "Undeniably, we've gotten > to a place where we're more aware of how each gender > operates," he > says. "But I sense that it's like some kind of > animal that's been > caught and trained. There's still that sort of > feeling when one > hears that cry of the pack, going to the edge of the > fence and > looking out and thinking: `Those were the great > days. What > happened? Where did it all go wrong?' " > > The man in his New Yorker story is humiliated by a > girl he flirts > with in the airport when she discovers he's there > with his wife and > kids. But the embarrassment is no match for the > beast. As the girl > walks away from the family, Mr. LaBute writes, the > man thinks to > himself: " `She wants me. She wants me. I know > she wants > me.' " > > It's that simple. > > http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/25/opinion/25DOWD.html?ex=997198656&ei=1&en=ae98237c179fd149 > ===== R.W. Rasband Heber City, UT rrasband@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 22:40:13 -0700 From: harlowclark@juno.com Subject: Re: [AML] GAs in Church Pubs (July 27, 01) I was on vacation and I foolishly took my computer with me thinking I might be able to use it at my sister-in-law's house, and when I plugged it in over at her son's furniture store I got Data Error Reading Drive C. Finally got back into Widoze (precursor to Orfanz), but Juno wouldn't recognize my modem though I could read old unread mail in my inbox, so I reinstalled Juno, and it still wouldn't, so I finally reinstalled the Wind'sEye #98. Found this message while I was rummaging through old stuff and wrote the following, which languished in my drafts folder until I got Juno to recognize my modem today. On Fri, 29 Jun 2001 13:47:49 -0500 James Picht writes: > Thom Duncan wrote: > > > My cynical opinion would be, yes, [GAs] would get published even > > if their fiction was dreadful. Does anyone really think, for instance, > > that "I Believe in Christ" would have ever seen the inside of the > > LDS hymnbook if it hadn't been written by Bruce R. McConkie? > The hymnbook is a somewhat different beast. Every ward buys them, > whether they contain hymns by McConkie or not, and McConkie's > hymn inclusion seems almost an example of vanity-press printing > rather than the market-driven acceptance his SF trilogy would > have received (had he ever finished it). It's actually a way for the Church to emphasize the importance of writing poetry. My father spent a couple of hour talking with Robert Cundick, long-time Tablenicker organist and my cousin Lori's father-in-law, and came away convinced that the most important pomes we can write are hymns, pomes of praise. I've always thought Bro. Cundick must have had the same conversation with the 12, seeing how many GAs wrote hymns for the 1985 hymn book. If creative work is so important that even Church leaders are asked to create work, maybe we should follow their example. Harlow S. Clark ________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 00:59:00 -0400 From: "Debra L. Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN Bestsellers: Kirn's "Up in the Air" Makes Lists: Kent Larsen 27Jul01 US NY NYC A4 Bestsellers: Kirn's "Up in the Air" Makes Lists NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- After a month-long hiatus for logistical reasons, Mormon News' bestseller lists have returned to find that former LDS Church member Walter Kirn's most recent book, "Up in the Air" has just appeared on several major bestseller lists. The book is a satiric look at modern business culture. Meanwhile, on the LDS Bestseller list, titles don't seem to have shifted much. Kathleen H. Barnes and Virginia H. Pearce's "Prayer Time" board book has jumped onto the list in the 4th spot while Beneath the Surface by Jeni Grossman and Hearts in Hiding by Betsy Brannon Green have also joined the list. Of course, bestseller lists don't usually have many changes during the summer, which is a slow time for bookstores, as they await the arrival of new titles for the fall season. In the LDS market, booksellers will only find out about the new titles at next month's LDS Booksellers convention. The current titles on US National bestseller lists are: Up in the Air, by Walter Kirn Satiric novel about a man's attempt to accumulate 1 million frequent flier miles, working in the airborne world he claims to inhabit, Airworld. The man, a management consultant who fires people for a living, embarks on his final trip to accumulate the millionth mile, only to find himself faced with an evil nemesis and discover that someone has stolen his identity, assuming control of his credit cards and, of course, his frequent flier miles. Currently on the following bestseller lists: This Last List 2 - Amazon.com (July 27) Fiction Hardcover 32 - New York Times (July 27) Fiction Hardcover 11 - Wordsworth Independent (July 24) Fiction Hardcover The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey This ten-year-old personal management classic is still selling strongly. Currently on the following bestseller lists: This Last List 25 - Amazon.com (July 27) Non-Fiction Paperback 65 - Barnes & Noble Top (July 27) Top 100 7 - New York Times (July 8) Paperback Business 150 - USA Today (July 27) 5 - Wall Street Journal (July 20) Business Bestsellers in LDS Bookstores: This Last Title 1 - The First 100 Temples by Chad S. Hawkins Deseret Book 2 - Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes by Gordon B. Hinckley Three Rivers Pr 3 - Expressions of Faith by Greg Olsen Deseret Book 4 - Prayer Time by Kathleen H. Barnes and Virginia H. Pearce; Illustrated by Dilleen Marsh Deseret Book 5 - Beneath the Surface by Jeni Grossman Covenant Communications 6 - The Book of Mormon for Latter-day Saint Families by Thomas R. Valletta Deseret Book 7 - Missionary Reference Library Set Deseret Book 8 - Hearts in Hiding by Betsy Brannon Green Covenant Communications 9* - Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley by Gordon Bitner Hinckley Deseret Book 9* - The Promise of Discipleship by Neal A. Maxwell Deseret Book 11 - The Message by Lance Richardson American Family Publishing/Origin Book Sales 12 - Children's Songbook Words and Music (CD) Church Distribution 13* - Women of Destiny (CD) Deseret Book 13* - A Quiet Heart by Patricia T. Holland Deseret Book 15 - The Kingdom and the Crown by Gerald N. Lund Shadow Mountain * Indicates tie LDS Books rankings reflect sales rankings at approximately 50 LDS bookstores, generally in the Western United States. Mormon News is actively seeking to expand both the quality of these rankings and the number of stores participating. Bookstores and other vendors of LDS books are urged to contact Mormon News at editor@mormonstoday.com to participate. >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/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 02:18:30 -0400 From: "Debra L. Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Fw: MN Upcoming Mormon Events: Kent Larsen 26Jul01 E4 To the list: (this is about that really long post about upcoming Mormon events) Glad there was finally something I felt I could do to contribute to the list and sorry for the way the first few posts came through, that problem is fixed now. I probably could have edited this one down a bit, but I wasn't sure how much freedom I had considering it wasn't mine to begin with. My reasoning on the Church catagory was that pageants are plays, therefore, keepers. I didn't notice the devotional or genealogy conference ones, otherwise, I would have chopped those out. Looking through the Lectures, Symposia and Workshops, I should have chopped alot! Sorry. As for the BYU Touring group.......your call on that. I probably should have deleted the Singles and Youth and Miscellaneous stuff, but thought if it wasn't kosher, Jonathon would have taken it out, so its his fault! As for the value, its nice to see what is going on in the rest of the world (granted that obviously all the interesting stuff is mostly in Utah) and what I am missing out on by living in the mission field. Anyway, as I go along, I am sure I will improve. Can I blame carpal tunnel surgery? Debbie Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 10:48:48 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Mission of Mormon Letters? Hey, this is one of the best AML letters I have ever seen! I can't believe it! Somebody is STANDING FOR SOMETHING. Bravo! I commend you! I am so proud of you, Terri. You didn't make money. No money is worth being successful with some of the garbage I see on the national market. I have the same questions as we go through the hundreds of manuscripts we recieve from national writers here at Cedar Fort. What are we going to publish? Of course you need the money, but I would rather STAND FOR SOMETHING. And it wouldn't be exploitation or possible misunderstanding. I'm not saying the seamy side can't be there (it is in the scriptures for what it is--the Bible and the Book of Mormon, etc.). But perhaps it can just be dealt with in a way that only presents it as the opposition, and doesn't give us the details or how-tos until we titillate ourselves. I love this letter and I'm going to keep it. Cheers! Marilyn Brown - ----- Original Message ----- From: Terri Reid > For the past eight months or so, my sister and I have been co-writing a > novel. It started out as a suspense story about some women in Southern > Illinois who run an Underground Railroad that "moves" abused women from one > area of the country to another. [snip] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 11:15:00 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Mission of Mormon Letters? A very astute post, William. I'm so looking forward to your paper on this very subject in March, 2002. I've missed most of this discussion because the list wasn't coming in for two weeks. But I should have read your post and Melissa Profitt's post before I answered Terri. However, the truth remains the same: writers are SO DIFFERENT and what offends one will not offend another. And writers are artists. Of course there were many offended by Michael Angelo's David and the Sistine chapel. It's such a risk to say anything. However, I am reading manuscripts, and there are many that just don't tell a wonderful story, but include bad language and sex that are offensive. It's a judgment call. And I just hope all of us are watchful, like Terri. Marilyn Brown - ----- Original Message ----- From: William Morris > This sentiment--that nobody should be saying what > authors should be writing--seems to be fairly > widespread among Mormon writers and critics. I agree > that no one person can command the direction of Mormon > literature, and that the laissez faire approach makes > sense, especially in a culture that has very > discriminating tastes in art (in both the negative and > positive sense), but I think raising the 'should' kind > of questions are important for Mormon artists to > consider on a personal creative level. I'm not > convinced that letting the muse runs its course is > always the best idea---which leads me to the next > section below: [snip] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 11:18:34 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Sex in Literature Gae Lyn, I think part of it is political. You trust some work because you know from whence it came (by their fruits ye shall know them). Do you think that may be right? Marilyn Brown - ----- Original Message ----- From: Gae Lyn Henderson > I saw the Utah County "Clean Flicks" version. No sex at all in the movie. > Quite a number of bleeped words. A great story about materistic versus > personal values. > > I suspect that many AML listers might feel such external cutting defiles the > sacred realm of authorship and artistic vision. Maybe I ought to argue that > myself, after all I'm an English teacher and I just posted something about > the sexuality in Levi Peterson's work being morally valuable. BUT, because > it is Wednesday, and as the mother of six sons, I sometimes put on my > conservative Mormon mother persona and go for the edited version. In fact I > wouldn't have seen it otherwise. > > Now why do I do that? Training and lots of church talks? Am I more afraid > of visual representations of sex than written ones? Do I really think I can > protect my kids in this age of computer-available everything? Do I have a > split personality because of my culture? I love to read Eric Samuelson's > liberatory vision of see no evil in art. Why am I such a wimp about it > myself? Or am I just not (completely) corrupted yet? - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 12:52:15 -0600 From: Chris Grant Subject: Re: [AML] UDALL, _The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint_ (Review) Andrew Hall writes: [...] >It all has an Irving feel about it. In a good way. I've only read one book by John Irving: _A Prayer for Owen Meany_. Based on that limited information, I would agree that _Edgar Mint_ definitely has an Irving feel to it, but not just in good ways. Udall is clearly a talented writer who has written a powerful, moving novel, a novel that is filled with vulgar language and that contains explicit description of sexual activity. [...] >Edgar does not dwell on the slights he receives, but we see a >few of them, like the day he is called to stand before a >Sunday School class as a visual example of a cursed race. The teacher doesn't just identify the Lamanites as cursed. When Edgar is in front of the class, the teacher says: "Edgar here, in his own way, is a relic of those Book of Mormon times, . . . Out in the world they might call him an American Indian, but we know better. In truth he is as much a Lamanite as the prophet Samuel or King Lamoni." (Even this episode has sexual references that would violate AML-List guidelines if the full passage from the book were to be quoted here.) [...] >Still, the book certainly could offend a large swath of >Mormon readers with its graphic language (really not that >much, Everything's relative, I guess. In the first couple hundred pages of the book (before Edgar moves in with the Mormon family) there are, on average, every couple of pages words used that I think you still can't use on network television (unless you're Steven Spielberg). [...] >I hope readers can look beyond those things to the abundant >depth and beauty of the story. It is the kind of beauty that >Dostoyevsky talked about, that found in the grungiest of >circumstances. In the early part of the book, one of Edgar's benefactors says: "Lord help us this world is a horrible place." I think that at least the first part of the book makes a strong case that he's right. There is some brightening towards the end, but we are still left with the protagonist saying: "I can see no divine purpose behind the tangle of this existence, no ordering hand. It is all a mystery, or more accurately, a mess." Dostoyevsky is one of my favorite authors, and I do see beauty in the grunginess he portrays. Some of Udall's choices have made it harder for me to see the corresponding beauty in _Edgar Mint_. Chris Grant grant@math.byu.edu - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 23:39:13 -0700 From: Ruth Starkman Subject: Re: [AML] Sex in Literature I haven't much to say about the Sex in Literature thread, except that maybe my own preference (also being a mother of sons and probably because of upbringing) is for the less explicit in literature and esp. in film. But I do want to say that it makes very much sense to me that Gae Lyn Hendersen and John Williams would find Levi Petersen's writing morally valuable and potentially possessing equal or more cultural insights than some psychological or social scientific study. Several years back I stumbled across _The Backslider_ and, never having read _any_ LDS lit, I decided to read it in hope it might give me insight into Utah culture when I was preparing to teach at the U. It didn't take me very long to figure out it wasn't mainstream Mormon-readership stuff, but I thought it would be unfortunate if many people shied away from it for this reason. For me, the novel was moving, wonderfully written, and did tell me a lot about the meaning of temptation and shame for Mormons. I also happen to think it's one of the best American novels written in the last 20 years. This said, I'm sad to hear of Alan Mitchell's allergic response. I mean, isn't there room for both ends of the spectrum? - --Ruth Starkman (PS Welcome John Williams and good luck on your doc at Irvine!) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 14:03:51 -0600 From: Scott and Marny Parkin Subject: Re: [AML] Mission of Mormon Letters? Terry L Jeffress wrote: >I don't think any of these "Should we?" questions really help us >define the true and correct directions of Mormon literature, mainly >because Mormon literature doesn't really have a true and correct >direction as a whole, on a true and correct direction for individual >authors and readers. While I actually agree with your fundamental premise, I have to comment on one possible interpretation of your comment. I don't think anyone has the right to tell anyone else what a Mormon "ought" to write in the sense of telling them that this subject is fit and that subject is not, or that this detail is authentically Mormon where that one is not. But I do think we have a right (and a responsibility) to be careful readers and critics and to ask why certain kinds of stories are not being told, or why there seems to be an over-representation of another kind of story. We have a right to challenge both the authors and the publishers of LDS fiction to do more or different than they currently are, and to lodge both our approving and disapproving comments on what is currently being published. This is the essential dialog that literature creates between author and reader--a dialog that has largely been appropriated by Academia. Many authors want to shut that dialog down to a single direction--the author may pontificate to the reader and criticize anything he wants, but if the reader responds with criticism of their work or its apparent messages, then some horrible moral evil has occurred and the poor hapless author is being censored. But censoring the reader's thoughts is somehow okay. I'm not convinced that literature works under such a model. Many of our great books are comments by one author on things that another author had to say. In other words, dialog. Some of those responses have been vehement, vitriolic condemnations. Most of our major literary movements were an attempt by one group of people to comment on the failures or excesses of another group. So while I absolutely agree that it's neither useful nor right to try to establish some monolithic definition of what elements *THE* one and true orthodox Mormon story is composed of, I don't think there's anything at all wrong with readers expressing their opinions about how or why a story worked for them, or how and why it didn't. And I believe authors need to get a slightly thicker skin about those who would judge them unrighteously, because we will never escape such judgements in this life. Oddly, it seems that many Mormon authors can dish it out, but they can't take it. >Although this sounds like the broken record (skipping CD?) of writing >advice, you write what feels right to you for the story you want to >tell. I don't think that we should set out to write stories that have >real Mormons as characters unless that character makes sense in your >story. Couldn't agree more. We have to tell the stories that interest and engage us. At the same time, we also need to be willing to stretch and reach and take chances to tell *all* of the stories that interest us, not just the easy ones or the ones with more clearly identifiable market segments or target demographics. Many Mormons that have failed to tell Mormon stories could rise to the challenge of telling strongly Mormon stories that use their considerable talents to build a more powerful home literature. To date, I have failed to be engaged by the majority of Mormon novels that I've read, but recently I've been privileged to see more and more stories that do engage me. I think J. Scott Bronson's novel _The Whipping Boy_ is both a great Mormon story and a just plain great story of what it means to be a real person seeking to be like Christ. I believe that Mormons should read this powerful book, and I'm in the process of seeing what I can do to facilitate that. I've seen other books that I think stretch and expand our concept of what it is to be human and Mormon, and what it means to reconcile those two things. We are starting to publish--within the mainstream Mormon press--stories that sometimes look critically at our own racial history or that showcase non-standard visions of what it means to be Mormon. We need to do more of that. We need to unafraid of criticizing our culture or our assumptions or our conventions. But... We also need to be unafraid of telling stories that recognize the powerful truths and potential contained within our culture or assumptions or conventions. We need to be equally unafraid to praise that which is praiseworthy within our communities and our churches. We need to be willing to tell the stories of how our faith or community has sustained us, not just how they have failed us. We need to be willing to take a chance and reveal our own personal views of what it means to be Mormon and to strive and to hope--and sometimes to fail, but at other times to succeed. We need to constantly re-examine ourselves and learn to tell more and different stories that we tell now--including stories of our own culture. Mormons