From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #246 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 Thursday, February 1 2001 Volume 01 : Number 246 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 13:18:36 -0700 From: Scott and Marny Parkin Subject: [AML] LTU&E Writing Contest Life the Universe, and Everything, an annual symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy held at Brigham Young University, is pleased to announce its writing contest for 2001. Along with the name of the contest (DragonComet), a few of the rules have been changed. Take a look to see what changes we have made. The contest is divided into three categories: 1. School age writers (7th - 12th grade at contest deadline) 2. Adults 18+ writing for young adult audiences 3. Adults 18+ writing for adult audiences The contest deadline is 12 February 2001. There is no entrance fee. Only one entry is allowed per person per category. No simultaneous or previously published entries will be accepted. Entries must be in the Science Fiction and/or Fantasy genre. All stories should be mailed unfolded in a manila envelope to: LTUE WRITING CONTEST ATTN: JENNA EATOUGH E120 BNSN BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY PROVO, UT 84602 No email entries will be accepted. Entries remain the property of the author. Entries will not be returned unless a SASE is included. Do not send the only copy of your entries. We are not responsible for lost entries. All stories should have a cover sheet including name, title of work, mailing address, email address (optional), school you are attending (optional), the entry category, author's signature of permission, parent's signature if under eighteen, and where you learned about the contest. A sample cover sheet is on the web page. The author's name and any identifying information should appear only on the cover sheet in order to retain the objectivity of the judges. The title and page number should appear on all pages of the story. Length should be no greater than 17,000 words in length. Entries must be on 8 1/2 by 11 white paper, and they must be typed, double spaced, one inch margins, and 12pt. All entries must be in English. Illegible entries will not be considered. The top three stories in each category will receive awards. Further prizes will be announced at a later date on the web page. 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 dragoncomet@hotmail.com with any questions. symposium web page: http://www.jps.net/helgem/ltue/ contest web page: http://www.eatough.net/dragoncomet/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 13:24:23 -0700 From: "Scott Tarbet" Subject: RE: [AML] SODERBERGH, _Traffic_ (Movie) > How about a novel that portrays Mormonism as spiritual survival > of the fittest, which is what it is when you look past all the > Christian paradoxes? > > Chris Bigelow We're graded on some sort of heavenly curve? Wouldn't a novel based on that premise confirm all the worst "earn your way to heaven" stereotypes about Mormon theology? What are the "Christian paradoxes"? The idea that we're saved through grace after all we can do? - -- Scott Tarbet - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 12:19:56 -0800 (PST) From: Darlene Young Subject: [AML] Brady Udall Query Could someone give me some information on Brady Udall's connection with Mormon literature? Is he LDS? From somewhere (on this List, I believe, or else in the AML-edited Dialogue issue) I picked up a recommendation for his short story collection, "Letting Loose the Hounds." The stories are quite interesting, very colorful. Some of them take place in Utah and one has an LDS character. Does Udall have any other connections with Mormon lit. than this? Thanks. ===== Darlene Young __________________________________________________ Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:40:50 -0500 From: Tony Markham Subject: Re: [AML] SODERBERGH, _Traffic_ (Movie) I saw a Tonight Show appearance by the young woman (Erika Christensen) who plays Caroline Wakefield in Traffic. She struck me as awfully Mormon. Anybody know? Tony Markham - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:17:53 -0700 From: Margaret Young Subject: [AML] YOUNG, _I Am Jane_ (Performance) _I Am Jane_, the play-with-music ("Negro Spirituals") I wrote about Black pioneer, Jane Manning James, will play for two days only at BYU, sponsored by the Black Student Union. The showtimes and places: Friday Feb. 9, and Sat. Feb. 10 in room 3220 (with other rooms) of BYU's Wilkinson Center. We are really excited about this production. We have a new director, Lisa Edwards, who is a consummate expert and has brought in some marvelous new cast members. I am trying to get volume 2 of the trilogy done, so I haven't been involved in the production, but everything I hear from the cast members is EXTREMELY enthusiastic. They feel this will be several notches above the level we've performed it previously. Please come. Tickets are