From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V2 #212 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, October 31 2003 Volume 02 : Number 212 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 12:28:42 -0700 From: Marny Parkin Subject: [AML] Writing Contest Life the Universe, and Everything, an annual symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy held at Brigham Young University, is pleased to announce DragonComet, its story writing contest. The contest is divided into the following categories: 1. Adult writers 2. School age writers (9th - 12th grade at contest deadline) 3. Young school age writers (5th - 8th grade at contest deadline) There is no entrance fee, and only one entry is allowed per person per category. No simultaneous or previously published entries will be accepted. Entries are being accepted now and the deadline for entries is February 15, 2004. All stories should be mailed, unfolded, with the entry form (available on the web site) in a manila envelope to: DragonComet Writing Contest 919 N. 900 E. Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 No email entries will be accepted. Entry forms available at= http://humanities.byu.edu/ltue/ltue22dragoncomet.html - ------------------------------------------------------- Stories should be science fiction or fantasy in nature and no more than 20,000 words (10,000 words for younger age entries). No graphic sex, language, or violence, please. Entries should be typed on 8.5 by 11 white paper, double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point font that is easily readable in English. Proofread your story before entering. Illegible entries will not be considered. Only the title should appear on the story itself. Please include a cover sheet with your name, title of work, mailing address, email address (optional), school you are attending (optional), category you are entering, and signature with a short statement that you understand the rules and the work is your own original, unpublished work. The author's name and any identifying information should appear only on the cover sheet in order to retain the objectivity of the judges. If you are under 18, please also have your parent or guardian sign the sheet as well giving you permission to enter. Each page of the manuscript should include the story title and a page number. DragonComet does not retain any rights to any entries. Include a SASE large enough for your manuscript if you want it returned. Do not send the only copy of your entries. We are not responsible for lost entries. Winners will be announced at Life, the Universe & Everything at BYU. Winners will also be notified by mail if they cannot attend. Judging will be done blindly to avoid any bias of the judges. Authors of winning stories will be notified after the final judging. Winners will be posted on the web page. Prizes will only be awarded at the discretion of the judges. Thank you for your interest. Please pass word of the contest on to anyone you feel may be interested. Email DragonWrite@aol.com if you have any questions or need further information. http://humanities.byu.edu/ltue/ltue22dragoncomet.html - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 12:19:09 -0700 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] Marilyn Brown Novel Award At 09:32 AM 10/28/03 -0700, you wrote: >We will present a thousand dollars to the next Marilyn Brown Novel Award >winner on February 23, 2004, or whenever the AML luncheon meeting is held. >We have more manuscripts than ever before, and the ANONYMOUS judges are >reading them. There are some really good ones. Enter by July 1 next year. >The DEADLINES occur in the ODD years. The AWARDS are presented in each= EVEN >year. Remember: (1) BY a Mormon, (2) ABOUT Mormons, and also remember that >in an entire third of the judgment (which is probably the most substantial >reason MORMONVILLE won over Michael Martindale's very original novel) FOR= A >MORMON AUDIENCE. Any word count requirements on the entries? barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 19:20:21 GMT From: daryoung@juno.com Subject: [AML] Re: Scott and Thom's theater and Saturday night Scott and Thom, What's the latest on your theater? You don't happen to be having any= performances those of us from out of town could take in after the writer's= conference, do you? Anyone else going to be coming in from out of town and= want to hang out after the conference? - -Darlene Young ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 13:34:47 -0700 From: Marny Parkin Subject: [AML] Christian Unpublished Novel Contest A bit of market news I'm forwarding for those interested. Marny Parkin The Christian Writers Guild and Jerry B. Jenkins is sponsoring a first novel contest. Novels must be between 50,000 and 100,000 and previously unpublished. Entry deadline is Feb. 1, 2004. Entrants must be members of the Christian Writers Guild. First prize is publication by Tyndale House and a $50,000 advance. There is no entry fee. CWG membership is $149 a year. For more information, visit