From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #252 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 8 2001 Volume 01 : Number 252 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 10:18:54 -0700 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] Theater Is Dead D. Michael asked: >What is the success paradigm for theatre in the 21st century? Terrific question in a terrific post. First, let me say that theatre is = not dead. Provo Theatre Company has not yet found its audience, and could = possibly die soon. Negative newspaper reviews will have killed it, = because it was at a point in its existence where it was particularly = vulnerable. Lots of small theatre companies fail every year. Many others = succeed, and in fact, theatre as an art form is actually quite healthy = nationally. There are several successful models for theatres in this country. The = first model is the Broadway model. A Broadway producer does shows that he = thinks will be commercially viable. Ticket prices are high enough that = the show may become profitable, if the run happens to be long enough. If = you bring in a large cast/expensive set and costume show like Les Mis, = then you have to hope for a very long run, with packed houses buying = expensive tickets, and also tours and CD sales and tee shirts and all the = ancillary income a mega-hit brings in. A city like Salt Lake will get to = see all the big Broadway hits, because the national tours play in road = houses--theaters specifically dedicated to bringing in shows from the = outside. =20 Another model is the community theatre model, where the expectation is = that the actors won't be paid for their work. That's what the Hale Center = has done, and they've been very successful. They know their audience, and = they know what sorts of shows they can stage, and they also can keep costs = down. And they're very successful. =20 A place like PTC was trying for something other than the community theatre = model. They were trying to do more challenging plays, plays that their = target audience would find interesting, but also not offensive. They paid = their actors, which meant they mostly got better actors than a community = theatre would be able to attract. Ticket prices were higher than Hale = Center, but lower than a touring production would charge--I believe that = PTC tickets were in the 10-12 dollar range. They did superb shows, but = hadn't yet developed an audience sufficient to keep them afloat. My preferred model, however, is the Regional Theatre model. First of all, = in a Regional Theatre, a core company of actors is hired on a season by = season basis, which creates a sense of ensemble and communication in the = cast. Second of all, a Regional can do shows in repertory, which gives = them the flexibility to survive a couple of less-successful shows, and = milk a hit. It also keeps the actors fresh--long running shows can get = very very tired. Finally, a Regional Theatre can develop strong ties to a = community, can respond to a communities needs and values, while still = doing shows with a level of professionalism that a community theatre can't = match.=20 The problem is, a Regional theatre needs to be subsidized. Indiana = Repertory Theatre, for example, uses a 33-33-33 model. They expect to = recoup a third of their expenses from ticket sales, a third from their = endowment and a third from their annual fundraising activities. That's = the only way for them to keep ticket prices reasonable (12-18 dollars). = =20 The best theatre being done in the world today is done in London, much of = it by the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) and NT (National Theatre). Both = those remarkable companies receive a subsidy from the government, without = which neither could survive. And both have very reasonable ticket prices, = which means that they can create an audience of people with limited means. = =20 Right now, Utah has Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake and the Utah = Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. Pioneer, I detest. I think that = it's a theatre company for people who wish they didn't live in Utah. They = waste a lot of money jobbing in actors from New York, and they do distant, = uninvolving theatre. Some people like them--I don't. USF is wonderful. = Fred Adams does have a sense of the community, and even though the quality = of shows they do is pretty uneven, there's a wonderful atmosphere down = there. SLAC--Salt Lake Acting Company--is a small professional company. = They regularly do the best theatre in the state, but have a reputation for = being anti-Mormon, largely because of their annual show Saturday's Voyeur, = which I think is often pretty funny, but which does make fun of Mormons. = Beyond that, there are lots of other small theatres, each with their own = specialities.