cheap--$2.00 for BYU students; $3.00 for community, available at the Wilkinson Center Information Desk. If you want to be sure you get a seat (we sold out when we played at Marilyn and Bill Brown's Villa Theater), you may want to pre-pay for your tickets. You can call (801) 378-4313 and pay via credit card--though they will charge you a processing fee. There were a number of folks who saw it when we did the abbreviated version at the Visitors' Center who asked when we were going to do it again, so they could invite their friends. I have no idea who those people are, but if you know someone who you think might be especially interested, please pass the word along! [Margaret Young] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 18:22:49 -0700 From: LuAnnStaheli Subject: Re: [AML] Mormon Dialogue > I'm sorry, but I have lived in eight states since I was married and have > traveled as an actor or director or teacher or convention goer to another > fifteen or so. Every one of those states had distinctive speech patterns > or dialects. Ah, but you see, I couldn't agree more. That's what I was trying to show in the piece you responded to. We each have our own way of saying things. That's what makes us all wonderful individuals, yet part of the same grand country! Lu Ann Staheli - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 20:33:03 -0700 From: Scott and Marny Parkin Subject: RE: [AML] Dealing with Mormon History Scott Tarbet wrote: >As far as the government of Mexico is concerned I was never a missionary >there. According to my visa I was a basketball instructor for the Mutual >Improvement Association. (Anybody who has met me knows what a laugh *that* >is ;-d) Because of centuries of abuse, foreign missionaries are >specifically forbidden by the Mexican Constitution. But the Missionary >Department arranged my visa without any unwieldly concern for the truth or >the law. This is really interesting to me. I know that in Germany we not only obeyed every bit of the law, but that were specifically accepted by it. When I got my Geistlichenasweis (ministerial certificate) I was specifically authorized by the federal government to perform all standard ordinances of religion, including marriages. Germany is odd in that while they support the existence of many churches, only a very few are recognized by the government. As a missionary in West Berlin (at the time there were still two Germanies and two Berlins) I heard a lot about the efforts to move into East Germany, where proselyting missionaries are explicitly illegal. I also heard that they simply wouldn't violate those laws under any circumstance. Then again, the German police are known for being sticklers for the law and having no sense of humor whatsoever for violations of it. Different places have different assumptions, I guess. Intriquing. Scott Parkin - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 22:57:59 -0600 From: "Rose Green" Subject: Re: [AML] Author's Say in Book Layout >Some regional presses might let an author have limited say in the >layout/design of a picture book, but not the national publishing houses. >An >author usually doesn't even get to help choose the illustrator. > >I'm surprised that a book published by Knopf would be so poorly designed. >Perhaps it is *supposed* to look amateurish. What is the title? The Playmaker, by J.B. Cheaney. When you first pick it up, it doesn't look so bad, but it's hard to actually read. The library binding probably doesn't help. I'm sure someone really liked the design and did it on purpose, like you said. Still, in a non-illustrated book, I'd rather read the content than spend time thinking about the typeset. Rose _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 23:45:44 -0800 From: harlowclark@juno.com Subject: Re: [AML] First Attempts to Be a Writer How delightful this topic should come up now. A couple of years ago (that long?) I wrote an essay called "Lucid Dreaming" (title essay for a collection) which is a combination of memoir, literary theory, practical criticism, record of my development as a critic, and collection of my diverse styles.=20 I would note, if this were a thread on my development as a writer, how much that development owes to Benson Parkinson and AML-List. Because of Ben's invitations to write things and because the threads here have been most fructifying I have material for several books of essays. I consider myself a fiction writer, but have found a talent for quirky personal essays. Much thanks to him. Anyway, here's an excerpt from "Lucid Dreaming." I wish I still had the story I describe: My waking life floats on words like Moses in his basket, words and stories, words calling forth stories, stories giving life to words. "I Discover Moses and the Bulrushers," might be chapter 1 for my sense of story, as it was for this boy named Huckleberry Finn=97as surely related to Huckleberry Hound Dog as Abraham Lincoln to Isaac, demanded by the Lord as a sacrifice. What a