From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #911 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 Monday, December 2 2002 Volume 01 : Number 911 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 15:40:33 -0700 From: "Thomas C. Baggaley" Subject: RE: [AML] Kieth Merrill on BOM Movies >A father figure is someone who stretches horizons, takes risks, gives >birth to a new phenomenon. What has Kieth Merrill done that is bold and >horizon-expanding? I have to chime a little on this one. When I think of "father figure", I think of someone who is a little older and more experienced - someone who has already done what I hope to accomplish and to whom a younger generation can look for guidance as they attempt to stretch their own horizons. Nowhere in the phrase "father figure" is implied (at least to me) the requirement that a person be an innovator. With that in mind, take a look at the LDSFilm.com profile on Kieth Merrill at http://www.ldsfilm.com/directors/Merrill.html. Certainly, the list of accomplishments is astounding. Kieth has made some of the most successful films of any LDS filmmaker, from "Windwalker" to "Grand Canyon-The Hidden Secrets". That he has the qualifications and the experience of a "father figure" is undeniable. Add to that the deep interest Kieth has taken in the development of a LDS film and LDS filmmakers. It is a topic he has spoken of and written about frequently. He has been an encouraging voice to a younger generation of LDS filmmakers, often being in contact with filmmakers and being willing to share advice or guidance as appropriate from his years of experience in the business. It is true that he never took that risk and made a film like "God's Army" - and in that sense did not give birth to the LDS Cinema movement we've witness these past couple of years. The closest he came is through the various projects he directed for the Church. But he has succeeded in filmmaking. He has made a career as a filmmaker while remaining active in the church. That alone is encouraging to me as I strive to make a career for myself in film. I cannot gauge Kieth's influence on Mormon Cinema - if such a movement would have even been possible without the success of "Windwalker" for example - or how the higher quality that he, at least in part, was responsible for bringing to the church's productions has and will influence that movement as filmmakers who have learned from him while working on those church projects produce their own films and contribute to that movement. Some will say Kieth has not been an innovator. Others will disagree. But in this case, I don't think it is a stretch to use the term "father figure". Thomas - ------------------------ "Scoring sessions are my absolute favorite part of the filmmaking process. To watch the best musicians in the world play music written by a master - music that no one has ever heard before - is a unique thrill." - Phil Alden Robinson, director Contact info: Thomas C. Baggaley Composer 9446 Fox Hunt Drive Sandy, Utah 84092 Tel: (801) 942-3580 E-mail: thomas@baggaleymusic.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 17:28:02 -0800 From: Julie Kirk Subject: Re: [AML] New DB Policy >I think we, as authors, ought to possibly not identify ourselves as Mormon, >or LDS, and just let our beliefs and religious affiliation show in our work. >Believe me the critics will point out our religion to the reading public, >just as journalists or our non-member friends point out our religion if we >are discovered in any sort of questionable activity. > So, this kind of ties together a couple of threads here for me...because doesn't this kind of "authorship" remind you sometimes of the guy who accidently slips his temple recommend to the police officer? "I'm Mormon, my story is about Mormons, you should buy it and read it because you are Mormon too" (followed by "and you do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself about...") I agree - our beliefs should be evident in the spirit of what we convey. That does not mean it has to be spelled out and used as a marketing ploy. I'm not saying that everyone out there does this, but there are definitely a few who do. And just to clarify, I'm also not saying you should not bring up your membership in the church, I just think it is a good idea to check your motivation on why you are doing so. I can admit that telling everyone I'm Mormon here in California is definitely not much of a marketing ploy, as compared to if I were doing work in say....Utah. If I even had an obviously "Mormon" name, that might garner a bit of attention from those "in the know"...alas, I am stuck relying on whether or not my work stands on its own. *sigh* Julie Kirk ********************************************* Sometimes I think I understand everything, then I regain consciousness. Julie Kirk http://www.juliekirk.com http://www.streetpainting.net - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 20:09:52 -0600 From: "Lisa Olsen