=20 What Utah needs is a good repertory company on the Regional model. = Theologically, I believe that the reason God permits rich people is so = they can give money to artists--they have no other legitimate function = that I can see. With all due respect to Tuacahn, I think Doug made one = huge mistake. Given 40 million dollars to play with, he spent 38 million = of it building a really nice theatre complex. (It is gorgeous). He = should have spent 2 million building a theatre, and 38 million on an = endowment to cover production costs. That's the best model for a good = theatre company nowadays. Eric Samuelsen - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 17:07:43 EST From: Paynecabin@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] (On Stage) BYU at ACTF Just a few years ago I had two sons at Weber State University, both involved in an interesting parody called "Pirated Penzance," one as a designer, the other as the lead actor. That piece went all the way to the Kennedy Center as part of the ACTF, along with a piece called, I think, "Prisoner" from BYU, and a piece from the University of Utah, meaning that three of the six shows from I-don't-know-how-many across the USA were from Utah. And I think one of the BYU actors that year took the Irene Ryan. I can't remember whether I've told this story here before, but it seems relevant to Eric's observations about the BYU actors. A couple of summers ago, I sat under a late spring sky in the huge theatre at Tuacahn. It was one of the final rehearsals for the last-gasp re-make of the extravaganza UTAH! (Exclamation point is part of the title.) Tim Slover was the playwright, having kept nothing but the title and the obligatory flood. I was the lyricist, having kept nothing but the tunes, which had cost the orig inal producers a lot of money. I sat that night next to Kathy Biesinger, the director. She'd gone to the metropolitan centers (yes, some large cities in addition to New York--no offense to the large apple, to which she also of course went) to cast the show, wanting professional seasoned actors from "non-sheltered" environments. What she shared with me under that desert sky was her regret at having done so. Her cast, well-trained and impassioned, just didn't get the story they were asked to tell. They thought they got it, but they didn't. They had most of them apparently chosen to avoid the kind of commitment to people and ideas that brings about maturity. (By "people and ideas" you may read "family and gospel.") Those cast for looks and charisma most widely missed the mark. The lady who'd been confined to broad comedy roles for most of her career, and was now given something serious, came closer. The single Latter-day Saint among the principle players, Ben Hopkin, nailed it. Last Fall, I was asked to speak to the new ensemble of BYU's Young Ambassadors at a get-the-Spirit retreat in the mountains. What they wanted was "How do I do a life of stage performance and keep my standards?" or something. It might have been as appropriately titled, "How do I succeed in spite of being good?" I skirted the issue entirely by suggesting, you may think crassly, that in fact their spirituality and adherence to principle were their competitive edge. In an audition room full of folks who dance really well, sing really well, and look really nice, the role will go the player who show the most presence, understanding, empathy, and vitality. If these are not fruits of the Spirit, and results of the struggles of the faithful, then I'm going back to Sunday School. Marvin Payne - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 16:12:31 -0700 From: "J. Scott Bronson" Subject: Re: [AML] Theater Is Dead On Wed, 07 Feb 2001 01:53:15 -0700 "D. Michael Martindale" writes: > Is theater doomed to be a minor cultural phenomenon that > must be subsidized by philanthropists or the government? > What is the success paradigm for theater in the 21st > century? Well, I'm certainly no expert on this stuff, but it seems to me that each arts oriented medium has had to evolve in order to survive whenever a new arts oriented medium was born. Playgoers go to plays to get something that they can't get from TV, radio, or film. Many people just don't realize that there is something different about going to a live show that can be very exciting and rewarding. I think, in order to survive Theatre is going to have to become more theatrical, and Theatre companies are going to have to find a niche, or a voice, or a flavor if you will. I think Eric S. gives too much power to the critics when he says: I'm now convinced, however, that the single biggest need we have, as we work towards the day that a [Mormon Shakespeare] will arise, is for a critical community that can and will support that theatrical community. Speaking of theatre in Utah Valley, since it's what I'm most familiar with, the Hale Center Theater thrives without even providing consistently high quality theatre. Likewise with SCERA. Little London Dinner Theater is beginning to make waves. The Villa continues to plug along. ARTE does okay up at the Castle every Summer and the Provo Theater Company isn't quite as bad off as Eric indicated yesterday. Hale and SCERA, Little London and the Villa all offer pretty much the same fare; they give the audience what they want, which is light comedies and musicals. Hale and SCERA (which have been around the longest) are only blocks from each other and succeed because they offer the right kind of shows for their two very disparate