From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #596 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 Wednesday, January 30 2002 Volume 01 : Number 596 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 10:58:18 -0700 From: "Scott Parkin" Subject: [AML] Last Call for AML Award Nominations On behalf of the AML I want to thank you all for your ongoing discussion of Mormon literature on this list, and for your efforts to keep me alerted of notable titles. I have one last favor to ask of you for this past year. We're in the process of finalizing the award selections for the 2001 AML Awards and I want to make sure that we have considered all notable titles in each of our award categories. Please send me the names of titles and authors that you feel have produced excellent work in 2001 in these categories, even if you've already sent that information to me during the year: - -- Children's* - -- Young Adult* - -- Short story* - -- Poetry* - -- Novel - -- Drama/Film - -- Essay - -- Criticism * Certain categories, such as poetry and short story and children's/YA, are harder for me to track because the venues for publication fall largely outside the traditional Mormon publishers, and sadly tend to receive less notice in the LDS press. Please take extra effort to send me information on excellent titles that have been published in these categories. Also, works such as poetry and short fiction that appear in periodicals other than the standard LDS magazines (BYU Studies, Sunstone, Irreantum, Dialogue, Literature and Belief, Inscape, Ensign) often escape notice. Your extra effort to recommend titles that have appeared in 2001 in periodicals is appreciated. Again, I'm looking for titles and authors, not manuscripts at this point. Thank you again for your help. The AML wants to recognize excellent work wherever it may appear. With your help we can make sure that all excellent work is considered for this special recognition. I would love to see your individual recommended lists appear on the AML-List, but I specifically want to make sure the AML Awards judges are aware of the titles so I ask that you also send your nominations directly to me at scottparkin@earthlink.net. Thanks again. Good reading! Scott Parkin AML Awards Coordinator - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 01:05:40 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Pop Culture and Cultural Conservatism "Richard R. Hopkins" wrote: > But they were the more > passionate _because_ they knew their passion would not be taken advantage of > by the other person. I thought it was a beautiful and romantic scene. Still, > it was terribly arousing, and I was finally convinced to take it out of the > book. I wonder if that was a good idea, but even more, I wonder if it says > something about the scene itself or about Mormons in general. Are we able to > produce the avant-garde form Eric describes or are we still too prudish? It was a bad idea to take the scene out, it says something about Mormons in general, and many Mormons _are_ too prudish to produce the avant-garde stuff Eric describes. And I for one don't understand the mindset that causes that to happen. That would be the mindset that thinks it's a good idea to stifle natural feelings that humans have instead of learning to cope with them. Human feelings don't stifle well. It's a solution that simpy doesn't work. I say put the scene back in and let your readers feel a little arousal over a chaste romantic scene for once, instead of the other kind. I think it would do them good. - -- 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 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 00:31:27 -0800 From: "Jeff Needle" Subject: [AML] Marilyn BROWN, _House on the Sound_ (Review) Review ====== Title: House on the Sound Author: Marilyn Brown Publisher: Salt Press Year Published: 2001 Number of Pages: 235 Binding: Hardback ISBN: 1-55517-584-8 Price: $22.50 Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle (A poet learned that one of his poems was to be discussed in a public lecture at a local university. He attended the talk, sitting in the back so no one would recognize him. As he listened to the professor explaining what the poem *really* meant, the poet asked himself, "Is that *really* what I was trying to say?" The temptation to read into the motives of a writer ought to be eschewed. I will exercise no such restraint in this review.) "House on the Sound" presents itself as "based on a true story." The narrator is a young girl who has two younger sisters. Their names match the names of Brown's sisters, to whom the book is dedicated. There must be an element of autobiography in this book. But "based on a true story" differs quantitatively from "a true story," allowing the author a degree of license not otherwise permitted. If this were truly autobiographical, I would first