http://www.christianwritersguild.com/contest/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 14:58:45 -0700 From: Margaret Young Subject: RE: [AML] in favor of vitriol (vaguely Harry Potter and the art= thread) I love Sam Brown's posts, but do have a bit to say re his suggestion that= we need to passionately respond with like or dislike to art etc. While I was in Dallas, the good man who hosted Darius and me took us to see Ravi Shankar, a famous sitar player who once instructed George Harrison. (For those of you born in the 80's, Harrison was a Beatle.) I hadn't heard of Shankur when our host said he had tickets for us to attend the concert, but when I mentioned the name to my husband, he nearly screamed. "RAVI= SHANKAR? YOU GET TO SEE RAVI SHANKUR?!" Remember, Bruce is THE Utah expert on the Beatles (though Boyd Peterson provides some good competition.) Well, I found it very difficult to stay awake during the concert. In fact, I'll go a step further and admit that I don't particularly care for the cuts on "Sgt. Pepper's" which are derived from Indian music. And frankly, I think that's MY problem. Mr. Shankar described the distinctive qualities of what he was about to play (he performed with his daughter), and I didn't understand a word he was saying, though some audience members were clearly entranced and making gestures I am certain had actual meaning intended to accompany the various styles of Shakur's music. To make matters more interesting, when I got home and looked through my files, I found an= article about Indian music written by none other than Ravi Shankar. I am= absolutely convinced that if I undertook a study of Indian music, I would not be falling asleep at a Ravi Shankar concert. My point, of course, is that we can be passionately bored by something we simply don't understand--which is an indictment of us, not the art. And we can passionately resist something we have been taught to resist, as some people do _The Backslider_, having heard all the controversy over "Cowboy Jesus." To be honest, though I feel passionate about a good part of my Mormonism (admitting that I struggle= with a portion of it), I love pluralism. I frankly wish I had a stronger sense of Mary. I don't even disbelieve the visions of Bernadette or the Virgin= of Guadalupe. IMHO, Mary (virgin or not) has not received nearly enough attention in our art and literature. Every Christmas, I bring out a= Russian icon of Mary. It is gorgeous art, and I want The Lady to receive some tribute in the Christmas season in our home. (I wonder if we're the only Utah LDS family which brings out Russian Orthodox art for Christmas.) Our family already incorporates elements of Judaism into our celebrations of Easter (passover/pesach) and Christmas (Chanukah). I don't know enough about Islam to have Islamic art or sayings on my walls, but I assume that will not be true for the rest of my life. I have loved reading Paris Anderson's insights into some eastern religions--about which he feels passionately. As for Harry Potter--I haven't read any of the books, though Bruce has read all and even attended the midnight "debut" of Book 5 with= our oldest son. One out of my four children adores them; two are indifferent; the fourth is passionately bored by the whole idea of a child wizard. But that fourth child is the one for whom I have to really work to find reading material. I think it's READING itself which bores him; he has not opened himself to the available worlds inside a book (much like a lot of BYU students). My last visit to the library brought into our home a very= simple biography of Steve Young, two books on wrestling (the ugly kind, with The Rock and Stone Cold and painted faces--which I have periodically banned= from our television), and one on football. None of those would be on the ideal reading list I'd compose for my son, but I take him where he is and hope that the gift of reading will provide a key to the great works which have enlightened my life. I am certain there are doors ahead of me as well, and am eager to enter them. I genuinely hope that I can hear Indian music again someday after I've educated myself in it, and respond as passionately as others in that Dallas audience responded. [Margaret Young] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 20:39:51 -0600 From: "Lisa Tait" Subject: Re: [AML] Now here's a great story line - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jongiorgi Enos" > > If we presuppose that 1) the Second Coming will be long delayed; and 2)= no > major WWIII or other disruption radically alters the progressive state of > things; and that 3) the government and/or major multinational= corporations > are the ones to get us into extensive space exploration and/or= colonization > (versus private ventures), THEN, it makes perfect sense that a strong LDS > presence will be a part of it -- at the administrative levels, at least,= if > not on the colonial front lines. We are a pioneer-ethos people, it has to > be said, and going out to start "branches" is in our blood. > I don't see why Mormons couldn't be involved