stages. SCERA is big and outdoors. Hale is small and inside. Rather than compete, they compliment each other. They'll be around for a long time if they stay smart. The Villa is south of the Utah Valley hub where these other two theaters are and probably gets the same audience as long as they aren't doing the same shows. Unless it can find something else to set it apart from the others, the competition may be too much. Hale and SCERA have developed a trust with their audience that may preclude others from being able to thrive. Little London is north of Hale and SCERA and offers a pretty nice meal to boost its appeal. As long as the shows are adequate, the almost fancy meal setting may be enough to keep it going. ARTE does Shakespeare and other classically oriented shows in a rather rustically romantic setting with a quality that is usually a step above the rest. If they can organize themselves and be wise with their money they will probably be around for awhile simply because the only other Shakespeare festival is at that Tony Award winning theatre way down south. Some folks just can't go that far for Shakespeare ... and who can top Utah Lake and a mountain range for a backdrop? Provo Theatre Company has been around for just a handful of seasons and is struggling precisely because it doesn't yet have a full voice yet. It hasn't found its niche -- it's flavor. When it first started it had a flavor that most of the people around here didn't like. And many of us who did like that flavor just couldn't afford to go. If they don't find a niche real soon, they may very well go by the wayside, which, as Eric said yesterday, would be heartbreaking. Colleges can get away with the eclectic schedules they produce because , well, they're supposed to do that kind of stuff to give their students as balanced an education as possible, and they are subsidized. Whether private, or state, somebody is subsidizing it. So, I left them off the list, and a fair amount of their audiences are required to see the shows, so they do get some revenue there. Audiences are sort of fluid, so don't get the idea that this valley will only sustain light comedies and musicals. There are all kinds of audiences here and some people belong to more than one audience. I, for instance, like light comedies, and musicals, and drama, and Shakespeare, and other classics and contemporary stuff and absurdist and ... whatever. As long as it is well done. Done well, I mean. I have seen, or been in, or directed shows at all of the theatres listed above, and I will continue to do so, I hope. But most people are not like me. They like comfort. If they try out a place once and it suits them, they'll go back. They develop loyalties for a myriad of reasons, and those loyalties can shift and change. But it happens v-e-r-y slowly. The Hales started out doing simple little Mormon comedies written by Ruth Hale herself. They did this for years. And they got a loyal audience. Then they started doing plays from outside the Mormon community that mirrored the sensibilities of Ruth's scripts. And that's pretty much where they have been for about a decade. Maybe they will branch out a little more. If they do, my guess is most of their audience will follow. Their audience trusts them. Theatre is not dead. As long as it offers what the movies can't, it will survive. And theatre companies will to as long as they don't abuse the trust that their audiences give them ... if they can find an audience. J. Scott Bronson--The Scotted Line "World peace begins in my home" - -------------------------------------------------------- "Anybody who sees live theatre should come out a little rearranged." Glenn Close - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 16:24:00 -0700 From: Jacob Proffitt Subject: Re: [AML] Theater Is Dead On Wed, 07 Feb 2001 01:53:15 -0700, D. Michael Martindale wrote: >But in spite of Egon's and everyone else's predictions that print is >dead, print is not dead. Same with other pronouncements of death on >movies and radio when television was invented. And so far, predictions >that e-books will supercede the printed word do not appear to be panning >out. Does theater fit into this equation somewhere? Is there some new >paradigm for theater that will make it economically viable? > >I question that. Print, radio, television, and film are all mass-market >media. Theater is a one-to-one proposition, as far as orders of >magnitude go. One set of performers to one audience on one night. You >can't mass produce theater to amortize your up-front costs to a >miniscule amount per unit. You have to recreate the "master recording" >with every performance. I think I'm right when I say that nearly every >orchestra in existence these days is subsidized--they can't exist on >their own revenue, for all the same reasons. Is theater doomed to be a >minor cultural phenomenon that must be subsidized by philanthropists or >the government? What is the success paradigm for theater in the 21st >century? I think this is a very important question. Theater cannot develop the economies of scale enjoyed by any other entertainment media. There just aren't enough sunk costs once a play is ready for distribution. As