wonderful, mysterious word, bulrushers, but I didn't read the book, plumb the mystery, just then. I wrote a story, a story I have only a memory of. Third grade, I think. My mother asks me to take an article to Mrs. Harris for the ward newsletter. Walk up to the top of the hill, which is the bottom of the wildmouse, a long uphill s-curve. Cut off and head up through the gulley. Steep climb at the end, then a short uphill walk. I take the story I have written to read to Mrs. Harris, about a man who is drugged and kidnapped and wakes in the Coliseum in Rome to find himself being rushed by a bull. I struggled mightily with how to describe it. "Found himself being bulrushed," I considered, but didn't know if bulrushed was a proper word, or if it was used that way. I didn't know I was struggling with whether it was a passive transitive verb, but I knew from the -er suffix that bulrush was a verb, something bulrushers did. But maybe bulrushers rushed bulls. Even my story couldn't settle the matter, so I kept writing stories. Harlow S. Clark "In literature, as in our dreams, death does not exist" - --Isaac Bashevis Singer, Author's Note to _Passions_ "Shortly after that [his grandmother's death] Gary [5-years-old] started having nightmares. They were always the same dream: He was being beheaded. - --Mikal Gilmore, _Shot in the Heart_, p. 105 ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 01:22:15 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Michael RITCHEY, _Disoriented_ (Review) "Richard R. Hopkins" wrote: > I thought it was fairly obvious that sending his spirit back was an option > determined by "the powers that be" in the spirit world, not something that > occured automatically. The villain, too, was "reoriented" but his spirit was > not given the option of returning. The return was facilitated by the fact > that the hero spent very little actual time in the spirit world. Did that > come across? That particular bit of information did not get across to me. But I didn't need it. His father got permission from "higher authorities" to send his son back. That was good enough for me. What I didn't like was how it was so conveniently handed to him--after too many other convenient resolutions of a conflict. > The reconstitution of the hero's body at the end seemed inevitable to me > based on the physics premise. That's probably why you guys figured it out > from the start. Frankly, I was surprised how few people anticipated that. So > what did you feel was wrong in going with the obvious? Is this writing > skill, or personal taste? Personally, one of my pet peeves is the penchant > of some writers to posit the occurence of events that could not have > happened just to make their story seem different. I always like a twist that surprises me, but it's not a requirement. Any surprise does need to be justified by what went before--no "impossible" events by the laws of the novel's universe. But the skilled author needs to do what he can to avoid telegraphing the ending as much as possible, without cheating the reader of the right clues to set it up. If that's impossible to avoid, then the ending needs to be significant in some other way than a surprise, or have an added unexpected twist, so it doesn't feel anticlimactic. > This criticism is very curious to me. What's wrong with everything turning > out okay, resolving all the consequences? Personally, I feel an author is > sloppy if he or she doesn't tie up the loose ends in a fictional story. This is probably more a symptom of not liking the book before getting to the ending. If the book ain't working for someone, no ending is likely to satisfy. On the other hand, an acknowledged, thought-provoking loose end or two isn't a bad idea, as long as enough of the significant loose ends are tied up in a satisfying way. But then acknowledging a loose end and its significance _is_ a sort of tying up. At least it shows the author didn't just forget about it. - -- 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: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 02:25:28 -0700 From: "mjames_laurel" Subject: Re: [AML] Michael RITCHEY, _Disoriented_ (Review) . What's wrong with everything turning > >out okay, resolving all the consequences? Personally, I feel an author is > >sloppy if he or she doesn't tie up the loose ends in a fictional story. I haven't read the book--but here's my take on this question, Richard: we don't necessarily want everything to always turn out "okay." What we want is for things to turn out better than okay--okay, but in a way we didn't expect, in a way we didn't forsee, in a way that is completely natural and honest, and was there all along but we didn't notice. What we do want is an ending that works, not because the writer resorts to Deus ex machina, as Thom said, or worse, resorts to Bobby Ewing in the shower. We don't want "happily ever after." What we want is hopeful. A good recent example is "Cast Away". Just when things are darkest and most