in a private venture. How hard would it be to lure someone away from a government/civil service pay scale for something more lucrative? Or, here's a thought, what if the private sector sponsor of such a project were THE CHURCH? What if the Second Coming WAS delayed and "the world" got so bad that they started persecuting= Mormons again (maybe we ask for it by reinstituting polygamy or by trying to take over Missouri) and maybe the Church decides that we need a new place to go. Maybe in the face of massive civil disruptions, even, the Church would be one of the few entities with the money to pull off something space related and maybe nobody would be paying attention until we started broadcasting general conference from Joe Smith outpost or whereever. Talk about the Left Behind books--what about one day the world waking up and realizing all the Mormons are gone! Or the jack Mormons waking up and realizing all the= "good" Mormons are gone! Bummer, dude! Hey, I never claimed to be a writer. Lisa Tait - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 20:44:26 -0500 From: "Richard Johnson" Subject: [AML] another book query My son, Ryan (a former member of the list who got into management and doesn't - he says- have time to read his work Email , let alone the list) who is a Librarian at Washington State University told me that, last month, his library received a really beautiful new version of the Book of Mormon, published by the University of Illinois. It was, he says, edited from a nineteenth century edition and given a really nice treatment by the publisher. He asked what comment had been on the list about that edition and I had to hang my head and say, "I don't remember any, but there probably was some." What say you? Was there comment on the list, and if not what comment does anyone want to make on this? Has anyone seen it? Richard B. Johnson, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Actor, Director, Puppeteer, Playwright, Writer, Thingmaker, Mormon, Person, Fool. I sometimes think that the last persona is the most important- and most valuable. Http://www.PuppenRich.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 21:39:18 -0700 From: Jacob Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] The envious critic On Wed, 29 Oct 2003 10:24:46 -0700, D. Michael Martindale wrote: >Jacob Proffitt wrote: > >>Ah, but I think you've missed what we're really saying when we object to >> this evaluation. Most of the criticism of Rowling makes an absolute >> judgment that her sentences are poor. The assumption behind that > judgment >> is that the critic knows better than Rowling does--that they have a > better >> understanding of English than she does. > >I think you've missed the point, the same point many people here seem to >miss. Here's the point: > >Everything we say here is our opinion onply. We are all supposed to >understand that and go into a message with that assumption in mind. >But is it necessary to create a macro that slides that disclaimer into >everything I write? Is it so hard to assume that's what everybody here >means? While it may be safe to assume that something you write is your opinion, that doesn't mean you can make broad, categorical statements unchallenged.= Or set up and endorse universal standards that are arguably not universal.= I know this because I tend to state things more absolute than I really believe as well. I've been trying to be more humble in my presentation, though, because it is important to recognize that sometimes, my opinion might be wrong. And if it is proven to be so, then it's a lot easier for me, and everyone else, if the initial expression actually reflects the humble presentation of an opinion and not a thundering declaration of absolute correctness. And since everything we write is to be assumed to be just our own opinion,= I think it's safe to assume that challenges to that opinion might arise when someone else disagrees with it. And if a position is given as a= universal, a part of the disagreement is going to include refuting the original basis and terms of that position--i.e. pointing out that the supposed universal isn't. Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 21:53:08 -0700 From: Clark Goble Subject: Re: [AML] another book query ___ Richard ___ | He asked what comment had been on the list about that | edition and I had to hang my head and say, "I don't | remember any, but there probably was some." What say | you? Was there comment on the list, and if not what | comment does anyone want to make on this? Has | anyone seen it? ___ I've been lusting after it. But now that I'm married my disposable income for books isn't what it once was. (At one time I was Amazon's best friend) I'm almost positive we talked about it here prior to the release. But I'm only a few lists, so it may have been elsewhere. I'm curious as to how they handled poetry and parallelism. My two favorite Bible translations, The Jerusalem Bible and the NAB, both eschew the verse format our scriptures use. They also break out poetry into a form where the structure is