From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #436 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, August 28 2001 Volume 01 : Number 436 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 13:00:39 -0400 From: "Kent S. Larsen II" Subject: [AML] Eugene England Memorial If anyone on aml attended the memorial, I would really love to see a report, especially if I can get permission to use it on Mormon News. Thanks Kent Larsen - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 11:25:02 -0600 From: MGA Subject: Re: [AML] Joseph Smith Story In 1982 I wrote the play DIGGER which dealt with the courtship of Joseph and Emma, as well as Joseph's involvement in money-digging. It also presented Joseph's first account of his first vision--which mentioned the appearance of only one personage: "the Lord." It won BYU's Mayhew Award for Drama that year and was praised by BYU theatre faculty. However, there was a great deal on concern that it would offend or confuse too many members, so, contrary to what was then standard procedure, it became the first Mayhew winner (or so I was told by a BYU faculty member) NOT to be produced as main stage production. It was produced as a graduate student production at the Y in December 1982 and got rave reviews from audience members as well as a very good notice from SUNSTONE REVIEW. (SUNSTONE later published it in 1988). I don't claim that this was censured. The fact that the Y let it be produced at all showed that the faculty really believed in the play. (And as it was my first play, I don't claim that it was great art--though compared to the standard LDS fare at the time, I think it broke new ground.) I bring this up to make a point. Everyone that I spoke to that saw the production and (with only one exception) everyone that read it told me that they "loved" it. (Their word--not mine.) Many said how moved they were by it. Some said that they felt they were watching the "real Joseph and Emma." (again, this is someone else's words, not mine.) Despite this, the BYU faculty and many of those who read it were concerned that "others" (that infamous word that I've heard for decades from members) might "not get it" or might "have problems with it." In short, I don't believe that members are stupid, unenlightened, etc. But THEY seem to believe that others are, and so they are overly cautious about books, plays, etc. that they think OTHERS might be troubled by. This attitude has a very real effect on the progress of Mormon Art. I loved GOD'S ARMY and so did most people that I know who saw it. HOWEVER, those who very sternly objected to it included an Institute Director at a major University, several Seminary Teachers in my current place of residence, and the wife of the Mission President of one of the largest east coast missions. (She made a point to dissuade people from seeing the film because "real missionaries don't behave that way." This horrified me and several former-missionaries. "It's scary that a mission president's wife has no idea what the young people under her care are going through," said one.) When I mentioned BRIGHAM CITY favorably to one Institute Director, he turned up his nose, said he didn't approve of GOD'S ARMY and "neither did the Brethren." When pressed on what exactly the Brethren said, he shook his head and replied,"I've already said too much." Now my reaction to this is that this Seminary Teacher was either spreading rumors or just--and I do believe this--out and out lying. (I'm sorry if that doesn't make me sound very Christ-like, but as the scriptures say "be wise as serpents"--or as the Inspired Version says "wise as servants." I tend to distrust people who throw something out as this Institute Director did, and then back off when challenged.) What bothers me is that people in positions of authority on the local level, in their zeal to "protect" the testimonies of others (as if THEY have anything to do with the existence of those testimonies in the first place), are out there telling people NOT to read certain books or see movies made by devout LDS artists.( Besides Dutcher's WONDERFUL films, Orson Scott Card's SAINTS comes instantly to mind as an example of literature.) Here's my testimony: The Gospel IS true. Joseph was a prophet. The truth--even the "bad" stuff--can only support this. What may have to change is an individual's concept of what exactly a prophet is. Also, I do think what I called the growing encroachment of mainstream Protestantism on LDS though, will make it harder for many in the Church to recognize real Mormon Art (art with a world view and sense of values that is grounded in the unique theology of the Gospel.) At the moment, popular LDS art is barely discernable from mainstream "Christian" or "Gospel" art. More and more, LDS imagery is looking like that of Evangelical Christianity. And we