From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #44 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 Saturday, May 20 2000 Volume 01 : Number 044 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 12:35:50 -0500 From: Linda Adams Subject: Re: [AML] Jesus on CBS Did anyone see the conclusion last night? What did you think? I felt the portrayal of Pilate was in error. But it was a new tangent of thought for me--that the Romans knew what they were doing and tried to turn the Jews against their own King, and succeeded, so in that way it was interesting to follow. I have never seen Pilate as nearly the villain the movie portrayed, though, as a politician who was literally stuck between a rock and a hard spot. I may be weird for this, too, but I found the crucifixion scenes to be much more realistic than any I have seen before and therefore more believable for me. Simply put, there was more blood. After such a terrible scourging (not to mention his previous bleeding in Gethsemane), it has always made sense to me that Jesus must have been terribly bloody. Other depictions I have seen are so sterile--you hardly get the impression this whole experience was *painful.* Yet it was. It was horrible. This was much more "real," therefore more moving for me. However I'll bet I'm in the minority on this point. (Many I know can't bear to watch through Church's "Lamb of God" video, which is fairly graphic also.) Am I odd for preferring the realism? For not closing my eyes? This thing, this atrocious, terrible thing, really happened, and He was willing to suffer it for me, and for all of us. I don't mind viewing a realistic account which brings home such a powerful reminder to me not to allow His suffering to be in vain. I only saw this part of the series, not the other two. But what do you think of the Gethsemane sequence, where Satan comes to tempt Jesus one last time to give up? I didn't see how they handle this in the previous temptations/40 days in the wilderness. It was a very different interpretation of what he experienced in Gethsemane, for certain. I thought it was interesting, if very incorrect on many points. I believe Jesus knew much more about his destiny and the effect of his ministry on the world. It was mildly disturbing to have it appear Satan knew "more" in some ways. But I fully appreciated Jesus' response to him about God allowing his children freedom to choose. The one moment that touched me the most was the scene in the tomb where Mary, his mother, pulls back the linen to wash her son's face. It was so poignant to see Mary doing this, bathing Jesus' face as she must have done so many times as an infant and as a little boy, when he had a fever or cold. It was utterly heartbreaking. Somehow the reality of such a moment, such a terrible and sorrowful moment for a mother, struck home to me. Anyway, I just wanted to comment, and see if anyone else out there had opinions. Linda Adams adamszoo@sprintmail.com http://members.xoom.com/adamszoo 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: Thu, 18 May 2000 16:05:39 From: Marilyn Brown Subject: Re: [AML] Getting Read at USF Great, Marianne! I'm glad you're offering this! Sincerely, Marilyn At 01:25 PM 5/17/00 MDT, Marianne Hales Harding wrote: > >PS For any budding playwrights between the ages of 10 and 15 who may be in >the Cedar City area, though, I am teaching several week-long playwriting >workshops for young writers throughout June that will culminate in a reading >by members of USF's acting company. If you're interested, drop me a line. >It is offered through SUU's continuing ed dept. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 16:13:20 From: Marilyn Brown Subject: Re: [AML] Depictions of Jesus You have a point, Scott! Our "true" religion and art may not mix as well as it will someday. But we'll KEEP WRITING! So GOOD! Marilyn Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 12:41:35 -0600 From: owner-aml-list@lists.xmission.com Subject: [none] aml-mag@lists.xmission.com>From famax@gte.net Thu May 18 18:51:15 2000 Received: from [207.115.153.22] (helo=smtppop3.gte.net) by lists.xmission.com with esmtp (Exim 2.12 #2) id 12sb0V-0006M0-00 for aml-list@lists.xmission.com; Thu, 18 May 2000 18:51:15 -0600 Received: from frankmax (1Cust229.tnt2.gilroy.ca.da.uu.net [63.17.134.229]) by smtppop3.gte.net with ESMTP for ; id TAA27107836 Thu, 18 May 2000 19:50:50 -0500 (CDT) Message-Id: <200005190050.TAA27107836@smtppop3.gte.net> From: "Frank Maxwell" To: "AML-List" Subject: Prophetic Protagonists & Doubt (WAS Re: [AML] Jesus on CBS) Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 17:50:07 -0700 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3 X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail 4.70.1161 