be very frightened, and then would dismiss it as not believable. Brown's book is set in the military town of Bremerton, Washington, shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Bill McKinsey is employed by the government in the building of support materials for military hardware. His wife stays at home with their children, Lindy (the eldest) and her little sister Elaine. Across the road is the Barbar home. Anyone trying to discover anything of a family structure in the Barbar household will be disappointed. There is a mother, children, and other assorted characters whose roles will not emerge until much later in the book. Needing help in their household, the McKinsey's invite Bill's parents to come live with them. Grandfather McKinsey is a grouchy, suspicious old man who, upon studying the Barbars from afar, decides they are evil, and that Lindy should avoid any contact with them. Not the right kind of people, to be sure. But one day, Lindy catches sight of Sarah, one of the children from the Barbar home. She wants badly to get to know this older, strikingly beautiful girl. She finds her way to the Barbar home, despite her grandfather's warning, and is immersed in a family life, indeed an entire worldview, foreign to her. Relationships are hard to figure in the Barbar home. I had a difficult time figuring out what Brown had in mind in telling this story, until a *real* meaning of the book came to me in a flash, hidden in a seemingly innocent conversation. Grandmother Jessie, the maternal grandmother, is visiting the McKinsey family. Grandfather McKinsey is railing about the Barbar family and how obviously they were involved in something sinister. Grandmother Jessie always stood up to him [Grandfather McKinsey]. My mother looked weary as she watched. "I'll thank you not to make any unfair judgments, Mr. McKinsey. And the same for the innocent girl, Sarah." "What if she ain't innocent?" my grandfather glared. My Grandmother Jessie was standing now. She stood quiet for a moment as though she were absorbing Grandfather's anger. "Are you innocent?" (p. 98-99) Who, indeed, was innocent? Were Grandfather McKinsey's hands clean as he ranted about the Barbars being spies, having no evidence to justify his charge, other than his own fears and insecurities? Were the Barbars guilty because they were different? How does one make moral judgments in time of war? I began to appreciate the book more when I reframed the story as a parable of a modern-day Eden. Bremerton became the garden; the Barbar house became the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Barbars were the forbidden fruit; little Lindy is an embryonic Eve, chomping at the bit to partake of the fruit, despite many warnings about the consequences. The fall finally comes when Lindy finds herself literally up a tree with one of the Barbar girls, being fired upon by a hunter who presumably doesn't know they're in the tree. The experience shatters young Lindy, but doesn't deter her from further pursuits at the forbidden Tree. The Barbars practice strange rituals -- odd fires over which one of the family members performs what sounds like a strange chant; mysterious Barbars living in ravines, collecting animal and human bones to be transformed into trinkets. Contrast them with the sterile environment of the McKinsey family. The Barbars are much more interesting, you want to dive right in and share in their daily lives, but Grandfather tells us they're evil! How do we dance around the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil without ever reaching out for just a taste of the fruit? It is Sarah, the older child of the Barbar family who has captured Lindy's devotion, who provided me with the greatest insights into what I'm calling the real meaning of this book. In this brief excerpt, Sarah is performing her duties, cleaning the McKinsey home (she was hired by Mrs. McKinsey to help out). Lindy and her younger sister are keeping her company: For several hours we helped Sarah. Sometimes she whispered while she worked: "What a pretty floor," or "Everything is so new," or "What nice cupboards." I watched her scour inside the toy chest, her thick arms working inside the loose sleeves. The movement of her arms rocked her breasts. I found myself watching them. I tried to turn away. But my eyes would not stop looking. I watched her neck. The tendons in her neck would tighten. After we scoured the toy chest, we cleaned out the linen cupboard. "You have a beautiful home. Your mother wants to keep it clean so it won't get run down like ours. You can keep this clean. Ours will never be clean." (p. 100) Whatever evil is going on in the Barbar house is deep, dark and permanent. We learn later just *how* permanent it is later in the book, leading to an ugly and tragic conclusion. But where exactly does the evil lie? The moral ambiguity of the