a result, theater will *always* be more expensive and less convenient for audiences than competing entertainment options. As a result, there is = much less room for innovation, change and improvement. Should I risk $7 on = the latest movie, or $15 on a community theater? If I hate the movie, I'm = only out $7. If I hate the play, well, I'm a lot worse off. So, like Eric = says, *any* hint of problems in the production will prevent me from going to = the theater. Unfortunately, to succeed I think that theater needs to draw more from = its strengths. I think Eric Samuelsen's plays have been instructive to me lately in the power of their production. "Love Affair with Electrons" = was not only a delight, but it also did a fantastic job of leveraging the strengths that theater has over *any* reproducible media. Eric does = things with the stage that couldn't be done via video. The reason this is unfortunate is because these are the most risky things to play with--and doing so can have the potential side effect of destroying the market entirely if done poorly. Less room for innovation, change and = improvement combined with a critical need for more innovation, change and improvement= is just a bad combination to try to fight. Jacob Proffitt - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 17:49:09 -0700 From: "Marianne Hales Harding" Subject: RE: [AML] Flashbacks >I haven't seen Snow Falling On Cedars but I've read it. In your opinion is >that an appropriate use of flashback or is it something you feel could have >been done better a different way? Did the movie use the flashbacks like >the >book did? I didn't read the book, but saw the movie and hated it. Beautifully shot but completely, mind-shatteringly boring. The flashbacks were meant to inform the frame story but how it came across was the actors sitting around "pondering" and no real action. If you were to outline the movie you might think there would be action, but the ponderous flashbacks and the long shots of what's-his-face sitting around looking longingly make the film a very long evening indeed. Perhaps if they would have just told the flashback story or just told the frame story then, through the process of rewrites, they might have come up with a compelling film. Instead they used "cut to flashback" to try to make up for lack of action in the script. I wanted to like this movie but I couldn't stand it. Marianne Hales Harding (who watches bad movies all the way through in an attempt to understand "Why? Why????") _________________________________________________________________ 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, 7 Feb 2001 15:35:55 -0700 From: "Richard R. Hopkins" Subject: Re: [AML] Cornerstone Award - ----- Original Message ----- From: Linda Adams > At 01:56 PM 2/6/01, you wrote: > My first novel, _Prodigal Journey,_ also won Cornerstone's Fiction Book of > the Year for 2000, which I thought was cool. Thanks! (I forgot to ask, > Richard, did that award include Horizon's books as well, or just > Cornerstone, since Horizon was acquired so late in the year?) Cornerstone's Fiction Book of the Year for 2000 included sales of all the Horizon books from August (which actually was the greater bulk of the sales for the year). Congratulations to Linda, who's book was selected for this award purely on sales, which means this award is actually given by the people who buy and read the books. Not only was it the highest in sales of fiction books for the year, it was a close second among all the books sold in the year. (Horizon has a book that just sells and sells all the time -- _Endowed From On High_. It also won an award for the year.) Richard Hopkins - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 00:05:17 -0700 From: "Eric D. Snider" Subject: Re: [AML] Critical Terms >Actually - we don't know all that - that theory has been disproven. >Eskimos have no more words for snow then we do (snow, powder, hardpack, slush, >etc.) > >It's the same with the idea the Hopi Indians have nor word or concept of time. >That is another false idea presented by a lingusit who had only limited >knowledge of Hopi. More reputable linguists have since becaome >fluent and have >declared that the Hopis do have a concept of and several words to >express time. [MOD: Thanks for the reference. Interesting.] A reference, you ask? Coincidentally, Cecil Adams wrote a column on this very subject just last week. It's at http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010202.html . Eric D. Snider - -- *************************************************** Eric D. Snider www.ericdsnider.com "Filling all your Eric D. Snider needs since 1974." - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 23:58:32 -0800 From: harlowclark@juno.com Subject: Re: [AML] Critical Terms On Wed, 07 Feb 2001 02:33:58 -0700 "D. Michael Martindale" writes, in his delightful glossary: > Harlowicient: I think I'd like this, if I could understand what he's > saying. Wish I could figure out what the guy was saying myself. Reminds me a lot of that scene where Mercutio and Benvolio have been teasing Juliet's Nurse, and she asks Romeo, "I pray you, sir, what saucy merchant was this that was so full of