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-aml-list@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To: aml-list D. Michael Martindale replied to Thom: > Thom Duncan: "Your implication being, I suppose, that this > [soul-searching and doubt] doesn't happen? Why do we think that > Prophets and Saviors are immediately and permanently converted with > never a shadow of doubt the rest of their days?" > > It's not that I think it never happens. It's that Hollywood and > television never seem to show anything else. It's a question of balance. > (My main complaint about Hollywood is not that they should never produce > a particular type of work, but that there is no balance in what they > produce. It's one-sided, bordering on propagandistic.) We never see the > powerful prophet of conviction, converted by the Spirit, that Peter and > the apostles displayed immediately after Pentecost. Oh, we'll see them > present that facade to "the masses," but alone to themselves, the > prophets are always and at every moment wracked with doubt. I think prophetic protagonists can exhibit at least three different types of doubt: 1. The doubt that they were indeed called by Deity to perform His work. 2. The doubt that they will measure up to the tasks they have given, or that they will succeed in their missions or callings, or that they are dealing with the particular person or challenge in front of them in the most effective way. 3. The doubt, at any given moment, that God will help them in the midst of their trials, when the heavens seem as brass. Thom seems to be talking about Doubt Categories 2 and 3. D. Michael -- or shall we call you Michael or Mike? -- you seem to be concerned about the overuse by "Hollywood" of Doubt Category 1. Do you have specific examples in mind? Or are you generalizing based on memory? For instance, I don't recall a problem with the old movie, "King of Kings". (I haven't seen this week's "Jesus" miniseries yet, but it's on tape waiting to be watched.) Doubt Category 2 is seen in many heroic protagonists, and, IMO, is not inappropriate for prophetic characters. Isn't this how many of us feel in our own callings? Isn't that how Nephi felt in 2 Nephi 4? The bigger dramatic -- and spiritual -- question is what does a character do with the doubt that he or she feels? Does he stay in his doubt, or does he wrestle with it? Does she surrender to the doubt, or does she find something to do - -- little or big -- to increase the prospects for a happy outcome? Regards, Frank Maxwell - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 18:25:58 -0700 From: "Frank Maxwell" Subject: Re: [AML] Depictions of Jesus J. Scott Bronson wrote: > I just finished writing a play about Jesus that has only three > characters; Jesus, Mary -- His mother, and Joseph. It takes place in a > tomb that Mary is cleaning for Joseph, who has recently passed away. In > conversation within the tomb, in flashbacks and a flashforward I > speculate on several aspects of the Savior's life and atonement. In > fact, the atonement occurs right on stage. As I was talking about this > play with a BYU theatre faculty member, he said, "Depictions of Christ > are risky. Audiences don't usually like that." So, I got the message > clearly that my play probably won't be done at BYU in the near future. > But, I think I handle the situation delicately and reverently enough for > an LDS audience. Interesting, Scott. What was the context of the BYU chap's comment? Was it an expression of the "realities of the marketplace", so to speak, with which he did not necessarily agree? Or was an expression of his own discomfort with the idea, phrased so as to impute the blame to the audience? Back in the 1970s, I was in a play at BYU which had the Savior as a character. The play, "Shepherd of the Lord", was performed in the Margetts Arena Theater, and was directed by Charles Whitman. I can't remember the author's name -- Beverly something?; she was in the theater faculty at the time. The protagonist was Simon Peter. I was just one of the extras; we extras appeared in two scenes dealing with the healing of the boy who was possessed. The boy was played by Orson Scott Card's little brother. Another Card brother portrayed Jesus, who appeared in many scenes, the play basically dealing with the relationship between Jesus and Peter. The cast wore Biblical-style robes. However, no attempts were made to simulate long hair on any man -- including Jesus. I wondered at the time whether the 20th-century, BYU-regulation haircuts on Jesus & apostles was going to backfire. But it didn't. It was a non-issue. The play was well-received by everyone who attended. (We sold out, too.) So I don't think it's impossible to dramatize the Savior for an LDS audience. It takes great artistry and