Tait" Subject: Re: [AML] Gratitude Jana, Your musings strike a chord with me, as I'm sure they will for many others. We have three sons and a daughter, Kayley. Kayley just turned 11 last week. She is a beautiful strawberry blonde who lights up every room she enters. She is a delight in every way. And she is mentally retarded. She functions on about a 6 year-old level. She makes progress, but it is excruciatingly slow. She can read a little, and she's getting better, but numbers are still pretty much a mystery to her. She is very talkative, but she has a hard time putting some kinds of sentences together, especially questions. No one has ever been able to tell us why Kayley is the way Kayley is. Well-meaning people say all kinds of things. "She looks so normal. You would never guess there was anything wrong." Or, "Heavenly Father must have a very special mission for her, or for you, etc." We've been emailed the stories about awe-inspiring patriarchal blessings revealing all kinds of details about the pre-mortal existences of various handicapped people. I know these are meant to be a comfort to us. Kayley is the most "normal" child in her class. She has been with children whose disabilities are severe and unmistakable ever since she was three years old. I have found myself, at times, playing the same game you mentioned: Well, at least Kayley doesn't look like Garett. At least she isn't in a wheelchair like Nicole. At least she is sociable, unlike her autistic cousin. Ironically, though, there have been times when I have looked at it another way. If Kayley were recognizably disabled, people would understand better why her conversation is not so fluent. They would know better what to expect from her. They would not say things to me like, "Oh, there's nothing wrong with her. She'll grow out of it." Finally, I, too, came to the realization that I did not want my feelings of well-being, or gratitude, to come at someone else's expense. One of two things happens when we compare ourselves to others: we come away feeling superior (proud) or we come away feeling depressed (wounded pride). Either way, it's a useless endeavor. Someday, perhaps, the thought that Kayley is here on some special pre-ordained mission will be a comfort to me. But first we have to get through puberty, and junior high, and all the milestones that will eventually come--and those that won't. And we have to grieve for that. For now, I've decided that having faith about this situation means that I don't have to put a value judgement on Kayley's disability or on anyone else's. If these things really are according to the Lord's plan, then who am I to rank them? And if they're not? If they're just some accident of mortality? Then I really have to be humble about it. The literary tie-in is that someday I am going to write a memoir about this experience. But first I have to have a little more experience to memoir-ize. Besides "Expecting Adam" can anyone offer any good models? Happy Thanksgiving, all. Lisa Tait - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 22:06:01 -0700 From: "Ben Christensen" Subject: [AML] Re: Cultural Info for Missionaries When I was in the MTC a few years ago I was given a CultureGram about Spain as part of my informational packet. I don't know if they do this for all countries, but I thought that it was pretty helpful. Jessie Christensen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Nov 2002 00:40:25 -0500 From: Richard Johnson Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon (and Other) Culture At 01:21 PM 11/22/02 -0700, you wrote: >Yes, and I also have the right to vocally declare my opinions of their >policy. But you won't find me reacting like any good card-carrying >liberal would when something happens they don't like: I won't be suing >Deseret Book in court for first amendment rights violation. I won't >because they _do_ have the legal right to make the choice they made. And >I have the right to call their decision morally bankrupt. I wish I were sure enough about the moral bankruptcy of my own decisions to be able to define the moral bankruptcy of others. Unfortunately (or not) I haven't reached a high enough state to be a sure judge of others. One of the most intimidating factors in the church callings that I have held was the fact that some of them placed me in a position that I had to be a judge, and those incidences that put me in the position were the among the least pleasant in my life. > >> What I am getting at, is that it is not a particularly Mormon >> characteristic to close ranks against what is perceived as the "other" nor >> is it a particularly Mormon characteristic to open arms and embrace the >> "other" . These are both human characteristics that exist in almost all >> societies, religions, etc. > >The "everyone else does it" argument does not sway me. Sure, plenty of >other religions have the same close-minded reactions to things they >perceive as "clashing with their values" that Mormons do. But if