characters manifests itself in both attitudes and acts. Mrs. Barbar welcomes the McKinsey children with open arms; the McKinsey children are forbidden from associating with the Barbars. But is Mrs. Barbar's welcome that of a gentle mother, or is it the enticement of an evil tempter? Is Grandfather McKinsey a loving grandfather, interested only in the protection of his grandchildren? Or is he a bigoted old man who wants nothing more than to pass along his bigotry to his grandchildren? As the book proceeds, several characters enter and leave, one more eccentric than the next. Each contributes to the story line by adding a dimension to the whole discussion of innocence and guilt. The McKinseys take in a border, a tall, gaunt vacuum cleaner salesman, plagued by an awkward gait and a lack of social skills. We don't ever learn what he's really up to, but his very presence adds a layer of mystery to the McKinsey family dynamic. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor comes a new layer of suspicion and nearly paranoid caution. Grandfather McKinsey is particularly pungent in his condemnation of the Barbars, believing they are guilty of smuggling military secrets into the hands of the Japanese. But even he softens as he is forced to put a face to his hatred. Meeting the Barbar children transforms him, but only for a moment, creating an uncertainty that Lindy finds difficult to understand. The word "Mormon" doesn't appear anywhere in the book. But when Bill McKinsey becomes interested in Mormonism, his family finds the whole matter distasteful. But in what context? Prior to Bill's interest in the Church, little is said about family faith. Religion is a constant topic of discussion at their dinner table, but it often consists of those fringe beliefs in vogue at the time, such as the meaning of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Were this an ordinary Mormon novel, we would expect Bill's conversion to Mormonism to "make everything better," to bring clarity and focus in the life of the McKinsey family. Happily, it does no such thing. In fact, unless I missed something, it doesn't appear that Bill's Mormonism has any effect at all in the lives of the McKinsey's, unless you count Lindy's annoyance with the Sunday School. I hope you decide to read this book. It is so much more complex than what I've been able to suggest here, but I can't go further without giving away the entire plot. It is written with a subtle elegance that is deceiving. Seen through the eyes of a child, the passage of the war years is populated by new discoveries, new fears and new uncertainties. Good and evil commingle in the people who surround her life. Of course, re-told in the masterful prose of an accomplished writer like Brown, we are left to read between the lines and experience the real nature of horror, of evil. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 04:24:21 EST From: BroHam000@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Dymamic Relationships with God (was: Life in Mormon Culture) It's the middle of the night, and I am dealing with the flu, or something like it, and my mind will not be quiet. I keep thinking about some of the postings under this topic (Life in Mormon Culture). I keep thinking about Paris Anderson's essay in Irreantum, "Growing Up Tough". I grew up "calm". Let me elaborate: I would unhesitatingly answer yes if asked, did I grow up "in the Church". But when my parents married at the ripe old age of 18, my dad was inactive and my mom was not a member. As he refused, however, to go to any other church, she agreed to see what his was all about. In that process, he gave up his smokes, got active, she accepted the Gospel wholeheartedly, and when I was two, we were all sealed together. Now, being but a little child at the time, I have no way of knowing what was coursing through my parents' brains, but somehow I got the impression early that we were strong Mormons, which meant that we had a perfect understanding of things, of everything. We kept the commandments, we shined our light, we were there to help others...but we were, as well, inside that disguise we put on, spiritually immature, insecure little people, groping around for meaning, for comfort. At least I was. Somehow though, to acknowledge this sense of lost-ness, of being incomplete, was absolutely the most frightening prospect possible. It was the proverbial elephant in the living room: it was there, we all knew it was there, but none of us talked about it; it just grew bigger and more frightening, and we grew more and more adept at not noticing. It was to deal with this inner horror, this kind of emptiness, that I developed the image of calmness. I was probably in the fifth or sixth grade when, in some book I was reading, I was struck by the description of a woman, and I found in this description my ideal. She was impeccably