From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #278 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 Tuesday, March 13 2001 Volume 01 : Number 278 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 10:17:29 -0600 From: Larry Jackson Subject: [AML] MN Joseph Fielding Smith Institute to host symposium March 17: BYU Press Release From: BYU Press Release To: Mormon News Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2001 22:15:00 -0500 Subject: MN Joseph Fielding Smith Institute to host symposium March 17: BYU Press Release 8Mar01 D3 [From Mormon-News] Joseph Fielding Smith Institute to host symposium March 17 PROVO, UTAH -- The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute will host the fifth annual spring symposium, "Lives of the Saints," at Brigham Young University on Saturday (March 17) from 8 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. The symposium will feature scholars from a range of disciplines addressing the art of writing about the lives of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lectures focusing on the challenges of constructing biographical and autobiographical narratives of members of the Church of Jesus Christ will be applicable to academics, history buffs, family historians and students. The event is open to the public. There is no admission fee for the symposium and prior registration is not required. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit http://fhss.byu.edu/jfsinst/ and click "news and events." Scott E. Casper, author of "Constructing American Lives: Biography and Culture in Nineteenth Century America," will deliver the keynote address in the Joseph Smith Building Auditorium at 8:30 a.m. His book received the 2000 History Book Prize given by the International Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing. Other presentations will address the cultural context and purpose of autobiographical and biographical narratives. Lectures concerning research methods and sources will be offered in addition to lectures about desktop, digital, and traditional press publishing. Sessions will be held in the Joseph Smith and Ezra Taft Benson Buildings. -###- >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: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 10:34:08 -0600 From: Larry Jackson Subject: [AML] MN Martha Beck's Forthcoming Book Makes Amazon List: Kent Larsen From: Kent Larsen To: Mormon News Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2001 23:45:00 -0500 Subject: MN Martha Beck's Forthcoming Book Makes Amazon List: Kent Larsen 8Mar01 A4 [From Mormon-News] Martha Beck's Forthcoming Book Makes Amazon List NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- "Finding Your Own North Star," a forthcoming book by Mormon author Martha Nibley Beck hit Amazon's 'Tomorrow's Bestseller's' list ahead of the book's release later this month. Beck's previous book, "Expecting Adam" received a lot of attention for its criticism of the intellectual community for the suggestion that she should have an abortion because her expected son, Adam, had Downs Syndrome. Other books on both the US National bestseller lists and on the LDS list stayed in similar positions, except that the LDS audience seems to have gone back to basic doctrine, buying "The Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley" and pushing it to the number 1 spot in place of Rachel Nunes' "This Time Forever." Last week Nunes' book rocketed to the top of the list on its release as her fans rushed to get copies. However, the book is now nowhere to be seen on the list. The current titles on US National bestseller lists are: Nothing Like it in the World, by Stephen Ambrose A history of the building of the transcontinental railroad in the US. Ambrose, a highly regarded historian, details the involvement of Mormons in building crucial portions of the road, including the driving of the "golden spike" in the heart of Mormon territory. Currently on the following bestseller lists: This Last List 25 26 Barnes & Noble (Mar 8) Top 100 17 19 BooksAMillion (Mar 8) Non-Fiction Hardcover 12 14 New York Times (Mar 11) Non-Fiction Hardcover [Independents - 9; Chains - 14] 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 24 24 Amazon.com (Mar 7) Non-Fiction Paperback 60 58 Barnes & Noble Top (Mar 8) Top 100 107 116 USA Today (Mar 8) 8 6 Wall Street Journal (Mar 2) Business Shadow of the Hegemon, by Orson Scott Card The second novel in Card's new series about Bean, Ender's shadow. In this novel, Bean is the tactical genius who wins the Earth for Ender's brother, Peter, the Hegemon. Currently on the following bestseller lists: This Last List 15 15 Amazon.com (Mar 7) Fiction Hardcover 33 27 New York Times (Mar 11) Fiction Hardcover The Whitechapel Conspiracy, by Anne Perry Perry's Inspector Thomas Pitt returns to 19th-century London for Perry's 20th novel