we are >the true disciples of Christ that we claim to be, we should strive to do >better than everybody else. >D. Michael Martindale >dmichael@wwno.com My post was not intended as an attempt to state that anyone is justified in any type of bigotry by the bigotry of others, rather it was an attempt to illustrate that situations which were described in some of the statements about the subject more or less defined some negative behaviors as symptomatic or typical of all or most, or particularly of, Mormons when those behaviors exist widely in many other circumstances and communities. I believe that any community which is defined by close cultural interaction, especially when that cultural interaction is perceived as marginalizing the community in the eyes of others is very likely to be unaccepting of those who are perceived as challenging that close cultural interaction, especially if they are perceived to be among the "marginalizers". (That means bearded, beret wearing theatre types in small Baptist Georgia Communities, or Eastern non-Mormons in Woodruff, Utah.-- Actually when I worked in Woodruff, it even included construction workers, some of whom spoke profane Spanish, from Idaho.) Many Mormons, and many other communities are very accepting and welcoming to others. Many communities which live under narrow constraints change radically as time goes by. When I moved to Georgia, I was reluctant because of the reputation of bigotry toward African Americans. When we arrived we discovered that the reputation was deserved. From my observations here, and in rather extensive travel, I now think that were I an African American, I would much rather live in Georgia than in most of the ostensibly more liberal states in the North. The lack of acceptance that I found in the one small community in Georgia still stands in stark contrast to, for instance, the greeting my family received in Rhode Island from a very Italian neighborhood where the women in the neighborhood felt so sorry for us not being Italian or Catholic that they made great effort to teach us how to make "real" Italian food (Spagetti sauce that took a week to finish and had as byproducts Chicken Cacciatori, spicy meatballs, wonderfully seasoned roasts both of beef and pork, etc.) and to understand Catholic traditions. (In Utah, that might be learning to appreciate Green Jello and Pioneer Day), and we found it a wonderful experience to be adopted so thoroughly even though some of our new found adopted parents were a little disappointment when we only made it to mass on Christmas Eve. Richard B. Johnson, (djdick@PuppenRich.com) Husband, Father, Grandfather, Puppeteer, Playwright, Writer, Director, Actor, Thingmaker, Mormon, Person, Fool. I sometimes think that the last persona is the most important http://www.PuppenRich.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2002 13:08:58 -0700 From: AML Subject: [AML] LDS Writing Contests, Conference & Retreat Contents of this newsletter: * IRREANTUM Fiction Contest * Marilyn Brown Unpublished Novel Award * Writers Workshop on Cultivating Creativity * The Ultimate LDS Women Writers' Retreat [Please forward this e-mail to anyone who may be interested.] ++++++++++ IRREANTUM Fiction Contest The Association for Mormon Letters (AML) is pleased to announce the third= annual IRREANTUM fiction contest. Because IRREANTUM is a quarterly literary= magazine dedicated to exploring Mormon culture, all contest entries must= relate to the Mormon experience in some way, either explicitly or= implicitly. However, authors don't have to be LDS. As long as the entry doesn't exceed 8,500 words, any fictional form will be= considered, including short stories and excerpts from novels, screenplays,= and play scripts. Any fictional genre is welcome, including literary,= mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, historical, and horror. No= entry fee required. The first-place author will be awarded $250, second place $175, and third= place $100 (unless the judge determines entries are not of sufficient= quality to merit awards). Winners agree to give IRREANTUM first publication= rights. To facilitate blind judging, entries should be submitted with a= removable cover sheet that includes the author's name, address, telephone= number, e-mail address, and manuscript title, with only the manuscript= title appearing on the rest of the manuscript. Stories should be= double-spaced in easily readable type. Entries will not be returned. =20 Submit manuscripts by May 1, 2003, directly to IRREANTUM's fiction editor:= Tory Anderson, P.O. Box 445, Levan, UT 84639. Send any questions to= irreantum2@cs.com. For more information about IRREANTUM magazine, visit= http://www.aml-online.org/irreantum/index.html. IRREANTUM is supported by a= grant from the Utah Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts,= Washington, D.C. ++++++++++ Marilyn Brown Unpublished Novel Award The biannual Marilyn Brown Novel Award will next be presented in 2004. The= winning novel will be the well-written work for mature readers that best= reflects Mormon values and culture and fulfills as many of the following= criteria as possible: by a Mormon, about Mormons, for a Mormon audience.