dressed in white as she sat aboard a train. She was completely self-possessed, completely composed. What impressed me most was that her hands were crossed on her lap, and that they remained so, in perfect stillness, free of any nervous fumblings. Wow. I never have mastered the art of dressing impeccably. I did however, over the years, become an an expert at being composed. It was an image I projected to hide the alienation I felt inside. I must emphasize here, that inasmuch as this image was based on true understanding of who I was as a child of God, it was genuine composure, genuine security. This is the safety of keeping the commandments. But side by side with that authenticity was this horrible fear that I was, at my very core, totally fake! I don't know who was responsible for this fear...my well-intentioned - and loving - parents were just doing the best they could, struggling forward despite their own fears. I think, though, that my insistence on holding on to this image, on projecting this persona that was not completely myself, was the biggest factor. Though I adopted it to hide my fears, in fact it fed my fears. I think that's what adopting an image instead of simply seeing, and allowing oneself to be seen, whole, "warts and all", does for a person. I perpetuated this image into marriage and motherhood. It was especially important to me when my children became frightened at night, or when they were hurt and I had to take them to the hospital for care. During those times, a big part of me was in total panic, not knowing what to do at all. And that not knowing was the biggest specter of all. My subconscious belief was that, being a member of the Lord's Church, I should know what to do, the Spirit should be able to get through to me and tell me. Since I didn't know what to do, it could only mean that I was horribly flawed somehow. So I put on my composed image. I spoke soothingly, I urged my little ones to pray...but at the same time I feared that my faith, my efforts, were not sufficient, because there was something inside of me, or more accurately, something not inside of me, some unnamed emptiness. At least nobody knew that, though....uh huh. As C. Terry Warner points out (Bonds That Make Us Free), no matter what images we project, we still see each other for who we really are. My children felt that emptiness as I felt it as a child myself. Basically, I was (am) a handicapped person. Part of me simply could not provide what my children needed, because I did not possess it myself. I won't tell you what our family has been through. For one thing, it's not a whole lot different from what anyone else on the planet has been through: a lot. I don't know how many times I've gone to bishops, home teachers, visiting teachers for help...not to mention the sessions with counselors and therapists. I always came away from those sessions still needy. Welcome to mortality. The Church is the body of Christ. It is the earthly kingdom. Earthly. Our bodies (including our psyches: our self-imposed images) are earthly. Imperfect, incomplete, frustrating, frightening, not whole. Just like the earthly Church. But as the Church strives forward until "we all come to a unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ", so our individual mortal selves strive forward. I am in the process of tearing off the mask. Every time I have gone, broken, to some other mortal, even someone with a priesthood stewardship for me, I have come away still broken, until I took my brokenness before my Savior. Mortals can only do so much, even though we must do all we can, which is never enough; but the Savior's grace is sufficient (Ether 12:27). I have had to do this again and again, and I will continue to have to do this. But it is working. After "all we've been through" in twenty-six years of marriage and before that, we are still here, still together, still striving. We have made and kept our covenants (thank God for repentance), and He has kept his, beyond our wildest imaginations. And we are still so broken. "Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. (2 Ne. 4:19)" Amen: so be it. Linda Hyde - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:24:28 -0500 From: "Kristy Thomas" Subject: Re: [AML] Hymn Singing When I was a freshman in seminary in Logan, Utah, a junior boy would play those hymns like crazy! He would add extra notes and fanfare that totally jazzed up the hymns. I thought it was so cool, that I started to do it too...we had a sort of competition going during that semester as to which one of us could play the hymns better...better meaning more jazzy, fast, and exciting. I used to be ward organist and often played when they used to have Sunday School practice hymns in my student ward while attending Utah State. A few times, I was brave enough to add a little of the old fanfare...and it was always very shocking