From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #432 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 Friday, August 24 2001 Volume 01 : Number 432 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 10:27:27 -0600 From: "ROY SCHMIDT" Subject: Re: [AML] LDS Booksellers Convention Hey! I'm a Mormon, and I've read Homer. I even own some of the stuff he and Jethro did together. Plus, I am the proud possessor of both the CD and the DVD of "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou." Don't tell me I ain't got no couth. Roy Schmidt Stansfield/Nunes romance books that do pretty well, but when it comes to good, solid literature, it just doesn't happen in the LDS community. "How many Mormons do you think have read Homer? None!" - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 10:53:54 -0600 From: "BJ Rowley" Subject: Re: [AML] Irreantum fiction contest winners Terri Reid wrote: >This is such a sore spot with me (pats on the head.) I find that - except >for you folks - I don't share my writing successes with members of the >church. (Well, actually with members of my ward.) > "And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet [writer] is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house." Matt. 13:57 - -BJ Rowley - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 06:09:20 -0700 From: "Jeff Needle" Subject: [AML] George W. GIVENS, _Out Of Palmyra_ (Review) Review ====== George W. Givens, "Out Of Palmyra -- A Convert Looks at the Prophetic Calling of Joseph Smith" 2000, Lynchburg, Virginia, Palmyra Street Publishers Paperback, 135 pages, $9.95 Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle I will begin by expressing some surprise at the content of this slim volume, given the main title. I had assumed this was to be a brief history of Joseph Smith after leaving Palmyra. Instead, as the subtitle indicates, it is a peculiar attempt at Mormon apologetic by a sincere convert to the Church. His methodology is made clear in his introduction: If he [Joseph Smith] were not a prophet, well-established patterns of known fraudulent behavior would have been evident in the restoration of the church organized by Joseph and his followers. The evidence is overwhelming that almost every act performed by Joseph in the Restoration runs counter to what should be anticipated in the acts of an impostor. So if fraud had been his intention, what would he have done differently? (p. viii - ix) My immediate reaction to these statements: 1. I was not aware that there were "well-established patterns of known fraudulent behavior". Certainly we've all read accounts of religious charlatans and noticed certain similarities, but they are few and far between. If there are studies as to their behavior patters, I haven't read any. I was interested in how Givens had determined these "well-established patterns." 2. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, that there indeed exists a corpus of such knowledge, it seemed to me that one would have to adopt a highly subjective view of religious behavior in order to determine which behaviors, although common to the charlatans, were incidental to their falsehood and not definitive. Givens then lists twelve patterns that he finds missing in the ministry of Joseph Smith. His chapter titles oddly omit the pronoun "He" at the start. I report them here exactly as he gives them in his Table of Contents: I. Would have established the church by revelation only II. Would have had fewer witnesses III. Would have indulged his associates IV. Would have been accused by apostates of fraud -- not of having "fallen" V. Would have tried to profit financially VI. Would have devised doctrines more appealing to the masses VII. Would have discouraged learning VIII. Would have avoided exhibiting original Book of Mormon inscriptions IX. Would have created less refutable theology X. Would have received revelations in secret XI. Would have acted as a prophet XII. Would have shown greater concern for self-preservation It should be clear at this point that his criteria are indeed highly subjective. And some seem to beg comment. For example, his final point concerning "self-preservation," a critic might ask, "If he was so unconcerned with his own well-being, why was he assassinated while trying to escape the mob? Why didn't he just stand there and accept his death?" Critics often cite Joan of Arc, Wycliffe, and others, as counter-examples. To be sure, I'm not calling into question either Joseph's calling or his courage. But how does any work of apologetic benefit by setting up a straw man that just begs contradiction? A more serious problem occurs throughout the book as Givens attempts to offer examples of those who have demonstrated such false patters, but then he backs away from naming them as frauds, which is, after all, the theme of his book. A few examples, if I may. In support of his first point, establishing the church by revelation only, he cites Mohammed and Mother Ann Lee of the Shakers as examples of those who founded their religions on the basis of revelation only. But: All of this is not to suggest that other major faiths, founded on the basis of revelation only or predominantly, were fraudulent, but that revelation alone was an entirely sufficient basis for founding some of the world's most successful religions. (p. 8) Later, in enlarging on his fifth