shouldn't ever underestimate the influence of imagery on the modern mind. We live in an age when the visual has a great influence that the literary. In short, my problem is with what I know is a reality: a majority of active members seem to be concerned about reading or seeing something that hasn't been "approved by the Brethren." (As if the Brethren can--or even want to--be in the business of "approving" art. [Rob Lauer] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 11:34:22 -0600 From: MGA Subject: Re: [AML] Joseph Smith Story Marty wrote that he disagreed with my statement that the great novels about Joseph Smith will be written by non-members. I'm glad that he is plugging ahead on his work and ignoring such sentiments completely. Prove me wrong--PLEASE! Just so you know, I too am working on a novel--not about Joseph but about polygamy, the Church and the Federal Government in the 1880's. Already a mission president's wife, without even reading any of it or knowing anything about it, has asked me to stop working on it because "the world isn't ready for Polygamy." Excuse me, but as a believing Latter-day Saint I had to reply, "Didn't THE LORD think the world was ready for polygamy over 150 years ago?" I veer off track. My point is that I too am hard at work trying to prove myself wrong about Mormon's writing great novels inspired by their history. ROB LAUER - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 13:59:27 -0400 From: "Debra L. Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN LDSMusicians.com Releases Second Music CD: LDSMusicians.com= Press Release =20 LDSMusicians.com Releases Second Music CD LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- LDSMusicians.com, an Internet site for independent LDS Musicians to collaborate, vent their ideas, successes and failures, releases its second collections CD. The CD, titled LDStyles 2 features a variety of lesser known, but rather accomplished artists including, Jeff Goldman, Wayne Burton, Dana Bishop Sanders, Matt Armstrong, Michele Baer, Mike Mercado, W. Alex. Mackey, III, Tucker. M. Maxfield, FiddleSticks, Michael DeShazer, David Edwards, Jim Anderson, Janet Clayton Sloan, LaDena & Rene=EDe, Michael Priddis, Fast Sundae, and Eric Endres. Musicians belonging to LDSMusicians.com submitted various songs over the course of several months. Seventeen songs were selected and made it onto the final album. LDStyles 2 represents almost every style of music ranging from a piano arrangement of Teach Me to Walk in the Light, by Alex. Mackey to the upbeat Rescue Me by Jeff Goldman to the hippie sounding Burden of Babylon by Fast Sundae. The CD will be released on Saturday, September 1st, 2001 at a release party/concert in American Fork, Utah. The concert will feature those on the CD and is open to the public. LDStyles 2 was produced by Mackey and released under the LDSMusicians.com and Oh, Rio! Productions labels. The album was mastered by Nancy Matter at Moonlight Mastering, Burbank, CA in August of 2001. LDStyles 2 will be available at LDSMusicians.com or via email at OhRio@email.com. LDStyles 2 will be in LDS bookstore stores over the course of the next few months. Several of the songs on the album can be heard directly through the various artists=ED sites such as www.mp3.com/alexmackey or on the Internet radio station http://www.KZOIN.com LDS Musician, Brad Thompson, started the site in September of 1999 so that he could talk to other LDS Musicians. The site currently has over 140 members and continues to grow daily with musicians as far away as Sweden, England and Australia. For more information about the September 1st concert or the LDStyles 2 CD please visit http://www.ldsmusicians.com or contact Alex. Mackey directly at alexmackey@email.com. ### >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: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 14:00:23 -0400 From: "Debra L. Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN Bachman Credits Church with Keeping Him Alive: Montreal Canada Gazette Bachman Credits Church with Keeping Him Alive MONTREAL, CANADA -- The Guess Who has just completed a 29 Canadian reunion tour and they are now ready to hit the United States and eight more Canadian venues. To the surprise of those who mock aging rockers reuniting for nostalgia tours, the shows were a hit with both fans and critics. Randy Bachman, the 57-year-old guitarist, said, "This tour is going to be even better than last year's. We've added more hits." The set list, which includes four songs by his post-Guess Who band, Bachman-Turner Overdrive. "People asked us why we didn't do Shakin' All Over (the Guess Who's first hit, in 1965), so we're opening with Shakin' All Over, then going right into Hand Me Down World and These Eyes, and then You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet. Bam! 