From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #161 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, September 29 2000 Volume 01 : Number 161 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 12:50:29 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] (Andrew's Poll) 90s plays Andrew Hall wrote: > NON-MUSICALS > > Arrington, James. "Wilford Woodruff: God's Fisherman" (with Tim Slover). > Sunstone Feb. 1992. Tim performed this play in my Theatre-in-the-Square in 1987 or so. I loved it as I do practically everything time writes (Except his forthcoming "Hancock County" which I hate already because he finished his version of the trial of Joseph Smith's persecutors before I did.) > "The Prophet". Ricks, 1996. Several contrasting views of Joseph Smith. We read this in the Playwrights Circle a couple of years ago. Never saw it produced but would like to. > Brady, Josh. "Joyce Baking". BYU, 1998. Very funny play, directed by Eric Samuelsen. Great actors. My wife hated the lead, thought he never redeemed himself. I, being a guy, thought he was being a guy. > Bronson, Scott. "Quietus & Other Stories". BYU, 1996. Orson Scott Card > stories. This was very well done. I would love to see more of Card's shorter fiction dramatized. > "Alters". Sunstone, Sept. 1997. Abraham and Isaac. One act. Read the play in Sunstone. About much more than Abraham and Issac. About the "Altars" of sacrifice we all have to go through on our way through life. > "On the Romance of a Dying Child", A one-act play produced at UVSC as part > of the first annual 10 Minute Play Festival,2000 Clearly the best of all the offerings on that night. > Hanson, Elizabeth, "A High and Glorious Place". BYU, 1996. One woman play > on Eliza R. Snow. A version of the play appeared on KBYU in 1997 as "Eliza > and I". "Eliza and I" must be seen by anyone who lives in Utah. Channel 11 plays during their Begging for Dollars periods. > Hawkins, Lisa. "Change the Night to Day". 1996. BYU. Kidnapped sister > missionaries. I happened to see this play during its PDA production. Though it started off intriguingly enough, it soon fell into Movie of the Week melodrama. > Kushner, Tony. _Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Part > 1: Millennium Approaches; Part 2: Perestroika._ Theatre Communications > Group, 1993, 1994. Pulitzer prize winners. Saw this in San Francisco. It was -- what can I say? -- riveting. > LaBute, Neil. _Bash : Latterday Plays_. Overlook, 1999. Off-Broadway and > London. Three one acts. One, "A Gaggle of Saints", appeared as "Bash" in > Sunstone, December 1995. Read the play in Sunstone. It scared me to death. > "In the Company of Men". BYU, 1992. 1993 AML Prize. Later a successful > film, which he wrote and directed, in 1997. Again, the movie scared me to death, because up until the end, I actually thought the main character was starting to feel remorse for his nastiness. > Pearson, Carol Lynn. "Mother Wove the Morning". 1990. A one woman play. I'm not ashamed to say that I loved this play. Saw it in SF years ago. Okay, Carolyn chews up the scenery better than William Shatner, but its comments on the plight of women throughout the ages was very thought-provoking. > Rogers, Thomas. _Huebener and Other Plays._ Poor Robert's, 1992. Includes > "Huebener", "Fire in the Bones", "Gentle Barbarian", "Frere Lawrence", and > "Charades". Have this book. Read it. This is all that needs to be said: Tom Rogers, probably the best living LDS playwright, wrote these plays. > "Charades." BYU PDA workshop, 1990. Saw the workshop production. It deserves a full-scale production. > "First Trump." 1998. Available on Gideon Burton's Mormon Literature site. Great play about the afterlife, but much more fulfilling intellectually than "What Dreams May Come" with Robin Williams. > Samuelsen, Eric. "Accommodations". A family deals with grandpa's decline. Love everything Eric did, though this play beat out one of mine ("Survival of the Fittest") to come unde the skilled directorial hands of Tom Rogers. Read the play in Sunstone. Slice-of-life story of an LDS family which I believe is much more prevelant than many would like to think. > "The Seating of Senator Smoot". BYU, summer 1996. Another play I automatically hate without having read or seen it because Eric dramatized the story before I did. > "The Way We're Wired". 1999, BYU. Singles in the church. 1999 AML prize for > drama. What a show! Excellently written, acted, and directed. Eric had written this with the idea in mind of proving that fat chicks can be beautiful. I remember saying it couldn't be done. He did it. By the end of the play, I was in love with "fat" chick. (She wasn't that fat, but still far from the typical male ideal of beauty.) > "March Tale". 