= Explicit Mormonism is not necessarily a prerequisite, but consideration of= high and moral values is.=20 Only unpublished novels are eligible. The author may be seeking a publisher= while the manuscript is being judged, but a contract with a publisher must= not be signed until after the award is presented. Postmark deadline is July= 1, 2003. For return, include SASE. Late manuscripts or manuscripts with= format flaws will be considered only in special circumstances. No entry fee= required. The prize is $1,000, and honorable mentions may or may not be awarded. Two= anonymous judges from the AML will help Marilyn Brown pick the winner. If= the majority of judges feels no entry is worthy of a prize, the prize will= be withheld. Authors should try to attend the AML annual conference in= February 2004, as the winner will be revealed at that time. =20 Manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, copied on both sides of regular= white paper, and bound in a comb or spiral binding like a book. Include a= self-addressed stamped postcard if you want to be notified that your novel= has arrived. The title of the novel and the author's name, address, and= phone number should be placed in a sealed envelope, which will not be= opened until the day of the AML conference luncheon in Feb. 2004. On the= outside of this envelope, indicate only the title of the novel. No other= author identification should appear on the manuscript in any shape or form. Send your manuscript to: Marilyn Brown Novel Award, 125 Hobble Creek Canyon,= Springville, UT 84663. If you have any questions, contact Marilyn Brown at= 801-489-4980 or wwbrown@burgoyne.com.=20 ++++++++++ [The following is a paid advertisement from an independent source not= affiliated with the AML.] WRITERS! Come to a Writer's Workshop to: "Cultivate Creativity"=20 =20 =B7 Transcend your limitations and fears =B7 Dissolve writer's block =B7 Open new conduits to creativity =B7 Bring your writing to life =B7 Get your most pressing writing and publishing questions answered Date: Friday, November 29, 2002 Place: Marie Callender's 1109 East 3900 South Salt Lake City, UT Time: 9 a.m. - 12 noon Continental breakfast will be served as you feast on the words of the= presenters! Believing in Yourself as a Writer - Getting past the roadblocks of fear and= emotional sabotage, by Darla Isackson, 12 years as Managing Editor of= Latter-day Woman Magazine, Covenant Communications, and Aspen Books. =20 Turn on Your Imagination - Cultivate creativity so your nonfiction reads= like a story and fiction sounds real, by Gayla Wise, author and owner of= Brass Lamp Publishing in AZ. =20 Question and Answer Session - Choose your area of greatest need. Darla,= Gayla and Janet Bernice (fiction and screenplay writer) will field= questions in separate groups. =20 Make a commitment now to jump-start your new year! Writers write, and we can= help you get started, keep going, and pursue your dreams! =20 Seating is limited! =20 Workshop price: $39.00 if pre-registered $45.00 at the door =20 Remit payment by check or money order to: =20 Darla Isackson 2565 Fern Circle West Jordan, UT 84084 =20 For more information about this workshop, the presenters, or ongoing= Writer's Retreats, contact: janet_scots@yahoo.com or darla2@xmission.com ++++++++++ [The following is a paid advertisement from an independent source not= affiliated with the AML.] WRITERS! We know what you need! Do you want to get away from it all? Do you need some uninterrupted hours to write? How 'bout a world away from everday cares? Make a date NOW to keep all the promises you've been making to yourself! Come to: Castela Ranch Retreats Join Meridian Magazine writer Darla Isackson in=20 The Ultimate LDS Women Writer's Retreat The perfect place to write for personal discovery or publication, to= complete personal history, family history, or do picture history= scrapbooking. Join other LDS women in a spacious country home that is= becoming the ultimate writer's retreat. Comfortable couches, light= streaming in from large windows, a view of orchards, gardens, and pastures,= warmth from a cheery fire in the wood-burning stove. Three home-cooked= meals, plus snacks provided. Give yourself the gift of time to think, write= and start--or finish--that important dream project. Hosted by Darla Isackson, seasoned nonfiction writer and editor, and= screenplay and fiction writer/editor Janet Bernice. Personal consultations= and mentoring tailored to your specific needs and interests. Check bios= (below) for specific qualifications in the project areas you wish to= pursue. LDS Retreat Weeks Available: Jan 27-Feb 1 Feb 3-9 March 3-8 April 7-12 May 5-10=20 March 24-29 (General retreat dates available on request.) 