From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #22 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Tuesday, April 25 2000 Volume 01 : Number 022 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: From: Subject: [none] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 10:33:21 -0700 From: Jeff Needle Subject: [AML] Software Hey, friends. Log on to www.danteproductions.com and find some neat software, including a very nice freeware PIM program that contains several organizers, including one for book collections. In addition, there is a module where you can design your own database fields and enter whatever you like. It is the "lite" version of their PIM. There's also a shareware (20 bucks) version of the database organizer, that has more features and looks very competent. - --------------- Jeff Needle jeff.needle@general.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 08:50:30 -0600 From: aml@xmission.com Subject: [AML] Irreantum (Deseret News) [MOD: Irreantum owes this publicity to Marilyn Brown, AML President, who did some press releases that have gotten us in at least two Wasatch Front newspapers now. Thanks, Marilyn!] Deseret News, Saturday, April 22, 2000, 12:00 AM MDT Founders hope Irreantum has long life among LDS magazines Scholars and writers often joke about the "half-life" of small, literary magazines. Most begin to die the day they come into being. But writers Benson Parkinson and Chris Bigelow hope their publication will have a long shelf life. Irreantum (which translates as "Many Waters") offers readers the latest in LDS literature, reviews, trends and insights. Harlow Clark, Jonathan Langford, Kent Larsen, Jana Bouck Remy, Edgar C. Snow, Tory Anderson and Susan Barnson -- along with Parkinson and Bigelow -- make up the staff. The periodical was available to a limited number of subscribers for a year but now will expand its base. A great deal of the material will come from the AML List ("Association for Mormon Letters"). The magazine costs $12 a year. It is also included in the membership dues for the AML itself. "We're still small," says Parkinson, "but what buzz we hear has been good." As an editor, he says, "My strongest interest is the 'Literature of Zion,' that implies consecration, serving with all of one's heart, might, mind and strength. I'd like to see Irreantum help Mormondom define its voice." For more information about Irreantum or the Association for Mormon Letters, call 373-9730 or send e-mail to ChrisB@enrich.com or BYParkinson@cc.weber.edu. Copyright 2000, Deseret News Publishing Corp. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 11:22:31 -0600 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: Re: [AML] Re: Family and Art On the subject of the efficacy of fiction Jacob Proffitt said (with edits by me): > I think fiction allows us to explore and explain better than any > other medium. Our culture might influence how we present > our fiction, but I think the urge to explore the human condition > by creating test-cases and populating them with people has > much deeper cause and might, possibly, be divine in origin. To that I would simply like to add this from Elder Packer's 1976 BYU devotional, "The Arts and the Spirit of the Lord:" "Our gifted people are greatly needed in the church. The work of the Lord has been moved by the members in the wards and stakes and branches who have been blessed with special gifts and who use them unselfishly. Because of what they do, we are able to feel and learn very quickly through music, through art, through poetry some spiritual things that we would otherwise learn very slowly." I believe he meant that all artistic endeavors have this potential, even fiction. And I agree. Well-trained artists are able to effectively connect disparate ideas in unique ways that may blossom in the hearts and minds of others where otherwise those connections might never have taken seed. J. Scott Bronson--The Scotted Line "World peace begins in my home" - -------------------------------------------------------- We are not the acolytes of an abstruse god. We are here to entertain--Keith Lockhart - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 08:50:30 -0600 From: aml@xmission.com Subject: [AML] Irreantum (Deseret News) [MOD: Irreantum owes this publicity to Marilyn Brown, AML President, who did some press releases that have gotten us in at least two Wasatch Front newspapers now. Thanks, Marilyn!] Deseret News, Saturday, April 22, 2000, 12:00 AM MDT Founders hope Irreantum has long life among LDS magazines Scholars and writers often joke about the "half-life" of small, literary magazines. Most begin to die the day they come into being. But writers Benson Parkinson and Chris Bigelow hope their publication will have a long shelf life. Irreantum (which translates as "Many Waters") offers readers the latest in LDS literature, reviews, trends and insights. Harlow Clark, Jonathan Langford, Kent Larsen, Jana Bouck Remy, Edgar C. Snow, Tory Anderson and Susan Barnson -- along with Parkinson and Bigelow -- make up the staff. The periodical was available to a limited number of subscribers for a year but now will expand its base. A great deal of the material will come from the AML List ("Association for Mormon Letters"). The magazine costs $12 a year. It is also included in the membership dues for the AML itself. "We're still small," says Parkinson, "but what buzz we hear has been good." As an editor, he says, "My strongest interest is the 'Literature of Zion,' that implies consecration, serving with all of one's heart, might, mind and strength. I'd like to see Irreantum help Mormondom define its voice." For more information about Irreantum or the Association for Mormon Letters, call 373-9730 or send e-mail to ChrisB@enrich.com or BYParkinson@cc.weber.edu. Copyright 2000, Deseret News Publishing Corp. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 09:16:16 -0700 (MST) From: aml@xmission.com Subject: [AML] PAYNE/PERRY, _Wedlocked_ Sunday, April 23rd, 2000 Marrieds should see 'Wedlocked' then talk about it Husband-and-wife musical starring Marvin and Laurie Payne is a realistic yet entertaining look at married life. By LAURIE WILLIAMS SOWBY JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS (April 12) She's an organized, by-the-clock, very tired mom who once wanted to be a writer. He's an accountant for a pro basketball team and fun-loving guy who's totally oblivious to his wife's hunger for intimacy. Together, they're a sometimes painfully familiar reflection of the relationship between long-marrieds. "They" are Beth and Valjean Utley, played by stage veterans and real-life husband and wife Laurie K. Payne and Marvin Payne, in a new show that's already grown since its stage debut at BYU last year. The more intimate atmosphere at Little London is an appropriate setting for this two-person show. The title, "Wedlocked," is an apt description of the impasse this Seattle couple has reached in 15 years of less than wedded bliss. The long-standing communication problems aren't suddenly erased when they finally get away from their four kids and their church and job responsibilities for a second honeymoon. The audience witnesses the couple trying to rekindle their relationship at a sometimes uncomfortably close range. Besides the considerable talents of Payne and Payne, the play's writers Marvin Payne and Steven Kapp Perry have infused tuneful melodies with cleverly rhymed lyrics. The dialogue has its bright moments too, with a lot of truth couched in humor. Payne and Payne carry it off with finesse, combining acting skills that render them totally credible with better-than-average vocal talents. Their closing duet, "Can We Light Another Candle?" is sweet. Although the solution is a little too simple, the situation is realistic and the journey to resolution plausible as well as poignant and humorous. The use of audio from a video the Utleys are watching in their tacky motel room is a clever parallel to the action onstage; they often respond to it rather than to each other, giving further insights into their thinking. Alisha Christiansen directed, and Randall Kempton lends a deft touch to the piano accompaniment, although the volume of the recording was a bit overpowering Friday night. Rodney Elwood's simple set creates an unobtrusive yet effective backdrop for a story about the need for intimacy and talk. It's refreshing to see an LDS-oriented production that entertains while it mirrors real life. Many will relate. While lucky couples will find it a jumping-off point for meaningful discussion, almost any adult will find "Wedlocked" enjoyable. "Wedlocked" continues through May 6 at Little London Dinner Theater in Pleasant Grove. Seating is at 6:30, with the show beginning at 7:30. Tickets, at $25 per person, include dinner and show (gratuity not included). Call 785-0827 for reservations. Copyright 2000 The Orem Daily Journal - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 08:03:44 -0700 (MST) From: byparkinson@cc.weber.edu Subject: [AML] Request for Help Folks, Several of you wrote in with offers to help keep the list running. We think we've replied to everyone now. If you haven't heard from either Jonathan or me, could you please write us again at or . Thanks! Benson Parkinson - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 08:39:49 -0600 From: aml@xmission.com Subject: [AML] Readings [MOD: From the Sunday Deseret News. Betty Eadie's _Embraced by the Light_, on a near-death experience, was a national bestseller. Laura Torres is a former board member of the AML, and Mikel Vause, is a current board member. Leslie Norris is not LDS. Does anyone know whether Kenneth Brewer is? Terry Tempest Williams has also been on national bestseller lists with her nature writing.] BETTY J. EADIE, author of "Embraced By The Light" and "The Awakening Heart," will sign copies of her new book, "The Ripple Effect: Our Harvest," and ROY MILLS, author of "The Soul's Remembrance," will sign copies of his book, Wednesday, May 3, 7-8 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 10180 S. State, Sandy, and Thursday, May 4, 7-9 p.m., Wyndham Hotel, 215 W. South Temple. Eadie and Mills will speak at the latter event, for which there is a ticket price of $15 for one; $20 for two. Call 800-696- 6899. LESLIE NORRIS, a poet from BYU and KENNETH BREWER, a poet from USU, will host the second "Day of Poetry" in Davis County, Wednesday, April 26, Davis School District's Kendall Building, 2nd floor, 70 E. 100 North, Farmington. The workshop for junior high students and the general public will be from 8-10 a.m.; for high school students and the public, 10:30 a.m.-noon; for teachers and the public, beginning at 1:15 p.m. For more information, call 801-451-2322. MELANIE CECKA, editor with Viking Children's Books, and LAURA TORRES, editor with "American Girl Magazine," will keynote the third annual Spring into Action conference, sponsored by the Utah/Idaho Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, to be held Saturday, April 29, 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Westminster College. Cost is $45 for society members, $50 for nonmembers. Deadline for registration is April 25. For more information, call 571-5162. MIKEL VAUSE, poet and director of Weber State University's Honors Program, will read from his new book of poetry, "I Knew It Would Come to This," Friday, April 28, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 1780 N. Woodland Park Drive, Layton. For more information, call 801-773-9973. TERRY TEMPEST WILLIAMS, noted local author, will read from and sign copies of her new book, "Leap," Friday, May 5, 7 p.m., Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main, Park City, sponsored by Books and Beyond, Midway. For more information, call 657-2665. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 10:40:00 -0400 From: Kent Larsen Subject: [AML] MN Irreantum [MOD: Here's the Mormon News report on the Deseret News article. This actually has more detail than the original. (Mormon News is a mailing list that reports on Mormon-related items in the press worldwide.)] LDS Literary Magazine Hopes For Long Life (Founders hope Irreantum has long life among LDS magazines) Deseret News 22Apr00 A4 http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,160009626,00.html SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The LDS literary magazine Irreantum has survived for about a year now, which scholars and writers might consider a novelty given the rate at which literary magazines fail. However, its founders hope that it will be published for many years more. Co-managing editors Benson Parkinson and Chris Bigelow hope that Irreantum will buck the trend among literary magazines. "We're still small," says Parkinson, "but what buzz we hear has been good." The magazine has a broad focus, offering not only the short fiction, poetry and criticism typical of literary magazines, but also including news and insights into LDS publishing and excerpts of the ongoing discussion of Mormon literature on AML-list, the email discussion group also sponsored by Irreantum's parent, the Association for Mormon Letters. The magazine covers not only literature published by traditional LDS houses like Deseret Book and Bookcraft, but also new and unpublished works, more controversial works, such as those published by Signature Books, and even the literature published by Mormon authors at national and other non-LDS publishers. The current issue is a good example of this, including essays by BYU professor Richard H. Cracroft and author Edgar C. Snow, Jr., original drama by BYU professor Eric Samuelson, an interview with LDS author Margaret Young, poetry by author Cathy Gileadi Wilson, several reviews, eight news stories and highlights from AML-list on five topics as diverse as "Depicting Spiritual Experiences" and the "Price of LDS Books." Irreantum has previously been available as part of the dues of the Association for Mormon Letters, but is now seeking to expand its subscriber base. Subscriptions cost $12 per year.For more information about Irreantum or the Association for Mormon Letters, call 373-9730 or send e-mail to ChrisB@enrich.com or BYParkinson@cc.weber.edu. 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/ Send join and remove commands to: majordomo@MormonsToday.com Put appropriate commands in body of the message: To join: subscribe mormon-news To leave: unsubscribe mormon-news To join digest: subscribe mormon-news-digest - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 08:53:05 -0700 (MST) From: aml@xmission.com Subject: [AML] Carol Lynn PEARSON Inspirational messages pour from author's tomes Sunday, April 23, 2000 By MARLIN STUM Standard-Examiner correspondent Life provides ample raw material for Carol Lynn Pearson's writing, and she doesn't want to miss a thing. "I've kept a journal ever since I was a senior in high school," explains the author, who recently turned 60. "Everything important that I've ever done or thought has gone into that diary." Bound volumes of her handwritten memoirs line an entire shelf in her office. Pearson now writes on a keyboard and notes that she recently logged her 4,000th diary page on her computer. Her carefully written chronicles feed a variety of literary endeavors, including her latest -- a small inspirational book titled "Will You Still Be My Daughter?" (Gibbs Smith, Publisher, $9.95). A former Utah resident who now lives in Walnut Creek outside San Francisco, Calif., the author recently visited Northern Utah for a series of readings and signings to promote her new book. In the 32-page book, a mature oak tree watches one of her acorns take root and grow a daughter tree. "Watching my four children grow up to become splendid beings, but very different from me," prompted her to write the book, says Pearson. While the book was in progress, Pearson's daughter Katy died suddenly of an aneurysm, adding poignancy to the project. Subtitled "A Fable for Our Times," "Will You Still Be My Daughter?" is the third in a series from Layton publisher Gibbs Smith. The first volume, "The Lesson," was written 10 years ago, but Pearson had trouble getting it published. Her book didn't fit into most publishers' subject list. "These books are intended as inspirational gift books for adults," says Monica Millward, director of publicity at Gibbs Smith. Editors at the small Utah press already had conceived such a series, and they leaped at the opportunity to publish Pearson's book. Unlike many new titles that fade after an initial demand, "The Lesson" still fuels strong sales. "We're continually running out of copies and, every time we reprint, we've sold out right away," notes Millward. ""The Lesson' is now in its sixth printing, and we've sold about 50,000 copies in a little over two years. "The Logan School District just ordered 800 copies for its instructors," she adds. Pearson's second title in the series, "What Love Is," has already sold nearly 20,000 copies. All three gift books are illustrated by Ephraim artist Kathleen Peterson, whose artwork is at once simple, graceful and dramatic. (Peterson has illustrated two other books and