skill, yes, and blessings from above, most assuredly. But it's not impossible. Regards, Frank Maxwell - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 19:04:36 -0700 From: "Frank Maxwell" Subject: [AML] WATKINS, _The Redrock Chronicles: Saving Wild Utah_ I found the following info in an advertisement on page 18 of the Ruminator Review (formerly Hungry Mind Review), Spring 2000 issue, Number One (53). Their website is www.ruminator.com. Does anyone know anything about the book or the author? Is he/she LDS? Is he/she from Utah? ****************** THE REDROCK CHRONICLES Saving Wild Utah [by] T. H. Watkins Center Books on Space, Place, and Time George F. Thompson, Series Founder and Director $24.95 paperback The Johns Hopkins University Press 1-800-537-5487 www.press.jhu.edu "The book is simply essential right now in Utah, a state where the debate over the vast but unprotected canyon country is loud and often uninformed. Watkins is the person for the job. The thesis is direct, wise, and profoundly field-based. Yes, we must protect this resource because we love it, because it is achingly beautiful, and because its destruction is ethically unacceptable." -- John B. Wright, author of _Rocky Mountain Divide: Selling and Saving the West_ and _Montana Ghost Dance: Essays on Land and Life_ *************** Regards, Frank Maxwell - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 22:18:18 -0600 From: "Jerry Enos" Subject: Re: [AML] Sexuality in LDS Lit (WAS: Depictions of Jesus) I agree Linda. I put sex, or at least the mention of it, in my story because it is part of the story of the marriage of the two main characters. It has to be implied, they end up with a baby. [Konnie Enos] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 13:56:32 -0500 From: Jonathan Langford Subject: [AML] Moderator note Folks, Just a reminder that all posts should be signed with first and last name (unless both names appear at the top of the message, and it's a short message). Addressing each other by name is an important part of the culture of the list. When names aren't signed, I sometimes will supply the name in brackets--but there's a broad potential for embarrassment there, especially if the person whose name appears in the e-mail address isn't the person writing the post. Thanks. Jonathan Langford AML-List Moderator - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 07:25:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Edgar Snow Subject: [AML] swim wear in Mormon literature I'm working on a humor piece called "Mormon Evolution." I need some help from a female BYU grad or student. Does the female swimsuit issued by the Smith Field House still have pants legs attached at the bottom? If not, when did they disappear? I need the approximate date for this evolutionary adaptation. Incidentally, while searching my LDS CD-ROM I also came across a possible thesis or dissertation topic: "Swimming, Skinny-Dipping and Swimsuits in Doug Thayer's Fiction and Essays" (I'm nearly serious about this). I think half of the hits from my searches came from Thayer's fiction and essays. I recall "Under the Cottonwoods" had swimming motifs. 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, 19 May 2000 05:17:11 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Fallible Prophetic Characters Thom Duncan: "Showing a Joseph Smith or Brigham Young without some weakness they held in common with the rest of us would make them too inaccessible, imo, for most audiences. We wouldn't necessarily have to show them as doubting their calling, but a screenwriter who wanted the audience to remember his character after they leave the theatre would have to add something accessible to his character. This is what I think the producers of the Jesus series tried to do." This sentiment I agree completely with. And I applaud the series for attempting such an approach while still maintaining the divinity of Christ, even though I would have done many things much differently than they did (as if that comes as any surprise). But there is one point that needs to be remembered: in some ways, Jesus _is_ inaccessible to us. He was partly divine by heritage, and he has achieved the status of being able never to sin. None of us have achieved either state of existence. To a lesser degree, prophets who have developed a certainty over their divine calling are inaccessible to most people who have never experienced such a thing. There are two possible approaches to making such people accessible to us in art. We can downplay the divinity/conversion, or we can acknowledge those things as facts and show what such a person might really be like in the real world. I prefer the latter, because it is more truthful, and because it is more interesting. I am already familiar with how