to everyone, but (most) people LOVED it! Even the bishopric complemented me on waking people up! I haven't played in sacrament meeting in years...next time I do, maybe, I'll have to jazz it up... ;-) But the folks below are right...it's usually not the chorister that is the limiting factor--it is definitely the organist. You should hear my little brother wail on the organ when he plays...he is awesome! Kristy Thomas - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 13:23:13 -0500 From: "Debra Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN Literacy in ancient Israel topic of Jan. 30 lecture at BYU: BYU Press Release 26Jan02 US UT Prov D3 [MOD: Apologies that this notice didn't get out before the event itself.] Literacy in ancient Israel topic of Jan. 30 lecture at BYU PROVO, UTAH -- A professor from Bar-Ilan University in Israel will be featured at Brigham Young University's International Lecture Series Wednesday (Jan. 30) at noon in 238 Herald R. Clark Building. The lecture by Aaron Demsky is titled "Literacy in Ancient Israel" and is sponsored by the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at BYU. Demsky is a specialist in the history of the Hebrew language and is also director of the Project for the Study of Jewish Names at Bar-Ilan University. He also supervises the Hebrew Names section in the World Congress of Jewish Studies. -###- Source: Literacy in ancient Israel topic of Jan. 30 lecture at BYU BYU Press Release 23Jan02 D3 http://www.byu.edu/news/releases/Jan/israel.htm >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 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 13:23:40 -0500 From: "Debra Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN Comedy by Ricks alumni opens on campus: Inside BYU-Idaho 23Jan02 US ID Poca A2 Comedy by Ricks alumni opens on campus REXBURG, IDAHO -- "Together Again for the First Time: A Family in Two Acts" opened Wednesday evening. The play will be performed in the Kirkham Arena Theater Jan. 23-26 and Jan. 29-31 and Feb. 1-2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased for $6 for the public by calling the Ticket Office at (208) 496-2230. The play, which was written by Ricks College alumnus Reed McColm, premiered at Ricks in 1988 and director John Bidwell says it was time to bring it back to stage. "The play becomes what the struggle is for all of us...for our families to stay together," says Bidwell. The play deals with issues of divorce as two divorcees attempts to bring their families from previous marriages together for the first time for the Christmas holiday. "People will recognize people from their own lives represented by the characters and situations," he says. Source: Comedy by Ricks alumni opens on campus Inside BYU-Idaho 23Jan02 A2 http://www.byui.edu/pr/insidebyui/issue_020123.htm#comedy >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 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 10:43:00 -0800 From: jltyner@postoffice.pacbell.net Subject: [AML] Impact of Authors' Ideas (was: Atlas Shrugged) Jonathan, being mindful of the high level of posts lately, I hope you will indulge this one if it meets the criteria of taking this thread in the kind of literary direction you've requested of us. Let me kno= w. I have been fascinated with the 'Atlas Shrugged' thread of late. = =20 I even went looking in my son's room to see if I could find his copie= s of 'Atlas Shrugged' and 'The Fountainhead' figuring that they wouldn'= t be on his allowable mission reading list. Unfortunately, I wasn't ab= le to find them and have been content to read the back and forth of many= =20 of the lively minds on this list. Some feel that her writings and philosophies were pertinent to the ti= mes in which she seemed to have formed such thinking-the thirties and pos= t WW II/Cold War period and politics, but I tend to disagree with that. I have noticed a resurgence of interest in her and her philosophies i= n the last few years as the mention of the feature movie and movie shor= t about her. I could be wrong, but I think the short won an Oscar. It was created and produced by two women I believe who expressed a lot o= f admiration for her when they accepted the award. The point of I'm trying to get to is this: This author has had a lot of influence. In politics, in philosophy, perhaps in the style she expressed herself, speaking in the literary sense. As of this date one of her prot=E9g=E9s holds a high office that affects everyday peo= ple. I am speaking of Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Boar= d. I have read about her influence on him and seen a photo of them together when Greenspan was appointed to one of his positions. The question I'm asking is this: What other authors wrote things that influenced their culture, and still influences ours today? A few names come to mind for good or ill, Karl Marx, Adolph