point, of profiting financially, he makes the following observation about Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science: Mary Baker Eddy, on the other hand, founder of the First Church of Christ Scientist [sic], used the royalties from her book, Science and Health, published in 1875, to become a wealthy woman. This is not a criticism of Mrs. Eddy, but merely an observation of a legitimate practice of religious leaders. (p. 57) Perhaps you can see my problem. Givens has constructed a list of "well-established patters of known fraudulent behavior." He offers real-life examples of those who exhibit such behavior, and then backs away, making clear he does not consider the person a fraud. With all due respect to the efforts of this sincere man, one must question the legitimacy of choosing the tests of legitimacy based on the a priori assumption of Joseph's prophethood. It appears this is what he has done. Again, I don't quarrel with his convictions, only with his methods. James Baldwin, the late writer and poet, wrote in his autobiographical "The Fire Next Time" of his growing up the son of a Baptist minister, the only black student in a predominantly white, Jewish elementary school. His father would send him to school with hell-fire and brimstone tracts to give to the little Jewish children, who regularly glanced at them and tossed them in the trash, not a bit affected by the message. Later in life he reflected on this phenomenon, and realized that the only ones who were convinced by any of those tracts were those who already believed in what they said. I don't expect his arguments will convince anyone who doesn't already believe that Joseph was a true prophet. Of course, it might have been somewhat easier to buy his arguments if he didn't keep backing away from them, as documented above. I admire his zeal, and hope he continues to search and grow in the faith. But this book, it seems to me, does little to advance the cause of Mormonism and the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 12:53:06 EDT From: AEParshall@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Sunstone 2001 I attended a very few sessions of Sunstone -- it's not the kind of conference where I can find something of interest every hour -- and also presented a paper called "The Many Voices of Brigham Young" based on the one and a half million words of Brigham Young correspondence I've transcribed over the past few months. Although generally historical, it leaned toward the literary as I presented samples of BY's letters to illustrated his repertoire of tones: jovial, businesslike, stern, pastoral, patronizing, ribald. The Sunstone crowd, whatever else you might say, is a good audience for a paper like that - -- they laughed at all the punchlines, even the subtle ones, and asked some perceptive questions during Q&A. State archivist Jeff Johnson gave a great paper on Brigham Young's home and family life, drawing largely from Susa Young Gates material that didn't make it into her final manuscript. Utah archives, by the way, are full of such notes and drafts relating to literary works that would be of interest to AML members interested in criticism and literary history. Quite by accident I ended up in a session discussing whether Sunstone's open forum policy was equivalent to an open mike, where anyone at all must be allowed to say anything at all. The case study was a paper that had been first accepted then withdrawn from the program of Sunstone West held in San Francisco earlier this year. While the details of that case study aren't especially relevant to AML, the question could certainly interest editors and librarians and book buyers and anybody else who is constantly faced with choosing which voices to promote. Another great session was called "Why I No Longer Trust FARMS Review of Books" -- definitely a literary subject, especially with regard to Mormon criticism, polemics, and the review process, but the complex details of which are off-topic here. The last session I attended was a panel on "Violence on the Mormon Frontier." I can't make any literary connection there, unless you want to count the methods of evaluating documentary evidence as literary. Lively session, that one. Ardis Parshall AEParshall@aol.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 10:02:34 -0700 From: "???n ??e" Subject: Re: [AML] Spiritual Pornography Tony, Thanks for your response and for the kind things you said about me. You said, "...your contributions, that swing both ways between insight and humor," to which I reply that it would be convenient for my wife if I would learn to swing both ways in other things, but she has no complaints. I enjoyed your story about your barber shop experience. It has been decades since I've been in a barber shop. My wife cut my hair up until I decide on a very close crop that I can do myself with clippers. I think the last time I was in a barber shop, when I was a teenager, there was a rack of porn magazines for customers. Fortunately, there was nothing in them to fascinate me. I don't think that chocolate can be an addiction, because I can think of no compelling reasons to not partake. I sympathize with your frustration about what some people call pornography. To me, pornography is no trivial problem. I own an extremely busy website devoted to Mormon pornography addicts, their parents, and spouses. We recently