non-divine, self-doubting humans are--depressingly familiar. But I am fascinated with how a real flesh-and-blood god or completely converted prophet might act as either one interacts with the realities of corrupt mortal life. Therefore any work of art that shows the former instead of the latter does not interest me. - -- 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: Fri, 19 May 2000 05:03:07 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Sexuality in LDS Lit Linda Adams: "Why is it we aren't more open about this subject?" This has bothered me even long before I joined AML-List and let you liberal thinkers corrupt my opinions. I would phrase it in my usual sarcastic way: Never once have I heard the law of chastity defined as: "Thou shalt pretend sex does not exist." Nor have I heard an equally common attitude expressed in any definition: "Thou shalt be ashamed of thy body." I believe shame and secrecy has been used to teach chastity because it's an easy out. Being a parent whose daughter is just entering the terrifying jungle of adolescence (terrifying for the parents, anyway) I can relate to the desire to use any and all means possible to protect her from the dangers out there. Since I can't be with her every minute to protect her from the predators (whether flesh and blood or abtract concepts), I would like to build as strong a shield around her as I can. Shame and secrecy seem to be good, solid, easily-erected shields for the law of chastity. But there are two problems with this approach. One, it often doesn't work. Two, the cure can be as bad as the disease. The shield only has a chance of working if the child whom it is intended to protect cooperates. Since the shield is actually built out of questionable propaganda, its effectiveness requires the gullibility of the child. Any skepticism on the part of the child and the shield backfires, as the natural rebelliousness and curiosity of the adolescent asserts itself. Even if the shield does work, it is useful only through the period of adolescence. Of what value is shame and secrecy over sex and one's body to a married person? The propaganda can then become destructive to the marital relationship as a glorious power and blessing of God and the equipment necessary to use it--all of which is to enhance the marital relationship as much as to co-create mortal souls with God--is thought of as dirty and shameful. How can wholesome sexual relations thrive between married partners in such an environment? How can youth just becoming fascinated by the entire subject ever receive a wholesome education about it in such an environment? One other destructive consequence of the shame-and-secrecy approach is the utter lack of trust it shows in our children. Taking this approach is tantamount to admitting that you don't trust your children to choose correctly when taught correct principles. I think the most neglected teaching of Joseph Smith in the church is to teach correct principles and let people govern themselves. I think it's neglected to our detriment. I like to compare sex to the priesthood, another sacred power of God given to humanity. If we treated the priesthood like we do sex, we would teach our boys that using the priesthood is dirty and that it's shameful to talk about holding the priesthood. Modesty would require that we pretend the priesthood does not exist in polite conversation. Such an approach might protect some boys from abusing the priesthood, but would the resulting church-wide attitude toward the priesthood be worth the price? And with this lengthy, disconcertingly near-off-topic sermon, I will boldy express what I believe it means to us LDS authors: To perpetuate this attitude of shame and secrecy toward sex in our literature would be a sin. To help our fellow members come to see that acknowledging and discussing sex can be a positive thing is a noble mission. Because some of our fellow members would not see it that way does not excuse us from doing the right thing. Of course, disagreeing with me on what the right thing is _would_ be a good excuse for not following my prescription. And with that I turn the time over to those of you chomping at the bit to disagree with me. - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com [MOD: I second Michael's invitation to discuss the broad ramifications of how sexuality ought to be depicted in LDS literature.] ================================== 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: Fri, 19 May 2000 07:07:24 -0700 From: "lynn gardner" Subject: RE: [AML] Sexuality in LDS Lit Scott Bronson wrote : But if an LDS writer were to write just as fine a story with some of the same raciness, well ... that's simply not allowed... LInda Adams replied: But IMO sexuality is a basic part