1-2-3-4! You got it! Then we do Glamour Boy, Lookin' Out For No. 1, No Sugar Tonight ..." The American Woman tour is named after the group's most well-known hit which made a recent come-back when it was used in two recent movies. Lenny Kravitz recorded a version for Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me and the song also appeared in the Oscar-winning movie American Beauty. Bachman continues to work on his skills by watching instructional videos. "It's exercise for the brain and fingers," he explained. And he credits country axemeister Chet Atkins, jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, and British instrumentalist Hank B. Marvin of The Shadows with influencing his music. "I am who I am because of Hank and The Shadows," Bachman said. Bachman also credits his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for keeping him alive all these years, while "people my own age and younger are passing away from smoking and other things. I'm fortunate that I had these rules to live by." Source: Bachman still in overdrive Montreal Canada Gazette 25Aug01 A2 >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: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 13:04:13 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Irreantum fiction contest winners At 08:54 AM 8/24/01 -0700, you wrote: >Is he still a friend? >:) Well, you have to give a certain amount of slack to non-writers. . . . barbara hume - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 11:59:29 -0600 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] Joseph Smith Story Here are some of the audience problems, as I see them. Let's suppose you choose to dramatize Joseph and polygamy. Now, you could = show Joseph marrying old widows, providing for them, suggesting that = that's all plural marriage was. But that wouldn't work, because that's = not what happened. Or you could eliminate plural marriage entirely. It = would ignore an imporant historical fact, but you need to be selective = anyway, so okay, we cut that out. Except it's reductive, and besides, = suddenly June 1844 doesn't make sense anymore. (I mean, why did he = destroy the Expositor?) So you could show Joseph routinely sneaking = around at night in Nauvoo to visit his young and attractive other wives, a = practice Emma, uh, disapproved of. That's all true, so there you go, = that's our story. And suddenly, Joseph is a serial adulterer, and that's = also reductive and untrue. But I maintain that there's absolutely no way = on earth to show Joseph in plural marriage as it plural marriage was = understood and taught in the nineteenth century. "It's this tremendous = sacrifice I have to make." Yeah, cry me a river. Or we could have a = scene where Joseph breaks down and cries, and talks to Emma about how = sorry he is, and he'll never do it again. You could make him seriously = repentant. And that also isn't true; that turns out to be reductive and = false, as opposed to reductive but kinda true. This is just one issue, plural marriage, bou can't leave it in and you = can't cut it out. A biographer can give a lot more context, and a lot = more detail, and the result might be Donna Hill's excellent biography of = Joseph, which is meticulous and careful and well written, and, from my = perspective, pretty seriously reductive. She gives lots of detail, and = the details don't add up to a coherent whole. Drama and literature can = sometimes do a better job with character than biography or history can. = But in this case, the divide is just too huge. =20 I think our best hope is to show Joseph through the eyes of other people. = James Arrington's play does a nice job of this. Like I say, I want to = show Joseph through Hyrum's eyes. But I think the subject is all but = impossible. We can't help but reduce him. Eric Samuelsen =20 - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 12:50:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Krista Halverson Subject: [AML] re: Eugene England This post is without a specific intention, other than to honor a teacher and mentor I loved. Let me just add my tribute to the list that will continue to grow, no doubt. His bibliography is long, but the influence of his life will outdo even that, I suspect. As a fairly absent-minded personality, I nevertheless keep a careful account of my debts. And now I find myself owing something I thought I'd have time to repay. HOW I expected to repay Eugene England for his influence on my education, literary direction, or happiness, is a little vague. A few times I started letters of thanks, but never found adequate words. He was a person of action and the letter didn't seem like enough. Maybe I thought that someday, using what he'd taught me (and a lot more skill and wisdom than I have now) I'd be able to in some way contribute to his efforts--to show him