topped out on our space and bandwidth. The problem is so enormous among members of the Church and growing daily. I'm going to have to buy more space. I also operate Clean-LDS, an internet mailing list for Mormon pornography addicts. The membership is at an all-time high there too. In BYU's recent foray into the topic, my resources and I were mentioned in one Daily Universe covery story. So, you can see that the topic of pornography is something I feel strongly about, and I'm not just someone who is all opinion and no action. I've never had much interest in pornography, but then my childhood was filled with three-dimensional images and activities that make a flat picture seem, well, rather flat. With my own openness about my own struggles came a steady trickle of men contacting me by private email for help with their pornography addictions. Though I did not share their problem, I had much I could tell them about overcoming difficult problems. I created Clean-LDS as an effort to get these men together to help each other. I later inherited another website and now find myself right in the middle of a problem I never had myself. On any given day, I read dozens of messages from Mormon pornography addicts, spouses, and parents of addicts. The stories of the wives are especially difficult. As you can imagine, a wife whose husband looks at pornography wonders why she is not sufficient, what is wrong with her to not be enough to keep his attention. As you can tell, I can jump on any idea that appears to make pornography seem trivial. A film with alcohol in it is not pornography, nor is a film with nudity and sexual situations automatically pornographic because of these two facts. Like I said, I don't think we can really pin down what pornography is or isn't. All we can really do is measure ourselves and our reactions to the things we see and hear. My political views on what should be done about it are somewhat liberal, I think. For example, I think it is somewhat futile to try to zone a porn shop out of an area. People who want it will get it no matter where you put it, and no matter where you put it, someone is going to see it who wouldn't have seen it somewhere else. It seems to make the activists feel good, but in my mind, it is like smearing mud around on a map. No matter where you put it, it is still dirty. In many ways, I think it would be an easier problem to combat if it weren't driven underground. If I want to help members of the Church who have problems with the stuff, I'd want the shop right where I could see who goes in. Instead, we try to get them stuck away in some niche where people can easily come and go without being seen. Secrecy only empowers the addiction. I pray for a more open day when we can ask each other for help with our weaknesses instead of delighting in the competition to appear to have fewer weaknesses than our neighbor. 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: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 10:11:59 -0700 From: "???n ??e" Subject: Re: [AML] Spiritual Pornography Amelia, Thanks for your response. I did not feel attacked. I know what "attacked" feels like, and that was not it. No need to call what you said a "defense" of Tony, because I was not accusing. I can see where accidents can happen with seeing porn. One general authority, I can't remember who, told about his accidental encounter with porn that could intrude on his thoughts decades later. I don't know why I am spared from running across sites like the ones you've seen. I have a pretty good sense for which links in a search result to avoid. My main objection to Tony's inclusion of spiritually-jarring things as pornography has to do with my own involvement in helping people who are addicted to pornography. I don't presume that the feeling of being spiritually jarred is trivial, but I do feel it trivializes the pornography problem to call the things that cause those moments, "pornography." Rex Goode www.LDSR.org www.SpringsOfWater.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 11:00:19 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Spiritual Pornography Diann T Read wrote: > These things were not intended to be masterpieces by the > aesthetic standards of the world. They're teaching aids, no more, no > less. I can't help but feel sorry for people who are so critical of what > they perceive as weaknesses that they're blinded to the intended message. > The temple film, no, it is not intended to be great art. But the Testaments is a different thing altogether. First, it's made for the general public, and it's directed by a guy who has won an Oscar. It looks like a film, it acts like a film, it uses film techniques, they had a special effects budget, they paid the actors to be in it (which they don't for the temple films), it's directed by a noted film director. We cannot allow mediocrity in our art by making more out of the creator's intention that what he/she actually produced. Both must be of the highest calibre: the desire and the actual outcome. If one area fails, the entire piece fails. I had the greatest of intentions when I co-produced _Prophet!