of human life, part of having a body, and when used in the appropriate circumstances (marriage), a darned fine part... Thankfully I have not had to remove anything or sidestep issues necessary to characterization or the plot, and it's still going to be marketed in LDS bookstores. Linda, you are extrememly fortunate that will be allowed. The first sentence in my newest book brought howls of protest from some quarters at my publishers: "Clutching the sheet like a shield in front of me, I sat up in bed, poised for flight." To me, that is a normal, natural reaction to being awakened suddenly in the middle of the night. To some, it evokes images not to be published in LDS fiction. My married characters, though I depict them in only g-rated situations, in g-rated language, are barely allowed to kiss and caress each other. How can I depict the pleasures and joys of being married - (keep in mind that this is all strictly G-rated because I'm very aware of the teen audience reading my books) - if I'm not allowed to show any kind of affection between the two? But maybe if we could show a little realism, and I'm not asking for ANYTHING that I wouldn't read aloud to my bishop or stake president or my grandaughters, our LDS readers would buy more of our books instead of things they really shouldn't be reading! Lynn Gardner - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 09:40:08 From: Marilyn Brown Subject: Re: [AML] Re: Fair use again We LOVE lawyers, Dave Hansen, so welcome to the list! Don't you know that lawyers are the best dramatists in our society? Word and situation creators like nobody else in our milieu! Which brings me to the point that I have wanted to make for a few days--about our lawyer friend Ed Snow, whose book OF CURIOUS WORKMANSHIP I bought as I promised, and have just finished reading. I just want to say VOILA! It is so funny--so thank you, Ed Snow! I had smiles! I was absolutely fascinated with the cover showing the deseret beehive made of green jello. And since I am a fiction writer I busted up at the "proposals" for everything! Proposals for master's theses and doctoral dissertations, story ideas, (David Letterman's conversion, Michael Fillerup's published sneezes) a year's supply of food for thought, and especially the funny Bible: Ehud, who couldn't drag the dagger out of his belly and with Ed's aside: _Really gross, you can almost hear Ehud say, I hate it when that happens_ Now I am absolutely positive the world is going to end _Not with a bang but a snicker_. Everything's funny so it's pointless to point. Thanks, Ed, for one after another hoot. Just give us more. You've made a fan out of me! Now I'm going on vacation (good-bye list for ten days, it's been fun, but good times can't last forever) and I'm taking Eric Samuelson's Cornerstone book SINGLED OUT with me. I also wanted everyone to know that I read Sharlee Glenn's CIRCLE DANCE at last (I'm a little slow) and was so pleased to see a True Novelist at work here. I am NOT GOOD on kids' literature, but I think young people would love it. I could see a few hints (the tablecloth folded by both mothers at the end, and the little girl combing her own mother's hair without knowing that was her mother--and more) that just let me know this is one good novelist and we can expect great things from Sharlee Glenn. She is also going to deserve some mother-of-the-world designation for writing novels while raising five wonderful children in the church who will in turn inspire others to do the same! Marilyn Brown (P.S. We have just gone through several more hell weeks to put up FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at the Villa, (Fri, Sat, Mon 7:30 254 S. Main, tickets $7-9) and it's looking huge (70 in the cast) and colorful! Come support your local Mormon-standard continuous CREATING MIRACLES UNDER POVERTY CIRCUMSTANCES community theatre! Plus, in a while Margaret Young's I AM JANE--We'll post you). Bye for now. Signing off. Marilyn Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 13:10:44 MDT From: "Marianne Hales Harding" Subject: Re: [AML] swim wear in Mormon literature >I'm working on a humor piece called "Mormon >Evolution." I need some help from a female BYU grad or >student. Does the female swimsuit issued by the Smith >Field House still have pants legs attached at the >bottom? If not, when did they disappear? I need the >approximate date for this evolutionary adaptation. I don't know when they disappeared, but I know that when I was going to BYU (1991-94) there were no pant-legs on the swimsuits issued. Marianne Hales Harding ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 13:22:07 -0600 From: "Richard C. Russell" Subject: Re: [AML] Sexuality in LDS Lit Good points all. Let me just suggest that teaching children responsibility is the best thing we can do for them. That will cover more problems than sexual ones. To do that we must 1) let them make their own decisions -- especially where the cost of bad decisions is very low...that is, while they are still too young for sexual test cases. 