about the detective. Currently on the following bestseller lists: This Last List 25 23 New York Times (Mar 11) Fiction Hardcover Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live, by Martha Nibley Beck A self help book from the author of "Expecting Adam." Currently on the following bestseller lists: This Last List 9 - Amazon.com (Mar 7) Tomorrow's Bestsellers Bestsellers in LDS Bookstores: This Last Title 1 - The Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley by Gordon B. Hinckley Deseret Book 2 2 Lamb of God (Video) LDS Church Distribution 3 3 Legacy (Video) LDS Church Distribution 4 4 Teaching by the Spirit by Gene R. Cook Deseret Book 5 5 A Quiet Heart by Patricia T. Holland Deseret Book 6 - Peace: Music of Reflection (CD) Deseret Book 7 6 The Light Within: What the Prophet Joseph Smith Taught Us About Personal Revelation by W. Jeffrey Marsh Deseret Book 8 - First Vision by Anthony J. Cannon, Cary Astin and G. Newbold Deseret Book 9 8 Children's Songbook Words and Music (CD) LDS Church Distribution 10 9 Teachings from the D&C and Church History (Video) LDS Church Distribution 11 - The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball Deseret Book 12 10 Story of the Walnut Tree by Don H. Staheli, Illustrated by Robert T. Barrett Deseret Book 13 - Opals and Outrage by Lynn Gardner Covenant Communications 14 - Follow the Prophet by Clive Romney (CD) Excel Entertainment 15 - Special Witnesses of Christ (video) LDS Church Distribution >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: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 10:21:53 -0600 From: Larry Jackson Subject: [AML] MN LDS Author Darius Gray Speaks to African-American Members in Harlem: Scott Tiffany From: Scott Tiffany To: Mormon News Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2001 22:45:00 -0500 Subject: MN LDS Author Darius Gray Speaks to African-American Members in Harlem: Scott Tiffany 8Mar01 A2 [From Mormon-News] LDS Author Darius Gray Speaks to African-American Members in Harlem NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Darius Aidain Gray, president of the Genesis Group, visited Manhattan's core African-American church members in Harlem last week telling them, "I am pleased to be here, it's been my dream to come here a long time. I have prayed to be here and I am happy to be here." Gray visited with about 40 members of the Harlem Branch at a potluck dinner on February 28, 2001, held in honor of his visit to New York City. Gray came to the city on a press tour promoting the Church's release of the Freedman Bank records on CD-ROM. He told Harlem Church members the disk was an invaluable resource to finding out "where we came from." The CD indexes the names and biographical information of nearly 500,000 African Americans who applied for bank accounts at the Freedman Bank after the Civil War. "As people of color, we have a rich history, not only in latter-day times, but in historical times of the Bible," said Gray who is the co-author of "Standing on the Promises: One More River to Cross," the first of a trilogy of historical novels about black members of the Church. "Sometimes, we have been led to believe that we are 'less than.' But no one in God's family is less than. We are all God's children, and we must not judge other children by the color of their skin." Gray presides over the Genesis Group, an official arm of the Church created in 1971 as a support group for Americans of African descent. Margaret Blair Young, Gray's co-author of the book, also attended the dinner. >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: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 14:27:29 -0700 From: Gerald G Enos Subject: Re: [AML] An Amusing Anecdote Personally I have lots of experience with satire so I would not be thrown by it. Maybe these people just don't hear it on a daily basis like I did when I was growing up. (My father loves satire, therefore I can't stand it, but I am very familar with it.) Konnie Enos ________________________________________________________________ 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, 10 Mar 2001 14:39:12 -0700 From: "Scott Tarbet" Subject: RE: [AML] Audition Notice Any particular categories of men? > > For those actors in the Utah Valley vicinity: > > Actor's Repertory Theatre Ensemble announces a call for actors. > Needed: Two men and one woman > For STONES a new play by J. Scott Bronson - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 17:18:26 -0700 From: LuAnnStaheli Subject: Re: [AML] LUND, _Kingdom and the Crown_ The point for me would be that I would feel comfortable with the Savior's role in the fiction. The other characters can carry the story. Like Annette, I would prefer not to read book where words are put into the Savior's mouth. I know you don't agree, but that's why we each have the rights to speak our opinions