1995 About Shakespeare. AML prize. Just finishing acting in the ACTE production of this directed by Scott Bronson. Wonderful cast. wonderful scriptu and the guy who played William Kemp was simply marvelous. > "Joyful Noise". 1996. Handel's composing The Messiah. AML prize. Performed > in San Diego and New York by the Lamb's Players. Saw this is a PDA production. Can't imagine it can be any better now but apparently it is. > Arrington, James, Steven Kapp Perry and Marvin Payne. "The Trail of > Dreams". UVSC, many other places. 1997. If there is any musical that could tell (part of) our story on the Broadway stage, this is it. > Noorda, Tye. "Experience". SCERA, 1999. Plane crash victims talk about life > choices. Okay, I'll say it, if nobody else ever does. This is hands-down the worst show in every possible aspect that has hit the stage this decade. If the author's husband hadn't been Ray Noorda, the play would never have seen the light of day. > "Wedlocked" with Steven Kapp Perry. BYU Entr'Acte series, then at a few > other places. 1999. This LDS version of "I Do, I Do" works at every level. > Perry, Steven Kapp. "Polly, A One Woman Musical". Pioneer story, BYU, 1992. Steve's wife, Joanne, kicked but in the production I saw at the Provo Tabernacle. When I saw her, I knew I had to have her play Emma in my production of "Prophet" where she again delivered a remarkable performance. > "The Christmas Box". BYU, 1997. Musical adaptation, music by Murray Boren. Eric says he doesn't like this, but I saw it in PDA and I liked it a lot. Murray's music is always wonderful. I never saw Emma but heard great things about it. Thom Duncan - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 15:55:23 -0600 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] (Andrew's Poll) 90s plays Okay, continuing >Slover, Tim. "March Tale". 1995 About Shakespeare. AML prize. I was in this, playing Will Kemp, and am not very objective about it. = It's a wonderful play, written with Tim's typical lyricism and intelligence= and wit. No wonder the producers of Shakespeare in Love found it = necessary to rip Tim off. (And the work they ended up with is vastly = inferior. I have never been angrier at the Oscar people than I was the = night that despicable piece of plagiarism won Best Picture. And yes, I = can prove it.) >"Joyful Noise". 1996. Handel's composing The Messiah. AML >prize. = Performed=20 >in San Diego and New York by the Lamb's Players. Another brilliant Slover piece. Honestly, this has to be one of the three = best things ever written by a Mormon. =20 >Whitman, Charles. "Montpelier Farewell". BYU, 1995. Explores >Mormon = theology=20 >and social issues in his hometown of Montpelier, Idaho, from the = >perspective of a non-Mormon family. Quiet, sombre, real. This was Chuck's swan song at BYU, and it's a lovely = play. We ought to remount it someday. >Young, Margaret Blair. "Dear Stone". BYU PDA, 1997. BYU >Studies = Playwriting=20 >Contest winner. AML-list. Well, I also directed this play, and it was one of the great experiences = of my life. It's based on a true story, the story of Margaret's sister-in-= law, whose husband left her when she was diagnosed with MS. Opening = night, the woman who the play was based on passed away. I have never = experienced anything like the spiritual feast that opening night of that = play proved to be. =20 MUSICALS >Arrington, James, Steven Kapp Perry and Marvin Payne. "The >Trail of=20 >Dreams". UVSC, many other places. 1997. I like this show a lot, especially the Angel of Death character; the idea = that death is an essential part of the LDS trek. First musical I can = think of ever with an Angel of Death character. And the music is = terrific, but of course, what else would we expect. >Card, Orson Scott, Kevin and Khaliel Kelly, and Arlen Card >(music). = "Barefoot to Zion". PVP, 1997. Oh, my. One of the great theatre catastrophes. The Kellys won this big = Church-wide contest, and were supposed to write a musical. Either they = finished it, and the appropriate correlation committee didn't like it, or = they didn't finish it; you hear different things. Anyway, they cast the = show, they sold the tickets, only one little problem; no script. So with, = I'm not kidding, a month before it was to open, Scott Card gets called in = to save the day. And he wrote a musical in about a month. It sort of works, a little. It's a real easy show to pick apart, but I've = seen worse. The miracle is that it works at all. No one else could have. >Duncan, Thom. "Prophet", 1999, SCERA. Music by Mark >Steven Gelter. = Update of=20 >"Let There Be Love," a version done at BYU in 1973. We talked about this a bit on the List. I think the production suffered; = I think it was very badly directed. =20 Okay, momentary diatribe; directing is extremely important. Enormously = important. A good director can make a good play better, and a mediocre = play work at least a little. A bad director can just flat out kill a = piece. That's what happened here, I think. >Grain. "A Place in the Son". 