7365 Highway 44, Star, ID 83669 (14 miles NW of Boise, Idaho; map will be provided) Two plans to choose from: Residency - for those requiring little guidance who can independently= advance their own project. Comfortable private room with computer. Tables= and computers also available in a large writing room. Includes evaluation= of a sample of work (up to 25 pages) and optional evening sharing and= discussion groups. $495 per week including meals. $100 discount for double= occupancy. Residency plus Private Mentoring - for those seeking guidance through= one-on-one consultation; similar to a series of private mini-workshops.= Includes six hours of private consultation, plus optional evening sharing= and discussion groups and evaluation of a sample of work (up to 25 pages).= $695 per week including meals. $100 discount for double occupancy. $250 non-refundable deposit; can be transferred to another time or person. =B7 Ask for information on discounts available for helping with meal= preparation and cleanup=20 =B7 Requests for specific food needs must be made with application. Discount= available if you need to arrange for your food separately. For more information, e-mail Janet Bernice at janet_scots@yahoo.com or womensretreats@juno.com. Women or couples only Sorry, no children or single men Bios of Writer/Editor Consultants Darla Isackson (formerly Darla Hanks) =B7 Currently writing regular articles for Meridian Magazine, a series of= booklets for Rosehaven Publishing, and a twelve-step parenting book with= Colleen Harrison for Windhaven Publishing=20 =B7 Co-founded, edited, and wrote Latter-day Woman Magazine=20 =B7 Co-authored the book To Parents with Love and the newspaper column= "Parent Patter" with sister Arlene Bascom=20 =B7 Made an incredible breakthrough after years of writer's block and will= teach you to do the same!=20 =B7 Completed major writing for the self-help book Sudden Trauma=20 =B7 Pioneered the book division for Covenant Communications=20 =B7 Managing Editor for Aspen Books=20 =B7 Has edited over 200 books =B7 Published in the Ensign and Friend magazines =B7 Years of experience at writing family histories and doing picture= histories. =B7 Will share her resource books, ideas from the books she has created,= design supplies, etc.=20 =B7 Hired by Ancestry.com to write the chapter called "Preserving the= Story--Your Written Family History" for the book Celebrating the Family Janet Bernice =B7 Co-wrote a "Movie of the Week" for ABC starring Denzel Washington=20 =B7 Attended BYU film school=20 =B7 Worked for the Disney Sunday Movie=20 =B7 Worked for the Sundance Film Institute=20 =B7 Taught English, screenplay writing, and beginning computers at LDS= Business College=20 =B7 Invited to submit screenplays to Kieth Merrill =B7 Taught "Introduction to Motion Picture Art" on Jr. High Level =B7 Independent script doctor in Los Angeles=20 =B7 Has published in fiction, nonfiction, research, and self-help books=20 =B7 Published in the Ensign Magazine=20 =B7 Worked for four years as a technical writer=20 =B7 Acquisition editor for an LDS book-publishing company =B7 Journalist--wrote for a newspaper for two years interviewing celebrities= and politicians, reviewing plays and art, writing profiles of businesses=20 =B7 Freelance proofreader and editor for Ancestry.com =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Update your profile here: http://topica.email-publisher.com/survey/?a84D2W.batlYA.YW1sLWxp Unsubscribe here: http://topica.email-publisher.com/survey/?a84D2W.batlYA.YW1sLWxp.u Delivered by Topica Email Publisher, http://topica.email-publisher.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 10:08:21 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] New DB Policy Melissa Proffitt wrote: > On the other hand, there was some concern expressed about whether the > store's refusal to buy certain kinds of books will have a negative impact on > the overall LDS publishing field. I could see this being a reasonable fear, > and I hope it never happens. Hope it never happens? It's been happening all along. Just ask Tyler Moulton how many manuscripts Covenant has turned down, not because they were bad, but because they were "inappropriate." I've talked to publishers who say they must be careful what they try to sell to Deseret Book, or they'll lose their ability to sell anything to Deseret Book. What Deseret Book will and will not buy colors the whole industry, and has from the beginning. And now the color is getting even darker. - -- 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: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 10:13:33 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Snide Remarks on DB Controversy "Eric D. Snider" wrote: > There is a stifling air of perfectionism in the magical world of Deseret Book. > Things are very cut-and-dried in the books they sell there. If you say your > prayers, read your scriptures and go to church, life will be fantastic. I've said my prayers, read my scriptures, and gone