2) help them consider the consequences of their decisions before they make them. And we must allow those consequences to apply without applying our own artificial consequences based on our own fears or anger and without insulating them from the effects of the natural consequences. 3) avoid rescuing them from their own predicaments and putting the responsibility for that on them -- without withholding offers for help. And avoid telling them what they must do either with regard to their decision or regarding getting out of their trouble if they make a bad decision. We make the mistake of using motivators that will eventually fade in effectiveness such as fear, our anger, commitment to an arbitrary family or church standard, threats or force. The only thing that stays with them is their own sense of healthy responsibility. It is completely consistent with the principle of agency. God seems to believe that covenants can also be effective providing the covenant is perceived by the child to be between them and their God not between them and their parents, church or leaders. Literature that demonstrates both positive and negative outcomes for this approach or that investigates or teaches it would be helpful IMO. [MOD: I'd like to see any responses to this post make a stronger connection to the literary aspects. Teaching children proper sexual attitudes is not per se on topic for the List--but how that can be accomplished (or undermined) in literature is, along with a variety of related issues. Let's keep the conversation going, but remember that our primary focus as a list is on Mormon letters.] ************************************************* Richard C. Russell lderlore@xmission.com SLC UT www.leaderlore.com Ask about Leader Lore, a Leadership Newsletter. "There is never the last word, only the latest." ************************************************* - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 08:36:35 EDT From: Larry Jackson Subject: [AML] MN LDS Piano Professor Retires At University Of Utah: Salt Lake Tribune From: Jennifer Livingston To: Mormon News Subject: MN LDS Piano Professor Retires At University Of Utah: Salt Lake Tribune 14May00 P2 Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 08:00:00 -0400 [from Mormon-News] LDS Piano Professor Retires At University Of Utah (Piano Stalwarts End Careers at University of Utah on a High Note) Salt Lake Tribune 14May00 P2 http://www.sltrib.com:80/05142000/arts/48664.htm By Catherine Reese Newton: Salt Lake Tribune SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- Two great contributors to the University of Utah music department are retiring after this semester. Janet Mann was the founder of the university's piano preparatory division and pedagogy program, while Bonnie Winterton has made invaluable contributions to the choral and piano fields. These two ladies were each recently honored in concerts delivered by their students. When Janet Mann joined the U in 1974, there was no piano pedagogy program in place. Mann first established a preparatory division of students ranging in age from childhood to college-age in 1976. "If I ever got to teach pedagogy, we would need children for the student teachers to teach," thought Mann. Then in 1978, the pedagogy program was born. "I've always thought the teaching of teaching was fascinating," said Mann. Susan Duehlmeier, head of piano studies at the U, praised her colleague when she said, "Janet is recognized as a national expert in the field of teaching. She is an innovator. She has had a tremendous impact." Bonnie Winterton earned master's and doctoral degrees in choral conducting. Winterton has directed several choirs during her tenure at the U. Her other duties are many -- Winterton has served as assistant conductor and accompanist for the Utah Symphony Chorus for 27 years. She and her husband serve on the General Music Committee for the LDS Church and on the Temple Square Concert Committee. While both ladies are retiring from the University of Utah, they still have many activities and responsibilities which will keep their schedules full. Mann will continue to teach private students, and will remain a part of the SummerArts piano program at the university. She is anticipating more time to develop other hobbies such as traveling, painting, volunteering, spending time with family, and perhaps learning a new language. Winterton will continue teaching 40 private students, which is a "full-time job" in itself. She will also continue