1996. Rock opera about Alden >Barrett's = suicide.=20 >Am. Fork. 70s music. Music from the show appears in their two = >CDs,=20 >"Grain" and "A Dirge Appealing", which came out in 1997 and >1998. Man I loved this. The music isn't really 70's music (the guys in Grain = weren't born yet in 1970) but it's certainly got a '70's feel. I thought = it was fabulous. Good old fashioned rock and roll. Best of all, it = exploded the myth of Alden Barrett; he wasn't involved in satanism, for = example. Fantastic show. Alisha Christianson directed it, and did a = magnificent job with zero resources. When they toured it, they abandoned = some of her staging, and the show really suffered. >McColm, Reed. 1997 rewrite of "Utah!". Paxton, Robert. "Utah!" >1995. = Outdoor musical. Jacob Hamblin and the=20 >settlement of Southern Utah. Tuachan. Lyrics by Doug Stewert. Well, let's see, there's the Robert Paxton version, then the Tim Slover = version, then the Reed McColm version. They were all pretty interesting, = and they all had moments that worked well, and they all had a few = problems. But they all lost money, and that's why the new versions every = year. =20 Dumb producers, in my opinion. Every year, they'd hire a new writer, and = every year, they'd not give that writer anywhere near enough time, and = every year, a new show would be mounted, bugs and all, with no chance to = fix problems or re-write. And they they'd wonder why the shows weren't = successful. =20 >"Wedlocked" with Steven Kapp Perry. BYU Entr'Acte series, >then at a = few=20 >other places. 1999. Love this show. It's a lot like I Do I Do, only good. (An actor friend = of mine calls I Do I Do, I Did and I Shouldn't Have.) Both this show and = I Do I Do are two actor shows about marriage. The difference between them = is that Wedlocked shows actual, believable, real people, actually, = believably struggling with real issues in their marriage, with singable = songs and some real wit and humor and warmth. While I Do I Do pretends to = have all the above, but doesn't. =20 >Perry, Steven Kapp. "Polly, A One Woman Musical". Pioneer >story, BYU, = 1992. I liked this a lot too, but I've only seen it on videotape. I'm not a big = fan of one person shows, but this is one of the better ones.=20 >Samuelsen, Eric. "Emma". BYU, 1992. Music by Murray >Boren. This is actually an opera, and it was produced at BYU in 1983. It was = subsequently done in New York in 1990. All female cast, an opera showing = the reaction of the Church to Joseph's martyrdom. The premiere at BYU was = great; half the audience walked out on it, while the other half loved it. = I loved it. >"The Christmas Box". BYU, 1997. Musical adaptation, music by >Murray = Boren. About this, the less said the better. Never again. >Williams, Joshua and Erik Orton (music). "The Drummings". BYU, >1998. = Also=20 >produced at a DC festival. About 19th century Irish nationalists. Quite a nice little show. Erik and Josh are talented guys, and this show = has tremendous promise. Erik has a second show, called Berlin. It's about the Berlin airlift. I = like it a lot too--we're workshopping it in WDA right now. _Whew. Three long posts. Thanks a lot Andrew. :} Eric Samuelsen - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 15:41:25 -0700 From: "jana bouck remy" Subject: Re: [AML] (Andrew's Poll) 90s plays I'd have to vote "Trail of Dreams" as best muscial. We often listen to the CD on Sunday mornings as we prepare for church. Just this week my husband and I had a very spiritual experience as we discussed the symbolism of several of the songs. I saw "Joyful Noise" in San Diego. I found the production to be entertaining but it lacked emotional impact. Jana Remy - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 22:57:49 -0400 From: Richard Johnson Subject: Re: [AML] MN LDS Church's Position Sought Over HighSchoolProductionof "Godspell": Deseret News > It struck me as an innocent, childlike interpretation of >the Gospel according to Matthew. In fact, if I were directing it, that's >how I would play it--not as clowns acting out Matthew, but as a bunch of >LDS kids in the ward nursery acting out their interpretation of all >these Gospel stories they've heard. > >And I'd keep the big Superman S on the chest of the kid who plays >Christ. > >-- >D. Michael Martindale My approach exactly. "Except ye become as one of these. . ." Richard B. Johnson Husband, Father, Grandfather, Puppeteer, Playwright, Writer, Director, Actor, Thingmaker, Mormon, Person, Fool I sometimes think that the last persona is the most important http://www2.gasou.edu/commarts/puppet/ Georgia Southern University Puppet Theatre - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 00:40:52 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Moral Issues in Art Todd Robert Petersen wrote: > The brethren see some reason for all things, > even recreation, entertainment, and I would fain to say, art as well. But > they see its importance as part of our overall participation in the plan of > salvation. Anything that diverts us that far, even to the point of > distraction is, they might suggest, to be avoided. This is shaping up into a tautological argument where it's impossible to argue one way or the other. It's like the one in sociology that says there is no such thing as true altruism. Everything people do is for a selfish reason. If someone performs an apparently unselfish act for another, it's because that person really wants the good feeling and positive self-image that comes from the act, not because he's truly unselfish. As my sociology professor pointed out when he explained this to us, it's a waste of time arguing such an issue--nothing can be proven one way or another. What's important is that we encourage acts which are helpful to others. I think that's how this discussion is shaping up. People can give creative reasons all day for why this or that activity really has eternal consequences that benefit us, but in the end, we choose recreation for the pleasure of it and nothing more, and I can't think of one reason why we shouldn't. Do we need yet another reason to sit around feeling guilty? If our recreation is wholesome, the eternal benefits will take care of themselves. - -- 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 http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 16:50:53 -0600 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: [AML] Play Reading--Free! You are invited to attend a reading of a new play by J. Scott Bronson. Stones: Two Plays About Sacrifice Provo Theatre Company will present the reading in their theatre which is located on the corner of 100 North and 100 East in Provo at 7:30 pm on the evening of Tuesday, October 10th. Stones includes two one-act plays, Altars (closely based on the scriptural story of Abraham and Isaac, it is an up-close look at the concept of sacrifice, both in the literal, Old Testament sense, and the day-to-day giving up of one's self as a parent or family member) and Tombs (an invented conversation between Jesus and his mother as she prepares Joseph's tomb for his burial). Admission is free, and you are invited to attend with anyone you would like to bring with you -- it will be a unique theatrical experience. Altars was a winner in the one-time Sunstone Mormon One-act Playwriting Contest several years ago. It was published in the October 1997 issue of Sunstone Magazine. A previous reading of Altars was presented at the 1994 Sunstone Symposium in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the following cast: Father Ivan Crosland Mother Trish Reading Son David Morgan Tombs is a new play, written this year, with the intention that it be a companion piece to Altars. There will be a discussion after the reading. It would please me a great deal if you could attend and participate. Call me at 801.226.7876 if you have any questions at all. 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: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 02:14:59 -0700 From: "Frank Maxwell" Subject: Re: [AML] MN LDS Church's Position Sought Over High School Production of "Godspell": D. Michael Martindale wrote: > This sends me over the moon, too, but not because it's questioning > Godspell specifically. The whole idea of having to get church approval > before touching any work of art disturbs me. Can't anyone think for > themselves? How did the myth that the church goes around taking > positions on works of art start in the first place? My understanding is > that they don't. > I'm reminded of a scene in "The Sword in the Stone" by T. H. White, which, by the way, did not make it into the Disney animated movie. Young Wart (the future king Arthur) gets turned into an ant. Inside the ant colony, he