how much I believed in his vision for our people. Eugene England extended credit to hundreds like me and he did expect something in return, I think. There is a debt outstanding. Since hearing of his first illness I started to panic, wondering what we (what I) would do without the man who did the work of 50. Then I remember hearing Brother England tell a student in his office, 'Well, I think you're a good writer. What do you need me for?' Well, we do need him. Thankfully he has left us with a collection of models from his own voice that can't be exhausted. The unease I still feel is partially because he has gone before I could give back any of what I took. Maybe the best way to know what to do now, when I feel lost (and imagine others share the feeling) is to consider what he asked of his students. He wanted an thoughtful, expansive literature from us, and for us to examine our culture with kindness and without fear. He wanted us to know how to believe, how to ask, and how to love. It's not easy to say goodbye, even for a season. And how to offer my thanks and sorrow to the England family for their generosity and their loss--I don't know how to do that either. His essays, and then his office when I moved to Utah, were places I could go to hear words that reaffirmed my faith and committed me to learning more about my religion and my people. This email begins my tribute to Brother England, who was, for me, the father of Mormon literature. Krista Halverson __________________________________________________ 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: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 13:56:15 -0600 From: "Paris ANDERSON" Subject: [AML] speaking of Homer My name is Paris, and my wife's name is Helen. Over the years there = have been many people (most of them Mormons) who have caught the = connection between those names. Helen and I eloped in a black VW Van = (the closest thing I could get to a black ship), and when we returned = from Vegas, my parents had a dinner in our honor. There was an Illyid = motif to the decorations. Most people understood what was meant by the = golden apple Helen carried around. I first read Homer in my Junior High English textbook. I don't think = it's possible to go to school, or listen to Cream, and not get an = introduction to Homer. Whoever said Mormons don't read Homer sounds = really, really pretentious and doesn't seem to think about what he is = saying. I'll bet his eyes were brown . . . - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 14:43:20 -0700 From: "Jeff Needle" Subject: Re: [AML] George W. GIVENS, _Out Of Palmyra_ (Review) - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thom Duncan" > You've touched upon a point of Givens' argument that is weak, imo. I'm > only going on Jeff Needle's review, not having read the book, but it > appears to me that Givens is taking the position that there are only two > ways to explain Joseph Smith: Prophet or Fraud (with fraud, implying a > willful attempt to deceive). This is a specious argument because it > simplfies what I believe is a complex situation and it insults followers > of other "prophets" (despite Given's quote to the contrary). > He skirts the issue that you raise, only hinting at it in vague statements. He frequently juxtaposes the the idea of "fraud" against how Joseph did it, and allows for no other alternatives. [Jeff Needle] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 16:13:53 -0600 From: Lynette Jones Subject: RE: [AML] Joseph Smith Story H mm, a lot of criticism. I think we can do better than this. At 03:05 PM 8/23/01 -0600, you wrote: >---Original Message From: Eric R. Samuelsen > > The more I think about it, the more I think Gary's right. We > > could write about how someone else viewed Joseph--I've always > > wanted to tell Joseph's story from Hyrum's perspective. > > (James Arrington has a wonderful play that takes a kind of > > Rashomon approach to Joseph.) We could take the > > semi-documentary approach the Church is leaning towards in > > recent films, where you spend the whole film quoting old > > journals. (I like that approach a lot, and think it's quite > > effective.) We could take what Tim Slover has suggested: an > > ecstatic approach, quite stylized, in which we celebrate > > Joseph's life as the Medieval mystery plays did the life of > > Christ, with an emphasis on doctrine. (I'd like to try that > > one too.) > > > > But I wonder if it's even possible to really communicate who > > Joseph Smith was dramatically. I can't help but think that > > any attempt will prove to me so reductive it bear only the > > most tangential relationship to its subject. And yet we keep > > trying, don't we? It's an itch we have to scratch. But we > > can never seem to scratch it satisfactorily. > >I wonder if we wouldn't have the same problem