in her committee participation. >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: Fri, 19 May 2000 16:01:33 -0400 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: RE: [AML] Sexuality in LDS Lit I have three teen-age daughters, with more on the way, and "as for me and my house" I say lets portray sex in a clean, tasteful and honest way and stop pretending it doesn't exist. I don't see what purpose it serves to have teen-agers who are bombarded on all sides with the world's views on sex never be exposed to what a wonderful, fulfilling and challenging it can be in the kind of relationships we would like them all to have. What good does it do to make the youth feel unclean or unworthy for feelings that are natural. Yes, we should teach them there is a time and a place but not that it's bad. Our current YW's leader coined a phrase "It's not a no-no, it's a wait-wait. Even for adult readers the sexlessness can be a problem. We act like it isn't something that at all affects our relationships unless it is immorality. Of course adultery affects marriage, of course promiscuity affects a person, but other than that it doesn't exist. No, I'm not asking for raciness or language that is obviously an effort to arouse, just inclusion. And thanks D. Michael and Linda for making us think about this. Tracie Laulusa - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 15:38:45 EDT From: "Rex Goode" Subject: Re: [AML] Sexuality in LDS Lit This question always interests me when it comes up here, because sexuality plays into almost everything I've written, whether fiction or non-fiction. It is just one of those subjects that makes most dyed-in-the-wool Mormons cringe. In some ways, though, I can see their point. Many things I've read that have a sexual element to it are more pornographic than useful. Since 90% of the essays I've written and posted on the web deal with either childhood sexual abuse recovery or same-sex attraction, it is impossible to make my points without talking about sexuality. I don't describe events in any detail at all. It is not my purpose to appeal to prurient interests. Because I keep it clean and clinical, one would think it would be acceptable reading to most LDS people. Complaints are rare, but they do happen, and not on specific content, but on the audacity to address the topic at all. In one hopeful piece of fiction I've been dabbling at for over ten years, there are scenes that do not describe sexual experiences, but some that lead up to them so that the reader will know what the characters are doing. The work is built around the very real world of sexually addictive acting out to which LDS people are far from immune. A site I now own, LDSR.org (Latter-day Sexual Recovery), a site for sexually addicted Mormons, and Clean-LDS, for pornography-addicted LDS men, have large subscriberships. My story attempts to depict the despair and hopelessness of some people who are very real and characters for whom I am not lacking any composite examples to draw from. To tell their story without talking about sex, even if I never describe an erotic event, would be impossible. I could tell "a" story, but could never tell "the" story. I've clearly made many people here and on other lists uncomfortable with my frankness about sexuality, pornography addiction, and same-sex attraction. Even in an artistic community like this, there are those who don't like to hear about it. [Rex Goode] ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 14:08:27 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Fallible Prophetic Characters "D. Michael Martindale" wrote: > > I am already familiar with how > non-divine, self-doubting humans are--depressingly familiar. But I am > fascinated with how a real flesh-and-blood god or completely converted > prophet might act as either one interacts with the realities of corrupt > mortal life. Therefore any work of art that shows the former instead of > the latter does not interest me. But then you have a main character who doesn't change, who has no character arc, from beginning to end. Very difficult to make that kind of character work as a protagonist at least. Ghandi has the main character change, so does Malcom X. Jesus of Nazareth doesn't change, but he's not the main character in that mini series. The Last Temptation of Christ -- the protagonist changes, Brigham Young by DeMille, the protag changes. The Ten Commandments. The Godfather movies. Having a static main character is a recipe for a boring film. To me, the struggle for deity or perfection is what drama is about. The Biblical prophets all change and grow, struggle toward perfection. Enos prays all day and into the night. Thom - - 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 #44 *****************************