sees the following rules prominently displayed: "Everything Not Compulsory Is Forbidden. Everything Not Prohibited Is Compulsory." (or words to that effect). It's easy to see how this attitude could inform religious folk's responses to theater. A play allegedly based on the scriptures, written by outsiders, using a non-hymnic musical style, would automatically be suspect - -- especially if it had no ecclesiastical seal of approval. If it's not marked "kosher", then it must be "treif" (unclean). Guilty until proven innocent. No offense intended, of course, to the parents who were sincerely worried about "Godspell". Probably some of them had conflated "Godspell" with "Jesus Christ Superstar" -- "after all, they're both rock musicals about the Savior, right?" They were misinformed, of course. But we should try to remember that not everyone is an expert in the minutiae of popular culture. ("I'll take 'Broadway Musicals' for $500, Alex.") Frank Maxwell - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 17:30:33 MDT From: "Tom Kimball" Subject: Re: [AML] Introductions: Tom Kimball Lisa As you will see my love to read books far outweighs my ability to write a coherent sentence. In response to your question, our goal is to provide a market place of Ideas and an outlet for serious books on Mormon History, Biography, and Bibliography. The reason I would enjoy publishing a biblio-mystery or a mystery about the book trade is because they are very popular in the trade world and the Mormon market is ripe for a compelling murder mystery. Why not have Jack Welch being killed for uncovering some Christian Scroll or Curt Bench having his head cut off for selling some White Salamanderish document. Wouldn’t it be fun to read about someone’s obsessive compulsive behavior to own the words of the prophets get way out of hand. Sorry just my own obsessive behavior coming through. Food for thought. I hope you will enjoy our line up of books Tom Kimball Boyd Petersen- The Authorized Biography of Hugh Nibley. Boyd has been researching the life of Hugh Nibley for 15 years and has had access to Hugh’s corespondance, journals, notes and papers. Hugh Nibley is one of Mormon’s foremost scholars and you will want to know the man behind the legend. Hugh Stocks- Book of Mormon Publishing History 1830-1920. An extensively illustrated and annotated bibliography.. This work will relate the histories of all early English printings of the Book of Mormon. Details such as print run sizes, binding variants, points on different printings from the same stereo plates. A must have for the collector. Matt McBride- Narrative History of the Construction of the Nauvoo Temple. This informative book will chronologically document the behind the scenes stories of the common people who built the second Mormon temple in their own words. Max Parkins- Conflict At Kirtland, Seminal work on the Kirtland period of the development of the Church. Discusses the causes of conflict and dissention both within and without the Church that eventually led to the exodus from Ohio. Includes an extensive discussion of economics and the Kirtland Safety Society. Milt Backman- Survey History of Nauvoo. Peter Olsen Hansen- Autobiography Peter was the first missionary to Denmark and was the translator of the first non-English Book of Mormon. Peter was a witness to many important Mormon histories such as helping put out the fire on the Nauvoo temple, crossing the plains with Howard Egan and settling Sanpete Utah with other Scandinavians. Howard Searle- Mormon Historiography A history of the early Mormon historians starting with Oliver Cowdry and covering most of the 19th century. >Tom, > >I haven't heard of your publishing company before. Are you new? What have >you published? I'd also be interested in hearing about your goals as a >publisher and what type of stuff you thinks represents what you're about. >It >seems from your background you have a lot of experience in the Mormon >market. > You probably know what sells and what doesn't. From your request for >Biblio-Mystery, you must think that would do well. I heard mysteries sell >really well in the Mormon market. Do you think that is true? > > >I love to hear what you have to say. > >[MOD: By all means, include responses to the entire List.] > >Lisa J. Peck > > - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 08:58:41 PDT From: "Jason Steed" Subject: Re: [AML] Moral Issues in Art Two of my pennies on the whole art and didacticism thread: We make value judgements. Inescapably. (Perhaps this might be redefined as "taste" and called innate, a la Kant.) And our value judgements are ALWAYS