to church. When does the fantastic part start? - -- 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: Thu, 28 Nov 2002 01:50:35 -0500 From: Justin Halverson Subject: [AML] Filling Our Minds (was: New DB Policy) Rebecca Talley wrote: I shall also take a stand, just as passionately, that there is enough evil that surrounds us everyday and surrounds our children, we do not need to purposely fill our minds with it under the justification and rationalization that somehow it will make us better people because of it. This is an interesting idea, that "there is enough evil that surrounds us everyday ... [I'm leaving out the children because that's a different story] that we don't need to purposefully fill our minds with it under the justification and rationalization that somehow it will make us better people because of it." It's interesting especially in the context of literature and what makes good/appropriate literature for saints (by which I mean good people in general regardless of religion, people who want to be good just to be good--Kirby's "Genuine Mormons," maybe). What does literature do to our minds, and how does it do it? A couple of assumptions: 1) I've heard all my life that all good literature needs conflict, that no one ever wrote a classic, moving piece of literature without it. 2) Conflict, in a great many cases (especially in literature), arises from one person acting badly in regards to another person. That is, a lot of literary conflict is a result of human sin, which seems to me the same as saying that a lot of literary conflict is due to human evil (and I'm not sure there's any other kind of evil than *human* evil). 3) Great literature is great--and those good people who read it do so--because "somehow it will make us better people." If we grant these two assumptions, then the conflict in great literature--which is the result of evil--*somehow* has the potential to make us better people. Of course, that's not the whole statement. I should say that the reaction *of the reader*--NOT the author--to the evil described in great literature can somehow make us better (or, to be fair, worse) people. If Rebecca and the many, many others from whom I've heard this assertion are right, why, after Shakespeare, Milton, and I don't remember who else rounds out the oft-quoted list--Dante?--(not to mention the many, many, many other amazing artists from virtually every artistic, linguistic, cultural, and religious tradition) are we still writing literature? That is, why do some of us keep trying to "fill our minds with it," which is essentially what must be done to read and write about human conflict? There may be enough evil that surrounds us everyday but I wonder if it's true that "we do not need to purposefully fill our minds with it" to become better people. Maybe my problem is with the rather extreme word *fill*, which seems to overstate the case. We cannot expect to be good if our minds are *full* of evil--but neither can we be good people if our minds are *full* of the opposite (by which I don't mean *good*; I mean rather, *not-evil*, or the simple absence of evil, which is not at all the same thing as good). I think that's at least one reason that good people read literature--to fill their minds not simply with evil but with experience, which in this world always, I think, contains a mixture of good and evil--or rather, contains neither absolutely. But I'm getting too abstract. I think of literature in terms of Enoch's experience in Moses 7, where the Lord asks him to look at the great evil (as great or greater than anything we're reading or writing, I would imagine) in the earth and then teaches him that part of loving perfectly (our goal, no?)--part of godhood, even--is sorrowing for the mistakes and pain of all humanity. I don't know what the Lord's mind was full of, but we can read that Enoch "looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook" (vs. 41). Then the Lord shows him "the day of the coming of the Son of Man ... and his soul rejoiced" (47). I wonder if the sequence is important, if he had to see (read) the evil in the world--and at this point, the "book" he was "reading" was completely evil, since the righteous had been called up into Zion--before he could really understand the Atonement. (I'm not saying this is the definitive interpretation of this story, simply offering my reading of it.) Anyway, what I'm suggesting is that: 1) no one on this list is advocating that we "fill our minds" with evil, even if they do advocate reading literature that describes evil things; and that 2) while there is certainly enough evil in the world to go around, *if I'm going to read books at all* (and this is an important caveat, because I know a lot of people who spend less time reading books than I do because they're out reading people--serving them and witnessing their lives directly), I am morally, ethically, and religiously bound to read those books that acknowledge--and that thus include some of--that