_ in 1999. We had some excellent people involved. I know many audience member who were moved to tears and had their testimonies of Joseph Smith increased. Nevertheless, the show was an artistic disaster. I'm embarassed to have been involved in the producing of it. Should I have expected Eric to have given me a better review than he did, just because my intentions were pure? Thom - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 19:21:29 +0000 From: "Tami Miller" Subject: Re: [AML] Irreantum fiction contest winners Terri Reid Wrote; <<>> LOL! I like that. - -Tami Milelr _________________________________________________________________ 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: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 16:14:55 -0500 From: Ronn Blankenship Subject: RE: [AML] Writing About "Good" Mormons At 07:21 PM 8/21/01, you wrote: >I didn't see the situation there very plausible, either. Maybe more >plausible >than some of those early Weyland pieces, but at the end the guy has a >dream and >he realizes that he really wants to get baptized and marry this girl and >raise >lots of screaming kids and be really poor, instead of keeping his current >lifestyle and his share in the lucrative family wine business. > >Must've been some dream. > >--Katie Parker Had he been sampling the family wares? ;-) - --Ronn! :) - --------------------------------------------------------- I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed that I would see the last. --Dr. Jerry Pournelle - --------------------------------------------------------- - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 00:47:02 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Irreantum fiction contest winners Barbara Hume wrote: > I was recently back home on vacation, and I couldn't believe > that my siblings could spend three solid hours talking about their dogs. > Dogs! And they didn't understand why I didn't want their hairy, slobbery > pets leaping up on me. No one would made the mistake twice of letting their slobbery pets leap up on me either. I would consider dogs the ultimate evil communist plot, if cats didn't exist. - -- 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: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 14:38:11 -0400 From: "Debra L. Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN News Briefs: Church Calls for Actors for 'Savior of the World' Church Calls for Actors for 'Savior of the World' SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The LDS Church is calling for actors and vocalists who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to audition for the Fall production of its musical, "Savior of the World." Auditions will be held by appointment on September 4-8 from 5-10pm in the LDS Conference Center Theater. Rehersals will be held from September through November for performances in November and December. Interested members should call (801) 240-0140. Actors, vocalists sought for 'Savior of the World' Deseret News 21Aug01 A2 http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,295019203,00.html >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: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 00:55:37 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Spiritual Pornography Diann T Read wrote: > I think you need to keep a few things in > mind before you make the Ensign staff (or the producers of "Testaments," > for that matter) "offenders for a word." But the producers of _Testaments_ were offenders for an entire movie. > I've heard people criticize the > temple films the same way, and I'll say to you now the same thing I say > to them: These things were not intended to be masterpieces by the > aesthetic standards of the world. They're teaching aids, no more, no > less. The purpose of the temple films is so far afield from being art or entertainment, that they are one place where I don't go in with a critical attitude toward their aesthetic quality. But when you step out into the regular world and start producing stuff that is intended at least partly as entertainment, like, to pull an example out at random, TESTAMENTS!, it's a whole other story. - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 15:59:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Valerie Holladay Subject: [AML] Used LDS Books for Sale? I was browsing through the books at the local Deseret Industries recently and came across several "classics" that I have in my own collection and value - like Bela Petsco's *Nothing Very Important,* Eloise Bell's *Only When I Laugh,* *Autobiography of a Mormon Mother by Annie Clark Tanner,* (I hope I'm getting all the names right) and others I can't remember at the moment. The thought occurred to me that at $1-4, plus postage, these books might find a welcome home with some of our list members out of the area (and even some in the area). Some of the books have been discussed on the list, some are out of print or may just be hard to get, especially for those outside of Utah. Anyway, is there any interest in someone compiling an LDS book wishlist or a sort of LDS Book ebay (or even just using theirs)? Just hate to see these wonderful books go unappreciated, knowing that some people who would appreciate them don't have easy access to them. Valerie Holladay __________________________________________________ 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: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 10:56:03 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Irreantum fiction contest winners At 12:47 AM 8/22/01 -0700, you wrote: >1. Oh, well, I could write