Hitler for example-the consequences of their writings and movements still linger. Fortunately some positive figures as well, Viktor Frankel and "Man's Search for Meaning", besides the translation of the Book of Mormon Joseph Smith's teachings and Brigham Young's Journal of Discourses just to name a few. Ayn Rand is also having an influence on more young minds than most might suppose. I know of young people who are in their personal lives some of the most tolerant and compassionate people you would want to meet, but are tired of being told if they don't keep throwing more money at social situations and constantly enabling irresponsible behavior on other people's parts, while being expected to be solid citizens themselves that they are unkind, cold-hearted people. I see them rebelling against political correctness and group think. They are admiring the writings of Rand and Orwell and asserting their independence as they've been encouraged to. The irony is that they, some of them are thinking and espousing different philosophies than the people that egged them on to question authority in the first place, go against the status quo. Many of the folks that encouraged this in the mind of these young thinkers ARE th= e status quo and the establishment and are appalled that these young people are going against them, the anointed ones. So anyway, back to the question-what authors can you name that still influence us today? Kathy Tyner, Orange County, CA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 15:50:50 -0700 From: "Paris Anderson" Subject: Re: [AML] Reactions to Authors > Scott Parkin wrote: > > > > > Have any of the rest of you had that kind of response to authors? I was on a bus in San Fransisco and I was looking across the aisle a couple of rows away at an older Oriental woman. And I thought it ironic, in kind of a simple minded way, that I would find an old Oriental woman on a bus in San Fransisco. San Fransisco was the hometown of Richard Brautigan, my favorite writer. He was one of the irreverent, bawdy Haight-Ashbury era writers. One of his more memorable character sketches was about an old Oriental Woman on a bus coming home from work. He said she looked so tired, Joking to myself I thought, Damn, is she on every bus? Just then the announcer on the radio said Richard Brautigan had died that afternoon. There have been a few times in my life when everything fit perfectly, when it felt like the entire universe would fit on the head of a pin and there would be angels dancing. Extreem reverence is the only emotion that fits in such a moment. And that's what I felt. But I wished that I had a bouquet of flowers that I could give to that Oriental lady, because that is precissly what he would have done. Paris Anderson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 16:03:48 -0700 From: "Todd Petersen" Subject: RE: [AML] Life in Mormon Culture I'll now conceed one non-boring moment in church culture, and it's already in my novel, so no snitching. Lately it seems the Laurels in my ward have been out-shooting and out-fishing the young men. In a recent turkey shoot competition, the girls won ALL the competitions. And in an ice fishing derby they caught ALL the fish. The boys' fathers and leaders all but call them sissies from the pulpit. The boys just hang their bleached heads and look at their huge shoes and wait for their fathers and leaders to move on to castigating people for not doing their home teaching. I love it. It speaks to my distaste for Scouting in a wonderful, David Sedaris kind of way. It has nothing to do with being Mormon, however, Lutherans from Minnesota would call their boys sissies for the same infractions and so would Baptists from Texas and Catholics from Wyoming. - -- Todd Robert Petersen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 18:20:30 -0500 From: "Kristy Thomas" Subject: Re: [AML] Life in Mormon Culture Kellene Adams Wrote: But there are also some songs, some artwork and some lessons that are stirring, inspiring, and glorious. Which, by the way, we could probably say about just about any other culture. . . .And chances are excellent that the very songs and artwork and lessons that move me to tears may bore someone else to death. It's more a matter of taste than anything... Chris Bigelow wrote: One of my main hopes for Mormon literature is that it can highlight the limitations and dramatize alternatives, and thus have a profound effect on the culture. ... ... Much of our literature has been better at identifying the problems and limitations rather than reimagining them... What if there were an alternative universe in which Mormonism spontaneously gave rise to the most stimulating, creative culture on the planet... It being a matter of taste is as Kellee stated is undoubtedly true. But I also think it's a matter of perspective. It's the classic "half empty vs. half