here. Lu Ann "D. Michael Martindale" wrote: > katie@aros.net wrote: > > > Interesting. I probably should have guessed it would be like this. I have > > been leery of picking up this book because I really don't want to see the > > Savior fictionalized to the extent that Joseph Smith et. al. are in _The Work > > and the Glory_. But I should've known Lund would stick to his facts like this. > > Then I recommend you never read my book on the life of Christ (when it > appears sometime in the nebulous future). I can't think of a reason to > write a book like that if I'm just going to present the Savior everyone > can read about in the New Testament. What would be the point? > > -- > 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 - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 17:43:48 -0700 From: LuAnnStaheli Subject: Re: [AML] YA or Not? Ivan, Just so you know, the OSC Ender's series are all in the Adult section of the Spanish Fork library, not the Adolescent section. (And by adult, I DO NOT mean anything sleezy like that term is used with video stores. ha!) Lu Ann - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 18:09:55 -0700 From: LuAnnStaheli Subject: Re: [AML] An Amusing Anecdote Eric, This is hysterical! I laughed right out loud. It's even better than the Gerald Lund sotry about the woman who prayed for the Steeds. Lu Ann [MOD: Again, please let me know what this one comes through looking like to you if it looks at all odd...] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 20:47:59 -0600 From: "Preston" Subject: [AML] Re: [AML-Mag] Sarah ANDREWS, Forensic Geologist Em Hansen Mysteries Please forgive me for writing you directly, but you did ask what people think. [MOD: No forgiveness necessary, so far as I can tell...] I created the web page at http://www.adherents.com/lit/mys_lds.html : "Mainstream Mystery Novels Featuring Mormons". I'm not the world expert on this topic, but as far as I can tell (without firsthand information, but with experience on this topic), Andrews certainly has first-hand experience with Latter-day Saints and is having her Mormon-oriented writing checked by Mormon readers. As I've compiled the information at http://www.adherents.com/lit/sf_lds.html, it becomes pretty apparent which authors have first hand experience, which are using Mormon proofreaders, and which are not. BUT, I have NOT read Andrews' writing, so I'm just guessing about her. Preston Hunter www.adherents.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 18:51:48 -0700 From: LuAnnStaheli Subject: Re: [AML] YA lit./_The Diary of Anne Frank_ I hope to be and I'll encourage my 8th graders who will be reading Anne in just a few weeks in Payson. Lu Ann Sharlee Glenn wrote: > Marilyn Brown wrote: > > > Sharlee's daughter Erica is Anne Frank. (I just had to slip that in.) And > > she's great! I've been watching rehearsals and this YA performance is > > absolutely wonderful. Okay, so here's the challenge, YA "supporters and > > fans." Are you going to come and see the YA play? Marilyn Brown > > I'll be there, Marilyn! :-) > > Sharlee Glenn > glennsj@inet-1.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 23:20:05 EST From: LSWeber@aol.com Subject: [AML] GIRZONE, _Joshua_ Series (was: Depictions of Christ) I've been lurking on the list for some time and am only able to read a few posts a day. If I remember correctly, someone asked a while back about fictional depictions of Christ. I don't know if anybody brought up the Joshua series by Joseph F. Girzone. He has written several books about Joshua (Christ) who appears in several modern locations and quietly goes about touching people's lives, sometimes in miraculous ways, sometimes in loving ways. I've read two of the books and quite liked them. They weren't written particularly well, but I was touched by the stories and the characterization of Christ as he would be if he rode into town one day and opened up a small carpentry shop in the back room of the small house he rented. He quietly and sometimes not so quietly goes about touching people's lives. The settings of the two books I read were somewhere in upstate New York--which I liked because that's where I live--and in Northern Ireland. Has anyone else read them? The title of the book I own is simply _Joshua_ (I think it might be the first in the series). It was published in 1983 by Collier Books (Macmillan Publishing Company). I couldn't find any of the other books and I don't remember their specific titles. I also don't remember how many titles there were in the series. Lloyd Weber lsweber@aol.