made from within an ideology (a world view). That ideology--even if partly innate--is VASTLY affected by culture and societal influences. Presently, we live in a culture that has, for some time now, fostered an ideology that facilitates, even necessitates, a resistance to "didacticism." According to our general cultural value system, art should not be used to teach. When it is, we look down on it, and call it "didactic." However, just as we cannot help but make value judgements, it seems to me that art cannot help but teach...SOMETHING. It's always teaching something. It strikes me that, perhaps, "didacticism" is like "pornography": We all agree that we don't like it, that it's bad, bad, bad. But it's a very difficult thing to define. When is art being didactic--and is it for one person and not for another? Is the only thing we can say about didacticism, "I don't know what it is, but I know it when I see it"? Maybe, since ALL art teaches, when we object to didacticism, we're really objecting to methodology. It's not that the art was TEACHING, it's that it's a bad TEACHER. Quite often, in my experience, some of the best teachers are those from whom we learn, without realizing we're being "taught." Perhaps this is a clue as to why we all dislike "didacticism." Jason _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: (No, or invalid, date.) From: "Marilyn & William Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] (Andrew's Poll) 90s plays Fun to see that someone (good going, Chris!) remembers ACCOMMODATIONS! = I thought the play a winner, myself! And Bill Brown was also in it with = Scott and others. Andrew, I guess I'll please ask you to put Bill's play RIOT AT FLO'S CAFE= on the list, since it is in production this minute. (And it's good! Tim = Slover helped him with it! You ought to come and see it--it's a hoot.) = And I didn't know you had a MUSICALS list, but maybe I'll ask you to ple= ase put my two on there: THE NUTCRACKER, THE MUSICAL, and MIDSUMMER NIGHT= 'S DREAM, THE MUSICAL. (Since I wrote both the book and musical scores = for both plays and they have been produced and fairly successful--Mike = Perry published MIDSUMMER before he left for Canada). Thanks. Marilyn Bro= wn - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: (No, or invalid, date.) From: "Marilyn & William Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Introductions: Tom Kimball Hi, Tom. How exciting to be going into the publishing business! Will you = be joining a marketing/distribution operation? I do know that Veda Hale = is working on a fantastic biography of Maurine Whipple, (what a story!) = and that she hasn't signed a contract yet. Please shoot me back your pers= onal e-mail. wwbrown@burgoyne.com. Thanks. Marilyn Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: (No, or invalid, date.) From: "Marilyn & William Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] It's a GIRL!! Congratulations to Mom, Dad and Rebecca (and the whole family). How fun = to be able to share this with everybody! Thanks, Linda. I just hope Jonat= han will admit this is a weighty matter, because it is! And our congratul= ations, no matter how small and insignificant they seem truly are the stu= ff of life and communications! Best wishes! Marilyn Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 13:26:36 -0400 From: "Debra L. Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] It's a GIRL!! > We apologize for the delay in this announcement. Life has been hectic, as > you can imagine, since the birth of our daughter on September 15th! (Steve > also complains he can't figure out my Eudora address book [this from one > who claims he can program?] and therefore couldn't send this message himself.) Dear Linda, Congrats Congrats Congrats! Now, get busy and write volume two of Thy Kingdom Come! (the mormon connection mention) And now! Surely a new baby can't take up that much time? And my sympathies to Steve, Eudora was the one e-mail program I couldn't tech support. Debbie Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: (No, or invalid, date.) From: "Marilyn & William Brown" Subject: [AML] Mormon Writers and the National Market (was: Roger WATERS, _Amused to Death_) Dallas wrote, In the last days the hearts of many will wax cold. I just want to tell you something about Carol Houck Smith, the editor at = W.W. Norton in New York, publishers of fine quality literature. She comes= faithfully to Utah every year hoping to find talent. I admire her so muc= h. She is the best, most skillful editor I have ever known, and is the = developer of Ron Carlson, (how I first knew her) and Andrea Barrett (thou= gh both of these are not a Mormon) and Brady Udall (yes, a Mormon)! There= are still disparities between national work and Mormon work--but I'm get= ting to my point soon. Do you know what she says about Brady? He is compa= ssionate toward his characters. Carol said some really amazing things thi= s last week, and I just thought you on the list would like to hear it. = She told me that the writing back East, the writing she gets is BRILLIANT= , and absolutely INTELLIGENT. But it LACKS HEART! So now you see! What you are saying is being guessed at by some very prom= inent people in New York. I really think Carol comes to Utah hoping to = find that HEART. But there is still a disparity. My writing is TOO INNOCE= NT, still. She says that I WRITE LIKE A MORMON and I need to be EDGIER = and NOT SO SENTIMENTAL, etc. She doesn't think it's doing me any good to = PUBLISH ON THE MORMON MARKET. But she likes my stories. She knows how har= d I work. I have been TRYING for approximately 25 years. That's a long = time. If the writing community in New York LACKS HEART, and Carol has noticed = it, there is a void we can try to fill, my friends. There is no reason = AML can't encourage more great authors to help Brady fill that emptiness.= I asksed about Daryl Spencer. He is fabulous, but evidently hadn't maste= red NARRATIVE for his novels yet. They are too artistic and OPEN. What = Carol is seeking is excellent writing with an edge to it and HEART. So = thank you, Dallas, for opening up this post. Sincerely, Marilyn Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 14:21:30 -0600 From: "Richard R. Hopkins" Subject: Re: [AML] It's a GIRL!! Major congratulations on a major production! Richard Hopkins - ----- Original Message ----- From: Linda Adams To: aml-list@cc.weber.edu Sent: Monday, September 25, 2000 6:02 PM Subject: [AML] It's a GIRL!! > Hi All, > > We apologize for the delay in this announcement. Life has been hectic, as > you can imagine, since the birth of our daughter on September 15th! (Steve > also complains he can't figure out my Eudora address book [this from one > who claims he can program?] and therefore couldn't send this message himself.) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 00:26:43 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Moral Issues in Art Todd Robert Petersen wrote: > I still think that to call art didactic comes, not from anything in the > nature of the art itself, but from the viewer/reader. Some things I might > think of as didactic, maybe aren't to others. Good point. Didn't some non-LDS critics of _God's Army_ think it was trying to preach Mormonism, when Dutcher says he wasn't even trying to talk to the non-LDS audience? - -- 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 http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 21:07:08 -0700 (MST) From: Benson Parkinson Subject: [AML] Sunstone Editor Position Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 06:13:07 -0700 From: "vpgdfllw@cts.com" Subject: Sunstone Editor Position NEW SUNSTONE EDITOR POSITION CREATED The Sunstone Foundation invites interested individuals to apply for the position of editor of Sunstone magazine, a full-time, paid position. DUTIES Under the direction of Elbert Peck, executive director of the foundation, the editor is responsible to produce a timely, vibrant, and stimulating Sunstone magazine. Collaborating with a part-time associate editor, a part-time typesetter, the editorial committee of the board of trustees, and a host of volunteers, the editor: defines and implements editorial philosophy and policy commissions magazine articles oversees the review and acceptance of submissions edits and directs the editing process coordinates with section editors commissions illustrations and humorous drawings supervises volunteer editors, writers, proofreaders, artists, photographers KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS The editor should: - be self motivated; - know the Mormon intellectual community; - care about and be conversant with a wide array of topics and disciplines and their expression in Mormonism; - critique both style content of essays; - create small and large improvements in magazine design and content with a view to increasing the magazine's readership and helping it constructively host the wide range of Mormon thought and experience; - copy edit; - work well with people and build a network of new and veteran authors; - and be organized in tracking a multitude projects and details. SALARY: Negotiable. LOCATION: Sunstone office in Salt Lake City CONTACT: Elbert Peck, executive director, The Sunstone