too - if I wanted too. >2. I don't think women should be trying to earn a living - if they do, their >children will grow up to be delinquents. >3. This doesn't seem that good to me. If I had written it... These comments remind me of that toplofty snob Lady Catherine de Burgh in Pride and Prejudice, who informs Elizabeth that she would have been an extraordinary performer on the piano "if I had ever learnt." Clearly, this type of person still exists! A friend told me that he would have thought the ms he read was wonderful if someone else had written it, but since it was only me. . . . Barbara R. Hume barbara@techvoice.com (801) 765-4900 - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:42:54 -0600 From: "mjames_laurel" Subject: Re: [AML] Irreantum fiction contest winners I still have people who come up to me and ask > if I'm still doing "that little playwriting thing." Yeah, and I call it > a...career...thank you very much. Survey: how many of the women writers on > this list get the proverbial indulgent pat on the head when it comes to > matters career? My experience has been very much the opposite. I'm not comfortable talking about my writing "career" much, but my husband and children generally spread the word. I have always been very shy about my writing - the "I'm a Fraud" syndrome that seems to be common among writers. But when people discover I have actual books published, they are respectful and generally seem a little bit in awe (which makes me hugely uncomfortable - the whole Fraud thing again.) And I know that the men will cry foul because they get it > too but somehow I have to say that we women seem to get it more. I'm sure > you'll correct me if I'm wrong... In some ways, it can be tougher for a man, who is expected to be out earning a living, not wasting away the hours hunched over his computer indulging in his "hobby." Until their writing starts bringing money in, the few men I know who are or are struggling to be published deal with a whole lot more guilt over the time they "waste" writing than I do. Women who write, published or not, are "developing a talent." Unless they are making good money at it, men who write are often considered to be wasting time that should be devoted to family, fixing leaky faucets, home teaching or earning a living. I have an internet critique partner (not LDS) whose writing is phenomenal, it literally takes my breath away. He has several agents anxious to sign him, and three top NY editors who, on the strength of a single chapter from his first book, have been waiting for more than a year to bid on the finished manuscript. But this fellow's wife gives him so much grief over all the time he's wasted working on it so far the only way he's able to continue with it anymore is by waiting till she's asleep and sneaking out of bed well after midnight to write for a couple of hours. Laurel Brady - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 14:12:00 -0700 From: "Kristy" Subject: [AML] Re: Reader's Digest Articles > Two great articles in the September Reader's Digest--one on "The Healing > Power of Faith", and the other on the Mormon, Pierre Anthian, who has > established a homeless men's choir. I have come across other stories of > Mormons in the Reader's Digest, and have wondered if there was a Mormon > on the editorial board. Does anyone here know? > I don't know about that, but I do know that the Church has been a large source of revenue for Reader's Digest. The Church has paid handsomely for several tear out pamphlets on the family that have gone out in the Digest over the years. [Kristy Aros] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 13:50:52 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Email Essays At 04:41 PM 8/9/01 -0600, you wrote: >We *could* discuss what I consider to be a new literary genre if we >wanted. Since many of us publish in it, it might be interesting to see >if it qualifies as a genre and what rules might apply. I'm talking >about the email essay of course. I've read many beautifully composed, thought-provoking (or just plain provoking, in the case of Thom Duncan ) messages on this list, and I've saved many of them. I can see it as a literary genre. It would be interesting to analyze why such essays feel different from others. Perhaps it's because we don't tend to structure them in the same way as print essays. They seem more linear or chronological than arranged in terms of opening, thesis, supporting details, restatement of thesis, and conclusion with a clincher, or whatever formal structure you prefer. Barbara R. Hume barbara@techvoice.com (801) 765-4900 - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 15:47:13 -0400 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon Monasticism Thanks for the light note, Ronn. And responding to all the post in general-- I know a lot of homeschoolers, being one myself, and they all homeschool for various reasons. I believe there are homeschoolers who homeschool to 'keep their kids from the evils of the world'. I think that is a Christian phenomenon as opposed to a Mormon one. I'm told in the south it is quite a common reason. One of my friends objects to homeschooling because he feels parents are just trying to control everything about their kids. I suppose he thinks it's better for the public school personnel to exercise that control. (I'd really like to meet the homeschooler