more obvious. It makes reading much easier. Given that the original Book of Mormon was put into paragraph form and not verse form, I've often yearned for a more robust typesetting. (One wishes that the oft rumored updating of the LDS scriptures will use a different formatting -- perhaps this book will help) So, inquiring minds want to know. How well is the poetry rendered? What are the decisions regarding paragraph breaks? How is it formatted? I was hoping that Amazon would have some pages digitized. But they don't. Clark Goble - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 21:59:27 -0700 From: Jacob Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] Harry Potter On Wed, 29 Oct 2003 11:29:36 -0700, Eugene Woodbury wrote: >The opinion seems to have arisen that the published work of a writer >should be treated as the inerrant word of God, never to be trifled with or >questioned. Let me say, as a writer, that I am thankful that this is >manifestly NOT true. Who has said that? I don't remember expressing this kind of sentiment. = And I'll point out that while the author is not inviolable, neither are the words of the critic. >The country is politically much healthier for critics who say, "This >policy stinks and here's how it should be fixed." And so is art and >literature. The advice is not always (if rarely) taken, but handing out >advice is only the half of it. The process itself forces you to think >clearly and objectively (yes! objectively! in absolute terms!) about how >and why you react to art (or politics or life in general). But it doesn't stop with the critic. Sure, a critic should be able to say "this stinks", but that critic, in putting words into the public sphere should be prepared to find critics as well. >There simply is not enough steely-eyed editing going on these days. That's >my opinion, and I'm sticking to it. And, yes, that applies to J.K. Rowling >(who so far is three for four in my book, not a bad record), and to >writers I think are much better than Rowling. That's fine. And I'll stick with my sentiment that any editors foolish enough to "correct" the errors you have described with Rowling deserve the market reaction headed their way. The things you want to fix about= Rowling aren't things that are broken. Sure they put you off of her work. And if she continues in her "errors", you will be perfectly justified in withholding your hard-won cash from her coffers. Just recognize that a couple million critics disagree--not all of them children. Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 22:59:59 -0700 From: Melissa Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] The envious critic On Wed, 29 Oct 2003 10:24:46 -0700, D. Michael Martindale wrote: >I think you've missed the point, the same point many people here seem to >miss. Here's the point: > >Everything we say here is our opinion only. We are all supposed to >understand that and go into a message with that assumption in mind. Oh, I guarantee I haven't missed your point. I just don't agree with it. Particularly the bit where you tell us all what we're supposed to understand--is that your opinion, or is that a statement of fact? In my opinion, it is a mark of respect for others not to make blanket, absolute statements on something that they may not agree with, even if it's something you personally are convinced of. It not only acknowledges those differences of opinion, but allows you the option of distinguishing between that which you know is a matter of personal taste, and that which you believe everyone should be convinced of. Which happens sometimes, even= with literature. Basically, I'm not convinced that your proposition is correct. What I understand you to be saying is that either everyone here already knows that it's all opinion regardless of how it's stated, or if they don't, they should change their reading habits to adapt to the way you prefer to= express yourself. But just as you think it's nonsense to include disclaimers in everything, I think it's ridiculous not to phrase one's opinions as= opinions (whether or not that includes the explicit wording; I happen to think it's possible to avoid it and still make the meaning clear). So don't think I don't get your point, just because I disagree with it. Melissa Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 22:58:13 -0700 From: Jacob Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] Harry Potter On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 10:49:16 -0700, Eugene Woodbury wrote: > > I didn't say it was "wrong." I wasn't making some kind of moral > judgement. I > said it "bothered me." Eh? While moral judgment is a part of one definition of "wrong" that is clearly not the context used here. I'm not sure why you think it was. You *clearly* believe that Rowling has made errors in her writing. You give great and detailed examples of things you found "wrong". Not morally wrong, obviously, but you spend a great deal of time on things you call, very clearly, "failings". > Which it did. It irritated me. It pulled me > out of the story. I don't care