Foundation 343 N. Third West Salt Lake City, UT 84103 801/355-5926 SunstoneEP@aol.com (Note: Contrary to recent rumors, Elbert Peck, Sunstone editor since 1986, is not presently considering ending his Sunstone tenure. In fact, the creation of the editor position and the recently hired Sunstone business manager are intented, among other things, to keep burnout from causing him to leave.) - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 11:27:09 -0600 From: Sarah Smith Subject: Re: [AML] conservative hatred > Who is Matthew Shepard? > > Who beat him? How were the beaters associated with "a generally > conservative part of American society"? > > In what way does this implicate "the greater culture"? Matthew Shepard's tragic death moved me so deeply that I wrote an essay w= hich was later published in an alternative paper; I send along a part of it (s= o it may sound choppy) to provide some background to those unfamiliar with his death. I think a play has been written and performed about Shepard's dea= th. I'm not certain how the killers were "associated with a conservative part= of American society, " unless Wyoming residents are considered conservative.= Are they? I'm unclear what is meant by "the greater culture." Essay (part of it): I was appalled by how two human beings could pistol-whip Matthew Shep= ard, a 21-year-old, gay college student, to a pulp where his skull was so severe= ly smashed that surgeons could not operate, then burn him, and lash him to a= fence out in nowhere to die. Eighteen blows to his head were inflicted. He di= ed 12 October 1998. Did I say =93human=94 beings? I do not recall hearing about the funerals of other murdered, young p= eople where pickets carried signs with the equivalent of =93no tears for queers= =94 as was done at Shepard=92s funeral in Casper, Wyoming, 16 October 1998. I am not homosexual, and I do not have a homosexual brother or child. Thus, it is not about homosexual rights per se that I=92m concerned but a= bout human rights. Call me archaic--I still believe in =93thou shalt not hurt= living creatures=94 and =93thou shalt not kill.=94 Yet it seems acceptable for = some people to harass, hurt, and kill homosexuals, even a civil or religious duty to = do so just because of their sexual orientation. Apparently Russell Arthur Hend= erson and Aaron James McKinney, both 21, the ones who beat, burned, and killed Shepard, believed so. Matthew Shepard was guilty of no crimes; he did not harass, hurt, or = kill anyone. Why the homosexual community do not wave signs that say =93castrate t= he straight=94 and pistol-whip a few heterosexuals is a puzzle. After all, = =93thou shalt do to you what you would like done back=94 does not seem to apply t= o the homosexual population. In Provo, Utah, a 13-year-old boy announced to his school that his methodology for world peace is to crucify gay men on Main Street and to b= urn lesbians at the stake. In a study presented at the American Psychological Association=92s na= tional convention, nearly a quarter of community college students admitted to harassing people they believed were gay. Karen Franklin, author of the s= tudy and a former fellow at the Washington Institute for Mental Illness Resear= ch and Training in Tacoma, wrote, =93Assaults on gay men and lesbians were so so= cially acceptable that respondents often advocated or defended such behavior out= loud in the classrooms, while I was administering my survey.=94 The study als= o revealed that almost half of the students said they would assault again, = and that they either lacked remorse or did not see anything wrong with their behavior. (Salt Lake Tribune, 15 October 1998) Where did these young people learn it is okay to harass and assault t= hose who are different than they? Somewhere, perhaps from churches, schools, entertainment and news media, there is implied sanction for violence agai= nst homosexuals. Surprisingly, violence of this nature does not seem to spre= ad toward those who covet, commit adultery, steal, lie, cheat, etc., acts th= at most of us abhor, explicit immoral, unethical, and illegal acts grounded = in civil and criminal law and the ten commandments. A death sentence by injection or electric chair just seems too easy f= or the two convicted murderers. For their execution, maybe a mob should pistol-= whip and burn them. Still, I figure for Henderson and McKinney, remorse is an= alien emotion. Even in the throes of death, I would not be surprised if their = dying words were =93still no tears for queers.=94 Sarah Smith - - 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 #161 ******************************