writing about Christ if we >had as much source material as we do for Joseph Smith. It seems to me that we have so much more information about the Character of Jesus Christ than we do Joseph Smith! :) Every prophet who has written has added their bit of information. But the person who gave us the greatest clues on the character of both Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith is Isaiah. Even before the Greeks, Isaiah understood the four parts to character. (Isaiah 11:2) This gives us a clue that this was not new knowledge, but knowledge handed down through the generations from the beginning of time. I wonder if Isaiah would not have had access to the greatest collection of ancient records available in his time, seeing the wealth and age of the kingdom of Israel at the time and the inherent practice of gathering knowledge which is a sign of the true believers, if only... >Now, I hesitate >to even say that because it feeds into the hands of people who claim we >worship Joseph on the same level as Jesus--which we just don't. But I >don't think that comparison is necessarily unwarranted. What we know >about Christ is intriguing enough, even realizing that we know really >very little. All the same problems exist, even the warts-showing one. >Not that Jesus had warts, but there's quite a bit there that people like >to gloss over in their own way (like Joseph Smith's polygamy). Since >our main source for stories of Jesus are a) faithful and b) doctrine >centered, we tend to miss those things that are only hinted at which >could make him our Merry Savior and as complex a character as Joseph is. By using very simple rules of psychology, they need not seem so complex. Strip it down to the bare facts. Understand the personality of the writer and then you will see the main character a little more clearly. >I guess what I'm saying is that we'd have a tough time writing stories >of Jesus if we had the same depth of source material. Lacking that >depth, we can fill in the blanks as we see fit. We can have "Stone >Tables", "Testaments", "The Last Temptation", even "Life of Bryan" and >not worry about contradicting contemporary accounts (or leaving things >out due to some imagined bias). I wonder if we couldn't do with Joseph >what seems to be an interesting trend with Jesus--have him show up in a >modern context. What would a "Cowboy Joseph" look like? Again, you >have to make sure that we aren't substituting Joseph for Jesus in a >faith/worship way, but doing so in a literary way might be practicable. >The benefits of that is that all the problems you mentioned turn into >back story, and are thus easier to cut or emphasize as needed by the >story. Plus, it's an intriguing thought: What *would* Joseph do if he >were thrust into our modern world? I expect there'd be some interesting >fireworks... > >Jacob Proffitt Anything is possible if it serves you purpose. And of course, that is the key. LCJ [Lynette Jones] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 18:25:02 EDT From: Paynecabin@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] _Testaments_ In a message dated 8/27/01 9:04:30 AM, Chris.Bigelow@UnicityNetwork.com writes: << And I noticed a missed dramatic opportunity that was another instance of the movie's narrative limitations--after the darkness, someone mentions they couldn't light a fire because the vapor was so thick. Why not show that? >> Um, because it's film? Marvin Payne - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 16:35:10 -0600 (MDT) From: katie@aros.net Subject: RE: [AML] Writing About "Good" Mormons Quoting Ronn Blankenship : > 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! :) Actually he was hiding in France and was drunk when the missionaries tracted him out... I can't remember whether the dream came before or after (or during?) that part, but it was kind of amusing. Maybe that explains why he converted :) - --Katie Parker - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 17:12:56 -0700 From: "Katrina Duvalois" Subject: RE: [AML] Used LDS Books for Sale? I would really like to participate in something like this. Especially if we could _swap_ titles! I have been searching for _House Without Walls_ by Margaret Young but haven't had a lot of luck. Living in CA our thrift stores don't have much LDS Fiction. I have found some but it's mostly Jack Weyland (not that there's anything wrong with that), or probably something _I_ donated! Katrina Duvalois - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 22:44:45 -0400 From: "Tom Johnson" Subject: [AML] re: Joseph Smith Story hi, I was reading last night orwell's essay "Decline of the English Murder" and I came across a few lines about JS as one of the prime murderers in history--thought it was intriguing, as I'd never heard that categorization before. "Our great priod in murder, our