un-resolvable, when you've given up hope the writer is going to be able to get himself out of the deep deep hole he's dug, the seeds that were unobtrusively planted along the way suddenly sprout. The ending is suddenly hopeful, and that hope is just enough that we are satisfied. It's only then we see where the writer has been leading us all along. There is closure. All the loose ends are tied up, even loose ends we hadn't noticed till now. We were glad when he survived the crash. We were glad when he is rescued. We are glad he is reunited with his love. That's what we thought we wanted out of this movie, isn't it? Except, suddenly there is one more thing, one thing we didn't expect, one thing that goes beyond, the thing that makes you go, Wow. And that's the thing that stays with us. The last, best thing we did not expect. Laurel - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 10:33:57 -0700 From: Margaret Young Subject: Re: [AML] Brady Udall Query Brady was a BYU student, who went from here to Iowa, and was personally contacted by Norton Publishers to submit a collection of short fiction. John Bennion had Brady as a student, and would probably love to tell about it. Hope he does. Brady lives in Idaho, and the last I heard was teaching part time at Idaho State in Moscow, Idaho. I don't know how "Mormon" he is now, but he was raised Mormon and treats Mormonism with respect in his fiction. [Margaret Young] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 10:39:15 -0700 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Michael RITCHEY, _Disoriented_ (Review) mjames_laurel wrote: > [talking about Cast Away] Except, suddenly there is one more thing, one thing we didn't > expect, one thing that goes beyond, the thing that makes you go, Wow. > Even then, that "thing" has been properly foreshadowed. When we see the first reference to it, we don't quite understand what's happening. The "Aha" moment comes during Hanks' monologue at the end. Wonderful writing. Thom Duncan - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 09:44:32 -0800 (PST) From: plus two Subject: [AML] Influence of Mormon Literary Tradition (was: Michael RITCHEY, _Disoriented_) - --- Ivan Angus Wolfe wrote: > > Thom - I'm with you on that - I am the same way - > after having read teh best > (and worst) SF has to offer - Disoriented left me > angry and embittered. > This (and the post from Thom that Ivan is responding to as well as D. Michael's reminder in the Mormon Regionalism thread that Mormon SF authors didn't begin bringing explicit Mormon elements into their work until they were already established in the field) brings up an issue I've been thinking about lately. We have among us (and by us I suppose I mean 'educated' and/or 'well-read' Mormons) many who have read the best SF or literary fiction or romance has to offer. How does that translate into what gets written and published by Mormon authors? In other words, do we learn how to write from the masters of the idiom(s) and then graft something Mormon-like-in- substance onto it, or does our writing grow slowly out of our homegrown traditions? I'm sure the answer varies according to genre and author, but I'd like to hear what those of you who are firmly grounded in a particular genre or field have to say about this. I guess what I'm really asking is do we need to familiarize ourselves with both the Mormon literary tradition and the canonical tradition of the genre we're writing in? If I want to write Mormon spy thrillers do I need to read Orson Whitney and Eliza Snow and Maureen Whipple and Clinton Larsen? Or is it enough to read Le Carre and company? Do we only need to familiarize ourselves with the Mormon literary canon if we want to write 'literary' fiction? The reason I bring this up is that I'm of two minds on the issue right now. On the one hand my literary critic personae wants me to read from the Mormon canon so that I can react, dispute, steal from, consciously ignore my predecessors; on the other hand my wannabe maverick creative writer personae (the one that wrote plenty of bad song lyrics in high school) says chuck it all and just write. Just writing is appealing, but we all have our influences, can't help but have them, so there's no such thing as 'just writing.' I don't expect answers, but if anybody wanted to share how they approach the question of reading and influence on writing, I'm a willing, eager audience. ~~William Morris [MOD: My thanks, by the way, to William Morris, who has several times in the last few weeks--as he did this time--sent a post that raised such interesting questions that I felt compelled to start a new thread. Those of us who have been around a while on AML-List may recognize the importance of new voices on the List to ask new questions, or to ask old questions in new ways, and get the conversation going again.] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 03:24:16 +0900 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] Historical Fiction (BYU Universe) As body of LDS historical literature grows, Y professors issue caution By Kathryn Dougall kathryn@newsroom.byu.edu NewsNet Staff Writer In recent years, LDS literature has gained considerable popularity, especially in the historical fiction genre. Series' like Gerald Lund's "The Work and the Glory" have attracted LDS readers who want to learn and be entertained at the same time. "I think Mormons are such a practical people," said Dean Hughes, BYU professor of English and author. "If they can read something that's entertaining that also teaches history and at the same time is affirmative without being simple minded, that's what people seem to be looking for," he said. Hughes is the author of the popular LDS series "Children of the Promise," a series set during World War II. He said LDS literature has come a long way in recent years. Only 25 years ago almost no literature existed for the LDS audience, Hughes said. When literature did begin to develop it seemed to be "faith promoting" stories, he said. Historical fiction, however, seems to challenge readers more and help them learn about history, Hughes said. Although the reception of historical fiction has been overwhelming, there are also concerns associated with the genre. Hughes said that while historical fiction can be educational, it is not as important as sacrament meeting or scriptures. "People start placing novels on too high of a rung," he said. Historical fiction should not replace scripture study, said Camille Fronk, assistant professor of ancient scripture. "There is a great power in reflecting what is given to us in scripture or church history," she said. Although the impact of historical fiction has generally been good, authors must take care to make their works historically accurate, said Richard Holzapfel, associate professor of church history and doctrine. There can be problems in attempting to make Hollywood versions of history, Holzapfel said. Audiences often create images caused by our culture, he said. But they must filter through these images to understand what is historically accurate, he said. "We live in an age where pop culture must be taken seriously. We can't be academic snobs," he said. "We need to encourage authors to be historically accurate." Holzapfel posed questions to evaluate the impact of historical fiction. "Have authors been responsible? And have they generated interest in scriptures, doctrine and history?" he said. Holzapfel said the increase of historical fiction has seemed to perpetuate a greater interest in church history sites and other historical subjects. Fronk said great contributions have been made in LDS art, literature and poetry. They help show that individuals in church history were real people in a real world, she said. But LDS authors have a great responsibility, she said. "There is a tremendous responsibility to be true to the facts given us," she said. This story was posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2001 _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 04:05:49 +0900 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] Jerry Johnston on Editing (Deseret News) Trimming words of wisdom is tough By Jerry Johnston Deseret News staff writer At the last LDS general conference, Elder Neal A. Maxwell talked=20 about our "personalized prisons" and said, "Moments are the molecules that= =20 make up eternity." You didn't read those comments in the Deseret News, however. You didn't read them because we trimmed them out. We had to take a=20 2,000-word talk and boil it down to 200 words for our daily edition. I know. I was the guy who did the boiling. Afterward I told my wife, "It's like taking Thanksgiving dinner and=20 trying to turn it into a box lunch. It's frustrating." My wife, a teacher, seldom misses the chance to spot a lesson. "Well," she said after a moment, "now you know how Mormon must have=20 felt." She was right. My admiration for Mormon went up a notch. For the LDS faithful, Mormon, of course, was the man who "boiled down"= =20 a room full of scriptures into what we know as the Book of Mormon. It's his= =20 book not because he wrote the book, but because he edited it. And as with=20 all editing tasks, it must have been a thankless job. As my friend Kiplin=20 Griffin says, nobody holds up "Mormon the abridger" as their favorite Book= =20 of Mormon hero. Over in the Old World, Luke was doing much the same with the Book of= =20 Acts. He was picking and choosing details, selecting stories to include,=20 stories to leave out. It couldn't have been easy for him either. Just as we= =20 say a prayer before carving up a meal, I'm sure the editors of scripture=20 said a prayer before carving up holy writ. Deciding whose words to use must= =20 have felt like juggling lightning bolts. I'm also sure there were some self-important complainers =97 people= who=20 felt their words and deeds merited more. I can imagine some blowhard saying,= =20 "Peter and Paul, Paul