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 19:30:35 +0000 From: Jeff Needle Subject: [AML] Jane and Lynn TILTON, _Segundo_ (Review) Review ====== Jane and Lynn Tilton, "Segundo" 1994, Bookcraft Paperback, 185 pages, $7.95 Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle "Segundo" is the name given a young Apache boy living in Arizona in the mid-1800's. Captured by US soldiers and brought to an internment camp, he and his father escape their captors, only to be ambushed by desperados. His father is killed, but Segundo escapes when a Mexican landowner named Hector rescues him and takes him home to be raised as his own son. Hector and Segundo are befriended by a Mormon family headed by a Bishop Merrill. Merrill is a polygamist. At one of his homes he engages a young girl named Marta. Marta and Segundo fall in love, but that love must be put to the side as Segundo sets out to avenge his father's death. Hector has a similar agenda. He wants to find, and kill, the man who murdered his wife and child. But he faces a difficult situation. He wants Segundo to put aside his feelings of revenge, knowing how they've torn him (Hector) apart. But another part of him understands that dismissing these thoughts is easier said than done. Hector sets out to Mexico to kill his enemy and leaves Segundo in the charge of the Merrills. Here Segundo learns to read English, from the Book of Mormon. And here Segundo learns principles that will remain with him for the rest of his life. Young people will enjoy this book. But it isn't without its problems. Early in the book we're given some sense of how pervasive are stereotypes of Native Americans. Consider the following: Hector purchases a new shirt for Segundo. "To the boy, who had lived in the poverty of the Apache camps where the only way to increase belongings was by raiding, Hector's ability to produce needed possessions seemed just short of miraculous. After one visit to the post, Hector returned with a new shirt for him and a sharp hunting knife." (p. 25) Pages 29-30 contain an extended narrative on the subject of "law." Segundo doesn't understand the concept at all. It is never made clear whether this is a function of his youth or a reflection of the Tilton's understanding of Apache society. The word "savages" came to mind several times during this reading, an unfortunate view of a people who have suffered much at the hands of historical revisionists. I kept hoping for a more favorable view of the Apache people, but none was forthcoming. Putting aside the stereotypical views of not only the Apaches but even of the several Mormons in the book, it's an interesting story that will hold the attention of younger readers. Older readers will find it too preachy and too predictable. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 07:21:46 -0800 From: "LauraMaery (Gold) Post" Subject: [AML] Satire (was: An Amusing Anecdote) >As for what satire is and how it works? Always a loooong discussion. >Granted, these are usually 18-22-year-olds without a lot of life experience, >but they are, by and large, very bright people. Is it cultural? Is satire >sometimes perceived as anti-Mormon along the Wasatch Front? To "get" satire requires a high degree of sophistry. One must needs have spent significant amounts of time in the company of sarcasm, cynicism and negativity to "get" satire. When one is raised amongst positive, kindly, plain-spoken straight-forward people, one doesn't naturally acquire the sophism that's needed to "get" satire. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. - --lauramaery - --------- WHAT DO WE DO? We homeschool! Here's how: "Homeschool Your Child for Free." Order your copy today, from Amazon.com. - --------- . - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 11:19:57 -0500 From: "Debra L. Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] YA or Not? Cracking up here! Jim, I love it when you post, I always learn something and get a good laugh. And surely I will think of you when I am over in France and facing goat cheese. Debbie Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 10:10:37 -0700 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] MN LDS Author Wins Spur Award: Kent Larsen Congratulations, Violet! This is absolutely WONDERFUL! This should be one of the contenders for our AML young people's award, too, Scott, when that comes up next year. I am so proud of you, Violet! HOORAY! Marilyn Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 10:16:43 -0700 From: "Christopher Bigelow" Subject: RE: [AML] Satire (was: An Amusing Anecdote) LauraMaery (Gold) Post wrote: <<>> It's similar to diet. If you're raised on oatmeal, bread soaked in milk, = traditional roast beef dinners, and the occasional sweet canned peaches = without ever trying anything else, then you have your reward. If you were = raised to have an adventurous pallet or on your own started seeking the = spicier, more challenging stuff in life like irony and satire, the milk = and oatmeal seem pretty boring. Satire and irony are quite addictive = actually--it's more fun and creative to see the world through those = lenses, rather than be