Elizabethan period, so to speak, seems to have been between roughly 1850 and 1925, and the murderers whose reputation has stood the test of time are the following: Dr Palmer of Rugely, Jack the Ripper, Neill Cream, Mrs Maybrick, Dr Crippen, Seddon, Joseph Smith, Armstrong, and Bywaters and Thompson. . . . .Providence could be clearly seen, or one of those episodes that no novelist would dare to make up, such as Crippen's flight across the ATlantic with his mistress dressed as a boy, or Joseph Smith playing 'Nearer, my God, to Thee' on the harmonium while one of his wives was drowning in the next room. The background of all these creimes, except Neilll Craem's,w as essentially domestic; of twelve victims, seven were either wife or husband of the murderer." Did I miss out on something? Does anyone know where I can find the full relation of the harmonium incident? Tom - -------------------------------------- Or let my Lamp at midnight hour, Be seen in some high lonely Tower, Where I may oft out-watch the Bear --Milton - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 00:57:13 -0500 From: "Preston" Subject: [AML] Susan Evans McCloud Movie I found this interesting, and thought AML might appreciate it: The website for Stone Forest, an Orem-based film production company, lists Susan Evans McCloud as president and a screenwriter. A couple of the company's completed projects list her as the screenwriter. AML members will be probably most familiar with McCloud as one of the most popular authors of LDS literature. She's a staple in LDS bookstores with her novels, short stories and non-fiction. I was wondering when already established LDS writers would start seeing their works turned to film in the post-Dutcher era. Most LDS-oriented films currently in production are original screenplays. McCloud's "Black Stars Over Mexico" appears to be well into the pre-production stage. It is about the Mexican Colonies in the early years of the 1900s. It joins Weyland's _Charly_ as an existing LDS novel (not an original screenplay) about to go before cameras. And, of course, Mitch Davis's "The Other Side of Heaven" is based on Elder Groberg's _In the Eye of the Storm_, although that book is memoirs, not a novel, and that film is already in the can, release pending. Other LDS authors whose books have been made into films (mostly made-for-television films) include: Raymond F. Jones, James C. Christensen, Zenna Henderson, Anne Perry, Richard Paul Evans, Richard M. Siddoway, Hartt Wixom, Douglas Thayer, Herbert Harker, Blaine Yorgason and Brent Yorgason, Lael J. Littke and Judith Freeman. But none of these films have been made specifically for LDS audiences however. Although McCloud's book _Black Stars Over Mexico_ is published by Granite Publishing & Distribution and sold at LDS bookstores, including Deseret Book, the film looks like it will be marketed to a general television audience. Preston Hunter www.adherents.com Dallas, Texas >From the Stone Forest production company website: http://www.stoneforest.tv/movies.html Susan Evans McCloud and Gilbert Howe are proud to announce a new movie in pre-production. This movie being made for TV, as a movie of the week, will be shot on location in Utah and Arizona. The movie working title is Black Stars Over Mexico, based on a true story that takes place in the early 1900's. The book was written by Susan Evans McCloud. She interviewed those who had lived in the Mexican Colonies as children and took their stories and compiled them into this book. The picture will be directed by Gilbert Howe. More details will be coming soon. We have communicated with ICE for distribution. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 01:00:46 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Cliches in Science Fiction Annette Lyon wrote: > I laughed heartily--and I'm a SF fan. I'm surprised to hear that Star Trek > has a cliche wall, because they keep using cliches, even recycling Next > Generation plots into Voyager. I'll vouch for the existence of the cliche board, because I heard it directly from the mouth of a prominent staff member on Star Trek. As for the intelligence of the minds using the board, I have no comment. - -- 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: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 06:04:52 -0700 From: "althlevip" Subject: [AML] Re: Eugene England (was: Question for Levi Peterson) - ----- Original Message ----- From: "rwilliams" To: Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 1:23 PM Subject: [AML] Question for Levi Peterson Levi, I was touched by your comments at Eugene England's memorial service, and I wondered if you would mind sharing them with the list here? - --John. Remarks at Memorial Service for Eugene England Provo, Utah. August 25, 2001. Levi S. Peterson I feel greatly honored to be asked to speak