and Peter. What about me? I was there." That, of course, is the reason I've never chosen to be an editor. I=20 refuse to deal with persnickety souls like me =97 writers who think their=20 stories form a sonata. I remember writing a column once and getting a note from my editor,=20 Carrie Moore. She liked the column, she said, but the last paragraph seemed= =20 to come out of nowhere and hang from the bottom of the piece. I remember scowling at her note and thinking, "She makes it sound like= =20 I'm playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, like my summary paragraph dangles=20 from the piece like some kid's untied shoelace." The fact her observation was 100 percent dead-on-target really had=20 nothing to do with it. And so today, I offer a tip of the hat to editors ancient and modern.= =20 I haven't walked a mile in their shoes, but by abridging several conference= =20 talks I've taken enough steps in them to know how agonizing it must be to=20 edit scripture. Undoubtedly early editors had facts to double-check and=20 dates to verify. Undoubtedly some people quibbled with versions of events and=20 second-guessed the editor's "news judgment." And, undoubtedly, there were a few gems =97 phrases like "Moments are= =20 the molecules that make up eternity" =97 that ended up on the cutting room= =20 floor. Mormon said he was not able to include a "hundredth part" of the=20 things he was writing about. A "hundredth part" of Elder Maxwell's conference talk would be 20=20 words. As for editors today, let me offer thanks for any embarrassment=20 they've saved me =97 in this column and others. I understand that at times= =20 they've had to trim my column so it would fit on the page. Let me also say, if readers are ever curious to know what "golden=20 nuggets of thought" those editors trashed, they should feel free to call me= =20 and I'll read those immortal sentences to them over the phone. E-mail: jerjohn@desnews.com _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 12:20:33 -0700 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Handling Agents Great idea! Thank you, Chris! Marilyn Brown - ----- Original Message ----- From: Christopher Bigelow To: Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2001 9:39 AM Subject: Re: [AML] Handling Agents When I get a chance, I will type up and post a full list of all agents/editors I've come across who are showing openness to Mormon themes (21 so far). One of the reasons is to put them on Irreantum's mailing list--maybe some will get into the habit of scanning our magazine for interesting authors. I do hope my ms. catches on with someone, but if not I still consider this query experience to be helpful in breaking Mormon writing into the mainstream, as least for us to discuss some query strategies and start grooming more agents/editors to look at Mormon stuff. I hope anyone else working along similar lines will share your experiences with us, as well as names/addresses of anyone showing openness to mainstream Mormon writing. Chris Bigelow - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 14:14:58 EST From: Higbeejm@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Brady Udall Query >>>Could someone give me some information on Brady Udall's connection with Mormon literature?>>>>>> Have just received this biographical info from my sources (Brady's brother, via a mutual friend)... Brady Udall * Currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania * Recently completed his first novel. Will possibly be released around June. * Grew up in St. John's Arizona, son of an FBI agent and a high school English teacher. * Age: 32 * Married with 2 children. * Graduated from BYU about 1994. I believe with a BA in English. * Attended IOWA MFA creative writing program * Although he is LDS (served a mission in Brazil), he doesn't view himself as a "Mormon writer," but as a "writer who happens to be a Mormon, * Have been told by another native of St. John's that reading his short stories was like reading the biographies of people she grew up with. Janelle Higbee - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 14:18:52 -0500 From: "Eric D. Dixon" Subject: Re: [AML] SODERBERGH, _Traffic_ (Movie) Tony Markham wrote: >I saw a Tonight Show appearance by the young woman >(Erika Christensen) who plays Caroline Wakefield in >Traffic. She struck me as awfully Mormon. Anybody >know? She's not, according to this article: http://www.teenhollywood.com/d.asp?r=4753 [...] Christensen attributes this uncanny poise to her involvement in the Church of Scientology. "It has made me so confident. I just have a different point of view that I got from Scientology. I figure that whatever I don't know, I can learn. And I don't really care that my opinions on something might be wrong. Based on what I do know, I can make an opinion. Later, I can change. That gives me the stability to be who I am." "Also, this is completely personal and I can't speak for other Scientologists," she