an earnest, conforming literalist. Growing up in = the age of David Letterman, I breathe sarcasm and satire, but maybe it = gives me spiritual ulcers, I don't know. Wednesdays are my favorite day of = the week because it's Onion day--but maybe that delicious satirical = website makes my breath smell bad spiritually. Chris Bigelow=20 - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 12:42:57 -0500 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: [AML] Goat Cheese (was: YA or Not?) Oh, please take me with you. I love goat cheese. There is one particularly luscious kind that starts with a 'g' that I can't remember how to spell. The description was 'caramelized goat cheese'. Hmmmm-there must be a literary tie in here some where. How about a some Mormon version of Pamplemousse that you write while you are there. Tracie - -----Original Message----- Cracking up here! Jim, I love it when you post, I always learn something and get a good laugh. And surely I will think of you when I am over in France and facing goat cheese. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 12:58:21 -0500 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: RE: [AML] GIRZONE, _Joshua_ Series (was: Depictions of Christ) Joshua Joshua and the Children Joshua and the City Joshua in the Holy Land Joshua, the Homecoming Joshua, the Journey Home Joshua and the Shepherd The Parables of Joshua (this is on order at our library, listed as published 2001-perhaps a compilation?) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 09:45:51 +0000 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] GIRZONE, _Joshua_ Series (was: Depictions of Christ) The Joshua books were immensely popular. Nearly every Christian bookstore still carries the titles. If memory serves me correctly, Girzone is a Catholic priest who has distanced himself somewhat from Rome's exclusiveness. His Christ in these novels is clearly a universalist, something not uncommon in some Catholic circles, but frowned upon by the Vatican. Your observation that they are not particuarly well written is correct, but they had a profound effect on readers for whom the idea of a universal Christ, without denominational boundaries, was something of a novelty. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 10:02:21 -0800 (PST) From: Ruth Starkman Subject: Re: [AML] Agents/Editors Open to Mormon Material Here are a few names to add to Chris' list. These are the agents and one editor who read parts or all of my ms. All were open to Mormon material. Ruth Cavin, editor Minotaur Books St. Martin's Press 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10010 (I met her at a conference and queried her. Minotaur doesn't accept unsolicited mss, but a query might work.) Meg Ruley Jane Rotrosen Agency 318 East 51st St. New York, NY 10022 (commercial, romance, mystery, women's fiction,stories set in Utah or New England--she's from Nantucket) Robin Rue Writers House 21 West 26th St. New York, NY 10010 (commercial, genre, romance, mystery, women's fiction) Lisa Erbach Vance The Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency 708 Third Avenue 23rd Floor New York, NY 10017 (men's fiction, commercial, literary) Daniel Mandel Sanford J Greenberger Associates 55 fifth avenue New york, ny 10003 (commercial, literary, fiction depicting current events, politics) Hey Chris--still looking for other readers for your ms.? I'm always interested and give honest( bareknuckled) commentary, but can't get to it before summer break :-(, if you can wait that long drop me a line... - --Ruth Starkman - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 10:03:07 -0800 (PST) From: Ruth Starkman Subject: Re: [AML] Sarah ANDREWS, Forensic Geologist Em Hansen Mysteries On Fri, 9 Mar 2001, Frank Maxwell wrote: > > What would you think a non-LDS author should know if she's considering > having her non-Mormon protagonist marry a Mormon living in Salt Lake City? > If Em and Ray get married, what do you think it would be like for them? > Ray is apparently a returned missionary, widowed, no children, morally > conservative, with long-time pioneer heritage. What would it be like to be > a part-member family living in SLC? What else do you think author Sarah > Andrews should know about life in Utah that would help her in her next > book? > > Regards, > Frank Maxwell > > I'm a Sarah Andrews fan too. She seems to have a lot of contact with Utah and Mormons. Here's her webpage: http://www.sonoma.edu/geology/andrews.htm I couldn't say what kind of advice to give her, though, aside from the usual tensions of interfaith relationships and families. I've known one other geologist who spent lots of time in Utah and his wife converted, but not he. In anycase, fan letters are great. I know I'd appreciate it if some wrote to me and offered suggestions. - --Ruth Starkman - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 