at this memorial service. I hope I can add a dimension to our mutual recognition of Gene's virtues and qualities. I suppose that Charlotte and the children discerned a good many foibles in Gene. Perhaps he habitually failed to put down the toilet seat after relieving himself, or perhaps he failed to rinse his dirty dishes and stack them in the dishwasher as agreed upon in family council. But such foibles were invisible to me. In my presence Gene projected an aura of amiability, gentle humor, and benevolence. Benevolence, a desire that good prevail, was rooted deeply within Gene's spirit. It was, in fact, the essence of his spirituality. I was aware of Gene as a co-founder of Dialogue before I met him personally. My admiration for that journal, which continues unabated to the latest moment, predisposed me to admire him. I first met Gene personally when he left St. Olaf's College and returned to Utah. About 1978, he and I became colleagues on the board of the Association for Mormon Letters. During the 1980s, he published affirmative interpretations of some of my fiction. I could wish that every author had an interpreter and critic like Gene. Throughout the later 1980s and well into the 1990s, Gene invited me about once a year to speak to his Mormon literature class at BYU. Almost invariably some earnest student would inquire why I felt the need in my fiction to treat sex frankly and add vulgarities to the dialogue of my characters. I'm not sure I had a satisfactory answer. Nonetheless, a year later Gene would invite me to return. My affection for Gene-and for Charlotte too-was deepened when, during the early 1990s, they joined a writing group to which Althea and I belonged. The group included four other couples over an eighteen year period. We met once a month for dinner at the home of the writer whose turn it was to have previously mailed a manuscript for our critique. Althea and I regarded all the couples as dear and intimate friends with whom we felt utterly comfortable. It was only after Gene and Charlotte joined this writing group that I became aware that in their youth they had wed and forthwith departed on a mission to Samoa. I am not sure that Gene, comforted for months by the presence of his wife, was properly tested by his mission. Thanks to my association with Gene and Charolette, I gradually came to know their children as well, who, like Gene and Charlotte, are warm, intense, and creative personalities, deeply religious yet tolerant of the tensions between faith and reason. Among many lessons close association with Gene has taught me is the ability to embrace men whom I love. Upon arriving at our house for dinner and an evening of discussion, Gene approached me with open arms and gave me a warm hug. I was raised to be reticent about such demonstrations between men. Tutored by Gene and others in our writing group, I overcame that reticence. I will call Gene a liberal Mormon. I consider myself a liberal Mormon too. However, whereas I am a liberal jack Mormon, Gene was a liberal good Mormon. In common Mormon parlance, a good Mormon is one who goes to church, pays tithing, keeps the Word of Wisdom, performs church assignments, attends the temple. Gene was a Mormon of that sort. But as I say, he was also a liberal Mormon. A liberal is often defined as a person who desires change within an organization. I for one am the sort of liberal who would propose changes within the church in the name of civilization, civilization implying a dynamic process by which one culture adopts a desirable improvement or change for the better from another. Obviously, the Mormon church is a part of this large dynamic process, its members commingling with the members of sister cultures on a daily basis, influencing and being influenced by them. In my view, the person within the church best suited to propose desirable change is the faithful Mormon liberal, who by virtue of wide reading and a curious, rational mind is instinctively attracted to the expanding edge of civilization, where the old is constantly transformed into the new in science, art, morality, and dozens of other categories. To my thinking, this was exactly the role that Gene fulfilled. However, I am aware that Gene would not have explained his proposals for change within the church in terms of an advancing world civilization. He would have explained them in terms of leading a Christ-like life. Every faithful Mormon desires to be Christ-like, and every faithful Mormon will urge a more Christ-like life upon fellow church members. What distinguished Gene's concept of a Christ-like life was that it was not punctilious. It was not concerned with jots and tittles, with dotting your i's and crossing your t's. It was concerned with the spirit not the letter of the law. It did not assume you can quantify righteousness. I would like to read