full" or like the beauty/hag picture in Steven Covey's 7 Habits...people can look at the same basic stuff and see something completely different. When looking at Mormon culture, Kellene and I see the elegant woman in the picture, because that's what we CHOOSE to see (not necessarily because we don't see the hag), and Chris (and others in this thread) see the hag, because that's what you CHOOSE to see. If I can echo the very positive, constructive things I heard Chris say,...instead of pointing out all of Mormon culture's faults, we in our daily interactions with others and in our writing, artwork, lessons, etc., can allow people to see the good, and indeed go beyond that to help create something new (I likes Chris' coinage..."reimagine") and encourage others to create something new... ...the "alternative universe in which Mormonism spontaneously [gives] rise to the most stimulating, creative culture on the planet..." I believe it can happen. Do you? Chris, you've shown us the hag... now create for us your vision of the "new culture" of Mormonism...help us to see *your* vision. Let's start reimagining... Everyone who reads this thread...what is *your* version of the vision of the "new culture"... and, more important, how do we create it????? Kristy Thomas >From: "Kristy Thomas" >Reply-To: aml-list@lists.xmission.com >To: aml-list@lists.xmission.com >Subject: Re: [AML] Life in Mormon Culture >Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002 16:21:30 -0500 > >Ahh...but our beliefs DO contribute to our culture... > >>From Merriam-Webster: > >"Culture:... the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a >racial, religious, or social group" > >The LDS culture to me is one of refinement, dignity, love, forgiveness, and >living up to the divine in each individual. It's about being "anxiously >engaged in a good cause." It's about seeking after the virtuous and lovely >and seeking out of the best books words of wisdom. It surpasses in it's >elegance and beauty any culture in the world. It is not as loud and flashy >as other cultures in the world, but that does NOT make it "boring". > >It is my opinion that if you think the LDS culture is boring you just don't >appreciate it for what it is, and may be desensitized by the gaudiness >elsewhere to it's elegance and beauty. It's all a matter of perspective. > >More importantly, though, I think LDS artisans have so much opportunity to >influence the LDS Culture. (It would seem you tend to agree, by your >stating that the music, artwork, etc., is boring...implying that these >elements are what MAKE UP culture). But one has to SEE it for it's >possibilities before one can portray it or influence it to the full >potential that is there. > >I personally LOVE LDS artwork, music, etc., (although I will admit to >hearing many-a-massacred musical number!) > >And, just one more thing for the record, Thom: *MY* lessons are never >boring! ;-) > >Kristy Thomas > > > >>From: Thom Duncan >> >>You say not a word about culture. Yes, the religion, the theology is >>exciting but the culture (the songs, the lessons, the art work) are >>boring. > > >-- >AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature > _________________________________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 16:36:27 -0700 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: [AML] "The Chastening" (was: Discussing Lit in the Church) I'm going to move this to a discussion of the story in question. Mainly, I think we're pretty much in agreement on Enrichment nights, their purpose, and church-sponsored literary discussions. - ---Original Message From: downing > I must admit that my first response to "The Chastening" was > disappointment, though I did laugh out loud until I came to the "punch > line." After the sock in the face, the story became down > right depressing, > sad, pathetic, and, at its conclusion I found myself > thinking, "Yeah, right. > What Branch President is going to hit the bottle after being > "chastened" > like this?" But I couldn't shake the story from my mind. (Isn't this > supposed to be my response to literature?) In fact, my mind > soon began to > fill with names of LDS people I have known who have reacted > to different > stimuli in a like manner. Don't we all know members who have > testimonies > (or so they've professed) who at some point, for some reason > that you or I > may not entirely understand, run into something in the church > that they > don't want to deal with? (The time committment of many > callings jumps into > mind.) They cannot (and usually never do) deny their > testimonies, but they > seem conflicted about attending meetings and participating > fully. Many of > these people seek an "outside" excuse to remove themselves from > participation. Some break the Word of Wisdom. No, a lot of > these people > do. (Shall we even attempt to count the