13:26:25 -0700 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: Re: [AML] Audition Notice On Sat, 10 Mar 2001 14:39:12 -0700 "Scott Tarbet" writes: > Any particular categories of men? Nope. Open to any and all who may dare to speak the words of diety as "I" have conjured them. Audition at your own risk. scott - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 12:39:59 -0700 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: Re: [AML] Satire On Sun, 11 Mar 2001 07:21:46 -0800 "LauraMaery (Gold) Post" writes: > To "get" satire requires a high degree of sophistry. One must needs > have spent significant amounts of time in the company of sarcasm, > cynicism and negativity to "get" satire. Can't agree with you there. Satire, and it's cousin -- irony, don't require any measure of negativism to be given or gotten. Unless you will claim that I am hopelessly cynical, I'm pretty sure that section 122 of the Doctrine and Covenants is some of the best irony I have ever encountered, bordering on satire. When the Lord says to Joseph, "If 'this' should happen to you or 'that' should occur," it is obvious to Joseph at least, that those things have ALREADY happened to him and so the Lord employs irony to make his point. And he caps it off brilliantly with this, "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" The answer to this question is SO obvious that the Lord doesn't even wait for the answer; he goes right on with the point, which is, "You ain't seen nothin' yet. Hang on. You'll be okay. Don't forget, I'm in charge." Some might call that sarcasm or sophistry. I call it sophis ... ticated. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. J. Scott Bronson A member of Playwrights Circle An organization of professionals http://www.playwrightscircle.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 14:38:12 -0700 From: Scott and Marny Parkin Subject: [AML] SF Bibliography URL Change Folks-- The URL to my bibliography of Mormon speculative fiction has changed. It is now http://home.earthlink.net/~marnyparkin/ If you haven't seen it since I put it up last year, you ought to check it out. The site has more features, including authors' awards, links to reviews, and recommended reading. Marny Parkin - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 13:24:40 -0700 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: Re: [AML] Speaking for God [was: LUND, _Kingdom and the Crown_] On Sat, 10 Mar 2001 17:18:26 -0700 LuAnnStaheli writes: > Like Annette, I would prefer not to read book where words > are put into the Savior's mouth. How about a play? I guess this is a good time to announce (though a bit early) that Actors Repertory Theatre Ensemble of Provo, Utah will be producing my play, Stones, this Spring. (The announcement for auditions went out last week.). I suppose, based on the fairly common feeling that artists should not presume to speak for God, that we are going out on a limb with this production. Let me explaine a little what it's about. These are excerpts from the program note I wrote for the reading of this play that occred at Provo Theater Company last Fall: Soon after I had begun writing plays, long ago it seems, in the early eighties (though the seventies feel closer to me), I asked my friend and teacher, Barta Heiner, what I should write about next. She said that she wanted to direct a play about Abraham and Isaac. Thinking and ruminating and pondering and reading (the Old Testament and the Book of Jasher) off and on for a period of time I was finally able to write the thing Barta had asked for. After seven years, I finally handed her Altars. About a year ago I came across this idea for a new play. Don't ask me how I came across it. It was just there one day. Possibly because I was thinking that I needed something else to go with Altars. And it turns out to be a fine match; another biblical setting with three actors of the same gender distribution, a similar theme, again examined from the point of view of a parent -- the mother this time. I had had similar ideas in the past -- ideas for plays that included the Savior as a key figure. Though not just a figure, not just an offstage entity to be discussed by those on stage, but an actual flesh and blood being -- on stage -- participating in the conversation. I suppose -- to some -- that seems like a risky thing to do. I mean, how dare I put words into the mouth of the Son of God? Well, I'm not. Speaking for God. That is not what I am doing, even though there is precedent for it. Mormons believe that when they faithfully, and righteously fulfill their callings, they are speaking for God, acting on his behalf, doing what he would do if he were here. Writing plays is not an official calling from a church leader; it's not even the result of any kind of personal revelatory experience -- it's just something