From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #808 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 23 2002 Volume 01 : Number 808 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 11:32:21 EDT From: Cathrynlane@cs.com Subject: Re: [AML] High School Literature Curriculum A "classic" book may mean to some a work that remains relevant generation after generation but to most teens it means that it's assigned reading and thus something oppressive and hateful and often with good reason. I had a literature professor at UALR a couple of years ago who said that the reason high school students hated assigned reading (such as anything on the Advanced Placement reading list) was because teens didn't have enough life experience to make the literature meaningful. He claimed that the High School AP list had the dubious distinction of making more people avoid literature throughout their lives than any other single program. I was made a believer when last spring I spent countless agonizing hours helping my bright, virginal, 16 yr. old daughter wade through Tennessee Williams "punishment" plays for a term paper. There was no way she could really relate to Williams themes of suppressed homosexuality and rejection of religion. How did she get that topic? Her section chose last from a required list of authors and "all the good ones had been taken." Datedness (is that a real word)? may be because the literature was only relevant to a certain time or it was popular because it was controversial at point in time or our children (students) may just not have enough life experience to relate. I too have experienced what Eric seems to have gone through that when we recommend a book, play or movie it may be rejected just because the old foggy recommended it. When we recommend a wonderful piece of literature (and buy a good hardbound copy of it for their birthday) and they react with indifference or mirth it's hard on our egos but so is a lot of parenting. I think we have an obligation to our kids (and/or students, younger relatives, etc.) to sell the literature. Not everything we like will be liked by kids (look at this list - do we agree on book reviews)? but there is a lot that they can enjoy and love. We just need to find it and help them access it. I've found that the way to get kids to love Shakespeare is to take them to plays. Movie tie-ins of classics are wonderful. "Oh Brother" raised great interest in Homer among the teens in my circle both related and not. Victor Hugo really rocks when he's on stage. I've tried to read "Lord of the Rings" to my kids for years and all but given up when two years before the movie was released my older sons discovered the web site for the movie and suddenly requested copies of the books and have stolen my good copies a couple of times over. LOR was "cool" again but it wouldn't have survived if it wasn't good literature to start with. At least some kids do like books. I have noticed a strange phenomena in my life. I'm the Mom at football games, mutual functions and any other place who always has a book. I also have a living room with a 20 ft floor to ceiling bookcase that is overflowing (I'm promised another for my birthday) mostly with science fiction and young adult/children's books. Some high school boys who come to the house and see the books or see me at school or church with a book will ask me about what I'm reading or approach me about whether I think that a certain book is "good." Often I get quires about which AP books I would recommend. Yes, they are the "qeeky" boys but I do love them. I never have had a girl approach me in that way. Weird? As we talk about what books we would recommend to young people, delinquent or not, I often see a huge gender divide. Does anyone else see a difference in what boys like compared to what girls like? [Cathryn Lane] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 11:06:20 -0600 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon Plays (Andrew's Poll) At 12:34 AM 8/19/02 +0000, you wrote: >What Mormon play (by, for, or about Mormons) would you like to see produced? I was most impressed with Scott Bronson's play, Stones, which was actually two plays in one. I saw it in Springville, and thought then that it should have a much wider audience. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 13:17:17 -0600 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] YOUNG, _Heresies of Nature_ (Review) Thanks to Jeff for, of course, another superb review. I have nothing to = add to his insightful comments about Margaret's book, except this: she's = also written a wonderful play, Dear Stone, using these same characters and = situation. One of the most joyous experiences of my professional career = came when I had the blessing of being able to direct the premiere = production of this wonderful piece of theatre. Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 13:24:35 -0600 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon Plays (Andrew's Poll) What play would we like to see at Thom and Scott's new place? Well, first and foremost on my list would be Margaret Young's Dear Stone. Of all the 70's Mormon musicals, the one I liked the best back in the day = was Marvin Payne and Guy Randle's musical, Sweet Redemption Music Company. = =20 Is it too tacky to put a plug in for my own play, Without Romance? Scott Card's Stone Tables. Julie Boxx Boyle's mid-80's comedies When the Bough Breaks and 'Til the = Fat Lady Sings still hold up pretty well. =20 I'd still like to direct Melissa Leilani Larson's play Wake Me When It's = Over. And a reasonably obscure play which I still have great fondness for, = Janice Thorne Dixon's Seven Trumpet Sounds. An extended treatment of the = parable of the wise and foolish virgins. =20 I've probably forgotten a bunch of terrific plays which I should have = mentioned. Forgive me; it's Ed Week, and I'm grumpy. Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 13:39:30 -0600 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] Church History Recommendations? And I disagree with Lynnette on this issue. I would not recommend Work = and the Glory. I would absolutely recommend Standing on the Promises. I hadn't heard this story about Brother Moe and his relationship to Gerald = Lund. It's an interesting and inspiring story, and irrelevant to the = issue at hand. The Work and the Glory series aren't badly written, and = the research is fairly thorough. But they present such a sanitized and = corporate-historical picture of early Mormonism, they seem like special = pleading. One can never predict such things accurately, of course, but I = think it likely that a non-member would be far more likely to be skeptical = of our claims as a result of reading WATG than otherwise. While a = straightforward admission of our human flaws, as in Standing on our = Promises, gives Jane Manning James' and Elijah Abel's inspiring stories of = faith and conversion more credibility. =20 For inspirational-devotional reading, I'd recommend Chieko Okazaki's Being = Enough, or Gene England's Dialogues With Myself or Making Peace. Or good = biographies, including Gene's Brother Brigham or Sam Taylor's biography of = John Taylor. =20 Have 'em read the good stuff, is what I recommend. Have 'em read Levi = Peterson or Doug Thayer or Maureen Whipple or Margaret Young. =20 Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 19:54:00 -0600 From: "Clark Goble" Subject: RE: [AML] Church History Recommendations? ___ Kathy ___ | Yesterday a friend at work asked me to recommend to her | some books (fiction or nonfiction) on the restoration | and growth of the early LDS church. ___ I think Arrington's _The Mormon Experience_ is the best introduction to Mormon history there is. It is a very well written overview of the whole shebang and is balanced and fair. It obviously doesn't go into the nitty gritty nor some of the more controversial aspects of history. But that's a good thing for an introduction in my opinion. I've given away many copies over the years. - -- Clark Goble --- clark@lextek.com ----------------------------- - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 18:09:10 -0500 From: Jonathan Langford Subject: [AML] AML-List on Hiatus Folks, Due to the moderator's vacation travel schedule, AML-List will be on hiatus the remainder of today (Wednesday, Aug. 21) and tomorrow (Aug. 22). I will start posting the backlog (already significant) on Friday, Aug. 23. Thanks for your patience. Jonathan Langford AML-List Moderator - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 02:12:33 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] re: Mormon Plays (Andrew's Poll) Here are the Mormon plays I'd personally most like to see. If I was actually making the program, I would do it a little different, get a few more crowd-pleasing choices in there. The Prophet. By James Arrington. The Trail of Dreams. By James Arrington, Steven Kapp Perry and Marvin Payne. It was produced quite a few times in the last few years, so it could wait, but I have never seen it. Blind Dates. By Adam Blackwell. BYU, 1995. About a date rape at BYU, it sounds interesting. Stones. By Scott Bronson. Something by Orson Scott Card. He wrote a lot of plays in the 1970s, I don't know which one would be good. Maybe Stone Tables or The Apostate. Matters of the Heart. By Thom Duncan. What Wondrous Things. By Robert Paxton. Comedy about Lehi's family. Men of God By Neil LaBute. Or one of his other early plays. My Turn on Earth by Carol Lynn Pearson. From seeing the video, it is by far my favorite of the 1970s Mormon musicals. Heubener. By Thomas Rogers. Emma By Eric Samuelsen, music by Murray Boren. Dissonant music style said to have put off audiences, sounds interesting. Gadiation. By Eric Samuelsen. (I've already seen Accomidations, which was wonderful, or I would list that too). Joyful Noise or Hancock County, by Tim Slover. Dear Stone by Margaret Blair Young. About the same time I sent out this poll, Scott listed the plays for the following season, and several of the ones I'd like to see were listed. The entire season sounds great, good luck guys. Andrew Hall _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #808 ******************************