need to tell true stories that engage us as people. If your vision is to tell stories of non-denominational people, then tell those stories. But I would also like to see more of us tell stories of what it's like to be ourselves, as both people and Mormons. Does that mean that I think all Mormon authors *should* tell explicitly Mormon stories? No. But I would like Mormon authors to consider telling stories of ourselves. I would like them to think about Mormonness as a legitimate area of concern and exploration and to give it another chance as an area where they can tell real and powerful stories. I would like them to take a chance and actively expand their own concepts of what kinds of stories they want to write. I'd just like to see more Mormons consider Mormon stories as a legitimate outlet for their creative energies. Not a demand, but a desire. Because I believe that the talent exists right now to tell the most powerful stories of Mormonness and humanity that the world has ever seen--if only our talented people will consider telling stories of Mormons as well as stories of others. I believe that Mormon people are ready for another kind of literature, and that the Mormon market will soon provide sufficient rewards to make telling Mormon stories more than just a labor of love. Scott Parkin - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2001 12:29:29 EDT From: KGrant100@aol.com Subject: [AML] Re: Sex in Literature In a message dated 7/27/2001 1:07:50 PM Pacific Daylight Time, owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com writes: > > I must disagree strenuously. First of all, that wasn't just > > "explicit," it was practically pornography. > > There were plenty of other things that serve as a baseline > > for Jerry's character and even if you really really > > wanted to show his great resignation during sex there was > > no real need to get that > > graphic. It took me out of the story completely. > > > > Marianne Hales Harding Since I saw the cleaned-up version (I was still living in Utah at the time) and never saw the bedroom scene, I have to agree: there were plenty of other indications of Jerry's resignation or unwillingness to open his heart. Several come immediately to mind: the scene when his wife is watching video of the wedding, and also the scene where Jerry and his wife were out to dinner with the character played by Cuba Gooding, and his wife--the contrast between the two couples' relationships was poignant and telling. One reason I liked the movie so much was it illustrated how a relationship can be drained of vitality when one of the partners closes his or her heart, and how the relationship becomes alive again when those walls come down. IMHO, a graphic bedroom scene would have obscured rather than enhanced that insight. Kathy Grant - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2001 21:34:47 EDT From: Irreantum2@cs.com Subject: [AML] Angels Among Us Series [MOD: Thanks to Chris Bigelow for forwarding this announcement to the List.] Announcing Angels Among Us You are invited to get involved with a new book series scheduled to begin in= 2003: Angels Among Us. The AAU series is a series of life stories about the= real people in our communities who continually change others' lives for the= better. They are those like the people who, 100 years ago, our great-grandp= arents were taught to venerate: the heroes in our communities who all too of= ten today go unnoticed, overshadowed by today's superstar worship. Enders' F= amily Publishing is conducting a search for writers interested in penning th= ese true heroes' stories, putting into the limelight, finally, those who sho= uld never have been crowded from it. We need people to write about people. You need only two attributes in order to qualify to be an AAU author: 1) kno= wledge of someone whose life story should be pedestalized as an example to o= thers, and 2) the desire to write their story. If you think you may be interested in writing one of these true life stories= , please visit the EFP web site and learn how you can get involved. http://www.endersfamily.com The EFP web site includes as much of the information that will interest you=20= as we could think to include. The Authors and Agents section discusses submi= ssion guidelines as well as contract and copyright issues. The FAQ provides=20= answers to the questions most writers are bound to ask after reading through= the Authors and Agents section. You can also learn almost anything you migh= t want to know about EFP through other portions of the web site. Notice: The email list used for this announcement was generated via a web site searc= h using the keywords write, writer, writers, writing, author, authors, and a= uthoring. EFP generated this email list to target a specific audience and th= e list will be discarded following this one use. This list will not be sold=20= or shared with anyone for any reason prior to being erased from our files: w= e value your privacy. This is the first time we've used this technology. We're hoping that targeti= ng only those active enough in this industry to be found using such a specif= ic search method will pre-filter the enormous number of responses normally g= ained through traditional advertising methods. Best wishes, Dave Enders Owner, Enders' Family Publishing - - 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 #408 ******************************