continues cautiously. "But I think the idea that you will be re-incarnated takes the pressure off. I believe that you can lead a worthwhile life and make a difference, but you will live again." [...] Eric D. Dixon "We get away with nothing. We cannot escape the repercussions of our actions, however subtle they may be. We cannot get away from ourselves. We cannot get away from the world we live in. Our decisions, our choices which underlie our actions & give rise to them, create the world we inhabit." -- Robert Fripp - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 12:39:09 -0700 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] Brady Udall Query Yes! Read Brady. He was one of the featured speakers at the Capitol Reef conference as summer, and I had the chance to get to know him. A very nice "Mormon kid." But like most REALLY successful Mormon writers, his writing is just a shade off of Mormon (as you can see if you read the book) and he doesn't really strike me as MORMON now. The closest story to MORMON was BEAUTIFUL PLACES about the boy in church who helped the two vagrants. Carol Houck Smith, my ideal editor from W. W. Norton (she also published Ron Carlson who was another of my "mentors") absolutely loves Brady. He has a touch of Indian blood, and even looks like a Cherokee. I like him a lot. In the same discussion, may I refer to Margaret's comment that if someone who really believes like a real Mormon ever gets the attention (in mainstream, not youth or children's literature) that Brady is getting (maybe it will be Chris Bigelow?) we should eat our hats with joy. It would be amazing. Here are the bio lines from the book: "Brady Udall, born and raised in the Indian country of northeastern Arizona, is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and a Jams Michener Fellow. He was the winner of the PLAYBOY fiction contest in 1994. His stories have been published in GQ, STORY, THE PARIS REVIEW and THE MIDWESTERNER, among other places. He now lives in Idaho with his wife, Kate, and young son, Finn. [Marilyn Brown] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 12:41:44 -0700 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] YOUNG, _I Am Jane_ (Performance) Congratulations for keeping your show in the public arena, Margaret! I'm so proud of you. It is such a superb show! We would certainly do it again at the villa! By the way, we are doing Eric Samuelson's THREE WOMEN soon. Keep an eye out for times, etc. Marilyn Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 12:43:57 -0700 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] First Attempts to Be a Writer Interesting, Harlow. But a question for all. Is our LIST father Ben still on somewhere? He truly is a much appreciated SOURCE! Marilyn Brown [MOD: I believe he is still on the subscription list, but does not keep up with it much because he's trying to get his own writing done. He is also still AML-List owner and administrator--handling the technical details.] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 13:37:54 -0700 From: Margaret Young Subject: Re: [AML] Jerry Johnston on Editing (Deseret News) And guess how translators feel when they get to do simultaneous translation of Elder Maxwell's talks? The two GA's with "difficult" reputations for translators are Elder Maxwell and the late LeGrande Richards--who simply spoke too fast to translate. I've tried translating Elder Maxwell for my Institute students, and often have to stop and explain the English meaning of a word so my students will get a glimpse of the metaphor he's using. [Margaret Young] - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 12:41:32 -0800 From: "Jason Steed" Subject: Re: [AML] Brady Udall Query Brady's a pretty good friend of mine. He and his wife, Kate, own a parcel of land in northern Idaho, and I got to know him while I was doing my MFA at the U of Idaho a couple years ago. He is presently teaching at Franklin & Marshall in Pennsylvania. Last he told me, though, he was looking into jobs in the West--one at U of Oregon, I believe. His novel is supposed to be coming out soon. On the question of his "Mormonism," my estimation of him--if it is appropriate to discuss someone else's faith behind their back--is that he is active in the Church, though, like many of those on this list I suspect, he does have the occasional concern or complaint about things. I do know he was active in Idaho, at any rate. He and Kate have two sons--Finn and Hector--and Brady is a big fan of writers like Rick Bass and Lewis Nordan. I think his stories are great, and I'm looking forward to reading his novel, which should be out early this year, he said. In addition to his stories, he has also written the occasional nonfiction piece--including an article for Esquire which dealt with polygamy in Utah. Jason Steed _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com - - 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 #246 ******************************