a paragraph from Gene's introduction to The Best of Lowell L. Bennion: Selected Writings 1928-1988, a book Gene compiled and published in 1988. Besides being a tribute to the spiritual qualities of Lowell Bennion, the paragraph reveals much about Gene's own spiritual qualities. These are Gene's words: I remember a class at the institute in about 1953 on the nature of God. A student asked why, if God is no respecter of persons, as the scriptures and common sense clearly indicate, a difference existed in God's church between black and all others. I immediately answered, as I had been taught all my life, "Well, God is also a God of justice, and since blacks were not valiant in the preexistence, they are cursed with the just consequences." In the discussion following my remark, Brother Bennion-who in my experience never mentioned this issue except when directly questioned-pronounced no answers, quoted no dogma. He simply asked me how I knew blacks had not been valiant. When I had no answer but tradition, he gently suggested that the God revealed in Christ would surely let blacks know what they had done wrong and how they could repent, rather than merely punishing them-and since God had done no such thing, it seemed better to believe that blacks had been, and were, no different spiritually from the rest of us. As I thought about this, my way of thinking about the gospel was changed, and not merely concerning this issue. I came to realize with stunning clarity that many of my beliefs, ones that profoundly affected my relationships to others, were based on flimsy and unexamined evidence and were directly contradictory to great gospel principles like the impartial Fatherhood of God, the universal brotherhood of humankind, and the unconditional atonement, which offered sufficient power to all to repent and be both saved and exalted. (xiv) Gene propagated those "great gospel principles" on many fronts over a long and influential career. I recall the excitement I felt at a regional Sunstone symposium in Seattle in 1989 when Gene boldly asserted that when the Book of Mormon speaks of the brown skin of the Lamanites as a curse from God, it should be interpreted as a statement of racial prejudice on the part of the Nephite prophets who wrote the Book of Mormon. This excited me, as I say, because I believed Gene's interpretation made it easier for a reasonable person to believe in the Book of Mormon. The most important thing about Gene for me was that he made me feel more like a true Mormon. Whereas many readers have felt that the vision of the Cowboy Jesus which occurs to my character Frank Windham in The Backslider is blasphemous, Gene called it "one of the most lovely and believable epiphanies I have encountered in modern fiction" (101) He went on to say in the same review that, while I have often called myself a backslider in public places, my novel suggests that I have, as he put it, "backslid a bit from backsliding" (102). Actually, I have not got over the feeling that I am an irretrievable backslider. Yet I recognize that my association with persons who are both good Mormons and liberal Mormons has made me feel that I am, good or bad, nothing less than a Mormon. Many of them are present in this building today. I admire such persons greatly and believe I do well to add my effort to the cause of making the Mormon church a comfortable home for such worshipers as they. Gene was among the foremost who salvaged me for Mormonism. In his benevolent presence I felt my inadequacies diminished and my qualities enhanced. I have written that I am a Christian, if not by faith, at least by yearning. I have said that my fellow Latter-day Saints often seem so intent upon exaltation, a condition of celestial reward and glory to be earned by earthly valor and vigilance, that they appear to pay only a perfunctory respect to salvation, the gift of eternal life, given to all freely by the atoning death of Christ. As for celestial reward and glory, it would seem that a backslider should expect little. All the more reason for me to rely on the simple promise of eternal life. Still I somehow expect that if, after I have awakened from the darkness of death into the miraculous light of eternal life, I need someone to speak a good word for me, Gene will step forth to do it. I know I can rely on Gene to assert that my soul is more worthy than I ever imagined. Works Cited: England, Eugene. "Beyond 'Jack Fiction': Recent Achievement in the Mormon Novel." BYU Studies. 28.2 (Spring 1988), 97-109. England, Eugene, ed. "Introduction." The Best of Lowell L. Bennion: Selected Writings 1928- 1988. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1988. Levi Peterson althlevip@msn.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 ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #436 ******************************