evil, because 3) if I don't, if I seek exclusively to read books that ignore the evil that as a human being I am constantly in danger of doing to other people, I am simply escaping the world *without* coming any closer to heaven. I'm turning my back, in effect, on my brothers and sisters and their pain and my own pain and the Savior's pain, refusing the Lord's invitation to Enoch to look and love. I understand and appreciate Rebecca's passion for what she reads; I think everyone on this list does, even if we don't all direct that passion in the same way. I think also that reading--and writing, and especially publishing/consuming/criticizing/analyzing--is a luxury to which many people in the world don't have access (to the degree that those of us on this list do), and that as a luxury it is not essential to our salvation, though it can help or hinder us in regards to that salvation. I know I'm not grateful enough for this marvelous luxury, or heedful enough of its resulting ethical demands, but I do--in the spirit of the season :)--am thankful for the opportunity to discuss it with people--like *everyone* on this list--who remind me to be both. Justin Halverson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Nov 2002 02:23:09 -0600 From: Jonathan Langford Subject: [AML] Re: New DB Policy Okay. I've been really busy recently (grading papers and such), and haven't even really had time to give my duties as moderator the attention they deserve. But the impulse to share my own (not terribly original, nor terribly informed) opinion has grown too strong to ignore once again... There's more to be learned still about the new DB policy, although the clarification (for example) offered by Sheri Dew's response that Katie Parker forwarded (with permission) to the list does provide added information. It doesn't sound, at this point--to me, at any rate--like complaints about the Evans book were a driving force in this new policy. Rather, this seems to have simply been the event that led to the new policy seeing the light of day in a public forum. We may never know exactly what set of perceptions, events, and actors led to the Wirthlin study and subsequent policy change. It may be that dissatisfaction from vocal purchasers at DB played a role. It may be that dissatisfaction of high Church leaders with DB's sales list played a role. At this point, though, the initiating factor (whatever it may have been) seems largely irrelevant, since this does not sound like a knee-jerk reaction to a specific current situation but rather a broad, significant change in policy. I do think it's significant, and troubling, for at least three reasons: * First, Deseret Book, as pointed out, is one of only a very few outlets for LDS-oriented literature. If this new policy results in even stricter access of Mormon literature to the buying public, it could help to retard the development of Mormon letters, both by preventing specific books from getting out to a large part of their potential public and by exerting a kind of prior pressure on editorial and publishing decisions, of the sort Linda Adams (I believe) mentioned for her book. This is particularly the case if DB's new policy has a "multiplier effect" on other outlets for LDS literature. * Second, DB's decisions about specific titles are likely to be seen as quasi-authoritative judgments of those titles' consistency with core LDS beliefs--or at the very least, as the judgment of people who are "in the know" and therefore likely to be in tune with the views of Church leaders. Although I may be misinterpreting something, I think I've already seen this happening on this list. Somehow, although no one I know has claimed that Pres. Hinckley has ever read Evans's book, the new DB policy is being proclaimed as "expressing the prophet's vision." How can we know that this is the case? (Particularly when this isn't what's being claimed by DB representatives, including Sheri Dew?) * Third, I think that DB's new policy promotes a dangerous mindset that sees safety and comfort as key values, particularly in environments that are created by some Church members for other Church members, and specifically as key values in literature. Yes, it's probably a valid marketing decision: few if any of us really enjoy going places where we're shocked, or confronted with things we may find disturbing. Translated into spiritual terms, though, it becomes extremely easy to misapply--and can easily turn into an excuse to reject things just because they're difficult or challenging, even if there's a positive value to them. The underlying message, I think, can all too easily become an assumption that discomfort = evil--an assumption I doubt that anyone on this list would want to defend. In this connection, I'm very disturbed by the labeling that I think has been taking place on AML-List over this issue. Some have claimed (in defense of the new policy) that they don't need to go to DB to see smut. And yet no one, so far as I can