currently directs the Central Utah Art Center.) Pearson earned her bachelor and master's degrees in theater at Brigham Young University. While studying there, her literary career blossomed, primarily through her interest in poetry. One of her favorite writers, still, is poet Emily Dickinson, says Pearson. The young writer won a poetry contest at BYU, and her first book upon graduation was a collection of her poems. The book sold over 150,000 copies, portending the success of her later works. "Goodbye, I Love You' Like most of us, Pearson has experienced hardship in her life. While the couple lived in Provo in 1975, Pearson's husband Gerald revealed to her that he was gay. He later died of complications from AIDS. "My life came crashing down," she remembers. "I lived in devastation and silence." The author tried to make sense of her personal disaster by penning "Goodbye , I Love You," an autobiographical book about her husband's revelation. The 1988 title gained her national attention, breaking the mold of her being seen just as a Mormon author. "My books are not Mormon books--it's important to me that they have universal appeal -- but they are infused will all of the good Mormon stuff," she says. "New age' Mormonism Pearson turned some of her experiences into a play that she wrote, produced and acted in during the 1990s. "I was trying to see what it is to be a woman in this intense patriarchy that I grew up in," she says. "I played 16 different women throughout history. I was searching for the face of God as mother." Her well-received play, "Mother Wove the Morning," was the working writer's bread and butter for a time. She gave over 300 performances. Although she has held fast to her Mormon heritage, Pearson weaves threads from other traditions into her personal cosmology. She talks about chakras, daily meditation and energy flows as comfortably as she speaks about her ward president and bishop. She admits that her "new age" Mormonism may be more easily accepted in liberal northern California than it would be in Utah. "I have one foot firmly placed in Mormonism and the other one tap dancing all over the world," she explains. Fables with poetic roots The LDS community has been particularly fond of her inspirational books. At first glance, the simple illustrations and short sentences of the gift books give the appearance that these are children's books. But the subject matter gives them away as adult literature: In "The Lesson," Pearson writes: "One day when Robert was a very old man and sometimes dozed off in the classroom, the teacher startled him by saying, "Robert, if your body had three heart attacks and one missing kidney and you got weaker and weaker until you could hardly breathe, how much would you have loved and who would remember you after you were gone?'" "The Lesson" deals with weighty adult issues, comparing life's experiences to an ongoing classroom. "What Love Is" delves more into romantic love. Its short phrases are a reminder of Pearson's poetic roots. Its anecdotes hit home and sometimes contain a bit of humor: "Another touch was at forty-two when they gave high fives on that jubilant day when their boy graduated with a 3.8 and got the art department's first prize and their daughter sang a small solo in the school play and was wearing the costume she'd made all by herself and landed a summer job at Pizza Palace and told them she didn't want to pierce her navel after all." "What Love Is" focuses on one of the author's recurring themes. "Love is at the bottom of everything," she says. "To meet everything with love, that is the challenge." The red bathrobe In her latest title, a mother's capacity to love is tested by her need to let go. "From you, Mother, I learned to stand as tall as I could stand," the daughter oak says. The mother tree worries, "But if you are taller than I am, will you still be my Daughter?" A fourth gift book, "Girlfriend You Are the Best!" is due from Gibbs Smith later this year. Pearson sees her inspirational books as providing guidance in our difficult times. "We need some little thing to hold onto to help us through this complicated, scattered life," she notes. Her books are like nuggets of truth, she adds, easily read and -- she hopes -- remembered. This fall, Gibbs Smith also plans to release a lengthier work, "Fuzzy Red Bathrobe: Questions from the Heart for Mothers & Daughters," co-authored with Pearson's daughter Emily. This piece poses questions, some serious and some silly, designed to help mothers and daughters better understand each other's experiences. Pearson says that the process of co-writing the book with her daughter was especially rewarding. The bathrobe immortalized in the title is one of those things that were misunderstood by her children, says the author. Not long after her husband left her, Pearson was feeling "ugly and cold" when she spotted the scarlet robe in a store. She knew immediately that she had to have it and that it would help her through her trials. "My children have tried to burn it," she says of the bathrobe. "It must be 25 years old now." Looking for another fable Pearson diligently continues recording her life experiences. She is writing and rewriting plays, and she is searching for an appropriate subject for another "fable" book, this one about fathers and sons. With her own children grown, Pearson has more time for the daily rituals she enjoys, things like reading, meditation and walking. "I want to live life, as well as do what I have to do," says Pearson, who still makes her living writing. "I don't hit the floor running," she says. "I hit the floor meditating." - ------ Copyright 2000 The Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #22 *****************************