how many "rules" a writer breaks as > long as the narrative keeps me in the story. A good story, for me, > whether high brow or low brow, "classic" literature or comic books, > is one that pulls me in and keeps me there. Anything that dumps me > out of the experience, whether the prose, or the plot, or because > the theater has a lousy print that keeps melting on the screen, is > going to become a factor in my enjoyment of it, and that I will > object to. That's fine, but again, you clearly described the "failings" of JK Rowling. It's one thing to describe something that brought you out of a novel, it is something else entirely to describe the failings of an author. The one is an honest and personal reaction. The other is a universal characterization of an author. > It's an old saw, but you've got to learn the rules before you can > learn how to break them the right way. Some may believe Rowling > broke them the right way. I don't. The counter-argument is that her > adverbs enhance the prosody of her her prose. It's a good point, I > think. But I still don't agree. I'm not sure why you keep referring to these rules. What rules? Who made these rules? Do they really apply to JK Rowling's work the way you think they should? This seems to me like an unwarranted call to authority. The rules you describe and use to castigate Rowling's fourth book aren't rules I, personally, accept as valid. I reject whatever authority you are invoking here. I have a great deal of respect for Stephen King (who was cited by you as the authority regarding adverbs). I think he's one of the great American authors of the 20th century. And his statement that "adverbs are not your friends" is a pithy, memorable, and useful guideline. But is it a rule? And is it a rule that should apply to books for young readers? Did King even intend it to? > Still, convictions require more of a foundation than personal > passion. Lacking common reference points--rules--what do we talk > about? How do we explain ourselves? The fact that there are laws > doesn't remove the need for judges, nor does it mean that judges > will agree on all outcomes. But without > laws judging is capricious and untrustworthy. I'll be the last person to argue against *having* standards. I'm a neocon for heaven's sake! I agree that common reference points are important and that rules are vital to the smooth functioning of, well, practically everything. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that at least some rules are co-eternal with spirit (indeed, "Intelligence . . . was not created or made, neither indeed can be" sounds something very much like a rule). But what constitutes a rule? Who gets to decide what the rules are? And what if someone posits a rule with which you disagree? I don't mind that you stated your opinion. I'm glad you did. And frankly, I'm glad that you referenced "rules", as this has been an interesting discussion. Sometimes, the rules need to be reviewed. And sometimes they need amending. Otherwise women might still be denied the vote in some states of the U.S. So while adverbs may be burdensome to many kinds of writing, I'm not sure that excessive use of adverbs constitutes a violation of "the rules". Certainly not the rules of English grammar. And liberal use of adverbs just might be a helpful addition to works written for young readers and/or those that wish to flow well when read aloud. Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 01:39:15 -0500 From: "Eric D. Dixon" Subject: [AML] Stylistic Choices Relevant to the list's ongoing discussion of rules and opinions about= stylistic choices in art: http://www.free-market.net/rd/242610924.html [...] The very power of beauty encourages people to become absolutists -- to insist that other people's stylistic choices, or their tradeoffs between aesthetics and other values, constitute environmental crimes. [...] The article's author, Virginia Postrel, also has a new book out on= aesthetics: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060186321 Eric D. Dixon - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 23:06:40 -0700 From: "Jongiorgi Enos" Subject: [AML] All My Sons At Provo Theater Center FYI. For those of you traveling to the Provo area for the AML Writer's= Conference the weekend of the 1st, that happens to be closing weekend of a WONDERFUL evening of theater. Arthur Miller's "All My Sons". Directed by my old Skagway sparing buddy, David Morgan, sets by my fellow "Brigham City" maybe-HE-did-it, Richard Clifford, and a staff of talent all the way= around. Other BC alumni include Tayva Patch and Rick Macy who along with the great Jeremy (I'm gonna butcher his last name) Silfert(?) and Rebecca (I've totally forgotten her name and I don't have my program with me) head out a great cast in a great performance of one of the great American plays. A wonderful evening of theater. (I said that already, but it bears= repeating.) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Jongiorgi Enos - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V2 #212 ******************************