tell, has claimed that Evans's book is smut, or that DB has ever sold smut. So how is smut relevant to the conversation? My point is that somehow, we've gotten from a policy that (according to Sheri Dew) is a business decision, intended (apparently) to keep customers in DB from seeing books that will disturb them, to the idea that there's a moral principle involved in avoiding these titles. "Books that clash with customers' values" becomes "smut." Once a word like "smut" is introduced, the inevitable effect is to shut down discussion. If you like a book that DB refuses to sell, you like smut. If you dislike their new policy, then that means you think DB ought to be selling smut. What does all this say about our ability to keep DB's selling policies and questions of personal worthiness separate? And if this is hard to do on AML-List, can we really deny that DB's standard will be taken as "the" standard of righteousness by a great many members, even though that's not how they're presenting it? **** Part of the problem, of course, is that this *is* in part a moral decision, not only a business decision. That moral decision rises in the very judgment of whether a particular literary work does, indeed, violate key LDS values. Sheri Dew, in her reply to Katie, provides a more in-depth analysis of the elements of Evans's book that, according to DB's analysis, clash with LDS values. Fair enough. We all do that from time to time. Right now, we're having a lively debate on AML-List over approaches to adultery, and whether Evans's book (and others) do indeed promote immorality. So I agree that it's a good question to discuss. But it raises several inherently thorny question. First, what are core LDS values and beliefs? Second, what are the actual values and beliefs promoted by a particular literary work? The very different positions that are being developed on AML-List in the current discussion affirm, all over again, just how thorny such issues can be--and (in my view) affirms that the value of asking the question lies in the discussion that follows, more than in the conclusion that is reached. Dew's reply does not seem to acknowledge any possible ambiguity in DB's interpretation of Evans's work. She does not say that readers *may* find Evans's book sympathetic to immorality; rather, "it paints a very sympathetic view of immorality." That may sound like a semantic difference, but it moves DB's judgment out of the realm of business and marketing and into the realm of literary interpretation and morals. And so DB's new policy *is* putting it in the position of making moral judgments, in the form of judgments about whether specific works of literature do or don't contradict LDS teachings. That's a huge responsibility to take on, and frankly I think there's a kind of hubris involved in making such judgments, when they are made not as an argument in a conversation but rather as a summary judgment (as this is). Frankly--although I guess it's a moot question now--I'd be very close to supporting a resolution by AML expressing concern about DB's new policy, as much because I think it will promote simplistic interpretation of literature as for any other reason. Even if the specific interpretations aren't simplistic, they inherently reinforce the notion that there is one particular, specific meaning to be taken out of a literary work, which resides in the work itself and which can be dug out by proper interpretation. That in itself is a simplistic view of literature, and, I venture to claim, a dangerous one. **** I think Sheri Dew's upcoming Irreantum interview provides an excellent opportunity to seek further clarification on some of these issues. Some of the questions I'd propose include the following: * Who makes the decisions about whether a particular book violates core LDS values? How are those decisions made? * Does DB have a statement of what "core LDS values" are, against which literary works are judged? (If so, please share it.) * What if there's disagreement over whether a particular book violates core LDS values? Will more weight typically be given to those who feel that it does violate core values, or those who believe it does not? In other words, which side of the fence is favored? * Many members of the LDS literary community have expressed concern about DB's new policy, in particular because of DB's strong cultural authority. The fear has been expressed that DB's sales list will come to be seen (unofficially) as defining what literature faithful LDS ought to be reading. Do you see this as a danger? If not, why not? * Can you think of examples of books that would not be sold at DB, based on the new policy, but that you personally have found worthwhile to read? (or: but that you think could be valuable for members of the Church to read?). Can you share some examples? Jonathan Langford Speaking for myself, not AML-List jlangfor@pressenter.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #911 ******************************