that I know how to do a little better than I know how to do anything else -- and so I do it. And, even though I have not been set apart by my ecclesiastical leaders to do so, I often approach the task with a sense of responsibility to treat this avocation as if it were a calling. When I ponder certain things, questions arise. Questions that really intrigue me. Questions that I want answers to. And so, when I sit down to write, I ask the questions and then I seek to find ways to answer them. Sometimes I think I do all right with the answers; sometimes I just wind up with more questions. Through this process I search for, and sometimes discover what I deem to be truth. I don't for a minute believe that I am a prophet, that I am unraveling the mysteries of the universe for all mankind. I'm just asking questions ... and searching for answers. How does a father get to the point where he can willingly place his most precious offspring upon an altar and spill that child's blood? How does a fallible mother raise an infallible Son? Or does "perfect" truly mean infallible? I do not use any pronouns in these plays. It becomes obvious from the events, as they unfold, who these people are. Or rather, who they are based on. But, by referring to them only as Father, Mother and Son, one of my intents with these plays is to lead the viewer to the understanding that, archetypically, these fathers are ALL fathers, and these Mothers are ALL mothers, and these sons are ALL sons. Also, by referring to them as THE Father, and THE Mother and THE Son, I mean for us to understand that these fathers are the Father, and these mothers are the Mother, and these sons are the Son. In a sense. Nothing is literal in these intentions. I simply want to lead our minds in two directions -- to the great divine souls that are our Father and our Mother and their Son, and to the base mortal beings that are ourselves -- and show that there is a direct connection between the two. So, now I ask this question: If we are to enlighten each others' minds - -- if we as artists are to do as Elder Packer says ("... we are able to feel and learn very quickly ... through art ... some spiritual things that we would otherwise learn very slowly.") -- how do we do that without TALKING ABOUT what we feel and learn in our own studies? Clearly artists are enjoined to explicate what they think and feel about the words of God as found in the canon. Rather than condemn an artist for supposedly presuming to put words into God's mouth, perhaps we should ask ourselves as we read the books -- hear the songs -- attend the plays of our brother's and sisters who are artists: Is it possible that God put words into their mouths? J. Scott Bronson--The Scotted Line "World peace begins in my home" - -------------------------------------------------------- "Anybody who sees live theatre should come out a little rearranged." Glenn Close - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 15:11:48 -0700 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Satire (was: An Amusing Anecdote) Christopher Bigelow wrote: > > LauraMaery (Gold) Post wrote: << > When one is raised amongst positive, kindly, plain-spoken straight-forward > people, one doesn't naturally acquire the sophism that's needed to "get" > satire. > > I'm not sure that's a bad thing.>>> > > It's similar to diet. If you're raised on oatmeal, bread soaked in milk, traditional roast beef dinners, and the occasional sweet canned peaches without ever trying anything else, then you have your reward. If you were raised to have an adventurous pallet or on your own started seeking the spicier, more challenging stuff in life like irony and satire, the milk and oatmeal seem pretty boring. Satire and irony are quite addictive actually--it's more fun and creative to see the world through those lenses, rather than be an earnest, conforming literalist. Growing up in the age of David Letterman, I breathe sarcasm and satire, but maybe it gives me spiritual ulcers, I don't know. Wednesdays are my favorite day of the week because it's Onion day--but maybe that delicious satirical website makes my breath smell bad spiritually. > Is sarcasm a totally unworthy form of spiritual communication. I've always thought God asking Job, "Where were you when I created the heavens and earth" was a form of sarcasm, "sort of like God, saying "D-uh" to Job. There might be other places in the scriptures where sarcasm exists. It would be an interesting study. When you read the old testament, and they talk about two men covenanting with each other by placing their hands on the other's testicles and swearing an oath, I get the impression that today, we may be too "polite" for our own good. We may have become too refined to appreciate the subtleties in scripture. 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 #278 ******************************