number of our > teenagers who break > the Word of Wisdom because they have a nagging sense that > they can't--or > don't want to-- fit the mold that they feel is prescribed for > them?) Is it > believable that a branch president would? Sure. Why not? > Leaders aren't > anything special or super human. (I had a bishop who > committed suicide.) > The fact that this situation is fairly common is precisely > why this story > could have provided a valuable lesson for our Relief Society. I have two very specific problems with the story. First, while I can see *a* Branch President who uses something like what happened in the story as a way to give up, *this* Branch President showed *no* signs of breaking and was, in fact, active and sincere. This one incident was nowhere near enough, by itself, to prompt that degree of despair--particularly when the gospel is specifically geared to allow recovery from just such a lapse. Second, the title of the story (which is reinforced in the conclusion) implies that God is behind this chastening--that, at the very least, the Branch President's release was prompted by God. This is something that I am unwilling to accept without *any* justification in the story. Finally, did the Branch President break the law? If you want to get legalistic, he probably did but I'd be willing to bet that the Stake Presidency (and probably a judge and jury) would stick with him unless it was a manifestation of a pattern of behavior. And if you *really* want to get legalistic, the branch would have a *huge* counter-suit of religious discrimination, persecution and just *maybe* assault of their own if the Branch President can claim he felt threatened (as is perfectly reasonable given a yelling pastor invading his space and illegally evicting him from the fair). If the story wants to prompt discussion about people snapping under pressure (a perfectly reasonable message for/in the church), then it needs to support that message. I don't think that this story did that. To me, this is a story of unsupported despair that is in direct opposition to specific gospel principles. And it has the gall to suggest (by the title and conclusion) that the despair was *caused* by God? I don't think so... Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 16:52:39 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Publisher's Weekly on Deseret Book Deseret Standing Tall After Stunning Fall Season Deseret Book Co., the largest Latter-day Saints publishing house, is "standing tall" after an autumn season that saw many of its frontlist titles become bestsellers. The lead title, a devotional called "Stand a Little Taller," has sold approximately 360,000 copies since its debut in late September, which averages out to about 3,000 copies a day. The small gift book, written by LDS president and prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, is the house's first real entry into the devotional market, according to Sheri Dew, executive v-p of publishing for Shadow Mountain, an imprint of Deseret Book. She attributes the book's success to the respect Mormons have for President Gordon B. Hinckley as a spiritual leader. "And this is bite-sized, with a very attractive design and a daily Scripture verse," she explained. "It's a perfect combination of the author, the format and the content, plus a low price point." The press is scrambling to keep up with the demand. "It's been a long time since something published in our market has gone that high," Dew noted. Deseret ordered another 25,000 copies to be printed last week after exhausting its print order from just the week before. "I bet we will hit 400,000 copies without batting an eye," Dew said. "Will it hit half a million? I don't know." Although the Hinckley book is clearly the leader of the pack, it has good company. Two of Deseret's other fall titles--Gerald Lund's novel "Come unto Me" and Dew's own memoir-cum-spirituality book "No Doubt About It"--have broken the six-figure mark, and the first novel in Dean Hughes's Hearts of the Children series has sold approximately 65,000 copies. A coffee-table book entitled "Beloved Savior" has sold 50,000 copies. These are heady numbers for the Salt Lake City publishing house, which primarily serves the five million Mormons who live in North America. Dew, who "cannot remember a season where we have sold this kind of volume," told BookLine that the overall LDS market is becoming more sophisticated. "I think the market is growing, and that our marketing is getting stronger and more creative. I also think that our authors and artists are as fine as anywhere else in the country. The products speak for themselves, really." Will the house be doing any more devotionals? "Oh, yeah," said Dew. "No question." --Jana Riess [Forwarded by Chris Bigelow] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #596 ******************************