who feels like they have complete control.) I can tell you why we homeschooled, at least in the beginning. David traveled a lot. We could go with him. Oooo, Aaaah. I think you could use homeschooling as an example of a lot of things in literature. I'm not sure it's a good idea. Seems to me like you'd end up stepping on toes left and right. You could write of a Mormon family who homeschools as a way of isolation. Then all the homeschoolers who don't would growl, and all the people who dislike homeschooling for any reason would wave and cheer, and all the homeschoolers would growl back and so forth. Represent homeschooling in one light and a lot of homeschoolers who disagree will 'be offended', and all the people who don't homeschool will either have strong opinions on one side or the other, or more likely not care at all about anything remotely about homeschooling. Homeschooling seems to be a touchy subject these days. And please, could someone introduce me with to the homeschooling mom who somehow set the standard for how much patience we inherently have? For some reason almost everyone I meet seems to think I must be the patience paragon after spending most of everyday with seven kids and their school work. Go figure. Tracie Laulusa (who homeschools in spite of, not because of, her patience or lack thereof.) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 05:57:29 +1000 From: "helena.chester" Subject: [AML] Reader's Digest Articles Two great articles in the September Reader's Digest--one on "The Healing Power of Faith", and the other on the Mormon, Pierre Anthian, who has established a homeless men's choir. I have come across other stories of Mormons in the Reader's Digest, and have wondered if there was a Mormon on the editorial board. Does anyone here know? Helena - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 17:24:56 EDT From: RichardDutcher@aol.com Subject: [AML] Re: Ogden Standard Examiner Misquote Below is a copy of a letter sent by Richard Dutcher to the Ogden Standard Examiner regarding an article published several days ago. Dear Standard-Examiner, Your reporter, Melisa Ann Wilson, seriously misrepresented my opinions and comments regarding "Mormon filmmaking" at the recent Sunstone Symposium. I am angered by what appears to be purposeful misrepresentation of my statements. To begin with, your headline states: "LDS filmmaker: Church movies lacking." I did not say that. The subhead immediately beneath the headline claims: "Director of 'God's Army' says films shouldn't be afraid to offend audience." Where did that come from? I have just finished listening to an audiotape of the session and at no point did I say such a thing. One of the other panelists, Stephen Williams, referred to this, and is even quoted in the final paragraph of your article. Why his words were put into my mouth is a mystery. It is either sloppy journalism or willful misrepresentation. The most offensive misquote, however, is where Ms. Wilson quotes me, in reference to movies made by other LDS producers, as saying, "I don't recommend you support these films." The audiotape of the session proves that I said quite the opposite. The correct quote is: "I'd recommend that you support these films." It is baffling to me why your reporter would so blatantly misquote me. She is either hard of hearing, in which case she should sit closer to the front, or else she came to the symposium looking for controversy and, finding none, decided to create one on my behalf. Whatever the cause, I respectfully suggest that the next time you send her to cover a story, you provide her with a tape recorder before she walks out the door. Sincerely, Richard Dutcher LDS Filmmaker "God's Army," "Brigham City" - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 14:25:46 -0600 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: RE: [AML] Email Essays - ---Original Message From: Barbara Hume > >We *could* discuss what I consider to be a new literary genre if we > >wanted. Since many of us publish in it, it might be > interesting to see > >if it qualifies as a genre and what rules might apply. I'm talking > >about the email essay of course. > > I've read many beautifully composed, thought-provoking (or just plain > provoking, in the case of Thom Duncan ) messages on this > list, and I've > saved many of them. I can see it as a literary genre. It would be > interesting to analyze why such essays feel different from > others. Perhaps > it's because we don't tend to structure them in the same way > as print > essays. They seem more linear or chronological than arranged in terms > of opening, thesis, supporting details, restatement of thesis, and > conclusion with a clincher, or whatever formal structure you prefer. That's kind of what I was thinking. For me, they tend to be more linear with a point-transition-point format more than a unifying thesis or theme. Sometimes, I'll have a final point in mind as a destination that *could* serve as a thesis, but it isn't nearly as strong as in a typical essay with a well-defined topic. It's harder to look at an e-essay and say "the point was X" for example. I think they might be a natural evolution of the essay format--a response to the societal trend to less formality. Heh. We could call it a slacker-essay :) Jacob - - 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 #432 ******************************