his ropery?" Romeo answers, "A gentleman, nurse, that loves to hear himself talk, and will speak more in a minute than he will stand to in a month" (II:iv:152-157) Harlow S. Clark The most heterogeneous of ideas are yoked by violence together; nature and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons and allusions; [his] learning instructs and [his] subtilty surprises; but the reader commonly thinks his improvement dearly bought, and though he sometimes admires is seldom pleased. =97Samuel Johnson, "Cowley" ________________________________________________________________ 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, 8 Feb 2001 00:32:45 -0700 From: "Eric D. Snider" Subject: Re: [AML] Theater Is Dead Eric Samuelsen: >Provo Theatre Company has not yet found its audience, and could >possibly die soon. Negative newspaper reviews will have killed it, >because it was at a point in its existence where it was particularly >vulnerable. Me: I wasn't going to bother refuting this, because Tim Threlfall (PTC artistic director) told me he would. But since it got said again, and Tim hasn't had a chance to respond to it, I will refute it now. When I mentioned Eric Samuelsen's first post declaring PTC's near-death status, Tim said, "No. We'll finish out the season, and there will be a next season." Even if PTC were selling out every performance, it's such a small venue with such high overhead that it would never be terribly profitable. He said the theater has recently received a large donation from someone who wishes to remain anonymous, which will help -- but my impression was that even without that, the theater would stick around. In other words, the rumors of PTC's death have been greatly exaggerated. Eric Samuelsen: Negative newspaper reviews will have killed it, because it was at a point in its existence where it was particularly vulnerable. Me: This strikes a little closer to home, since I'm the main one Eric was referring to. He said, I believe, that even a B or B+ grade (I gave PTC's "Big KSL Holiday Broadcast" a B) is devastating to a theater production because of people's unwillingness to take even a small risk when it comes to live theater. I know Eric is opposed to letter grades of any kind for theater productions (maybe for movies, too, I don't know) because it reduces the whole experience down to one letter. I don't know if using no grading scale at all would help matters or not. The issue, though, is what a critic's role is. We've discussed this before ("we" as in this list, and also "we" as in Eric and I). I whole-heartedly agree that a theater critic should be someone who loves and supports theater and supports it, and I do. I love theater, and I love Utah theater. Around The Daily Herald, I have a reputation for focusing too much on theater in our Friday entertainment section, and I plead guilty to that on occasion. This Friday's centerpiece story is about the fact that on the same night, two regional premieres are happening in Utah County -- "Over the River and Through the Woods" at Hale Center, and "The Texas Chainsaw Manicurist" at Provo Theatre Company. This article is unnecessary; we could have just run the press releases for each show, like we would any show. But I saw the coincidence, I was excited that shows new to Utah audiences were being done instead of "The Foreigner" for the 10,000th time, and I wanted to give an official kudos to the theaters for doing it. So it will be on the front of the section, with color photos and a big headline. I love local theater. I applaud the successes and mourn the failures. As a critic, though, I also have to report the failures. While a critic should support the arts, that does not mean he should look the other way when something is wrong. Who is that going to help? If critics (and audiences, via their checkbooks) don't make it known when a show has made a misstep, then how will anything ever improve? I was fair with PTC's show: I said what was wrong and what was right, and didn't give any more weight or newspaper space to the wrong than it deserved. Since the show was mostly very good, the review was mostly very positive. To suggest that "mostly very positive" is not enough is preposterous. Like I said, I love theater. But sometimes tough love is what's required. On the other hand, if negative reviews are to blame when a theater goes under, does that mean we critics get all the glory when we give glowing reviews and a theater is successful? Do we get a piece of the money? I gave PTC's "Oleanna" a very glowing review (an A), yet it still is, I believe, the least successful show they've ever done in terms of attendance. Maybe the only kind of impact critics can have is a negative one, i.e., negative reviews ruin a show, but positive reviews have no effect either way.... Eric D. Snider - -- *************************************************** Eric D. Snider www.ericdsnider.com "Filling all your Eric D. Snider needs since 1974." - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2001 00:49:57 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] (On Stage) BYU at ACTF A fabulous piece, Eric, which teaches me the lesson that living the Gospel really does make you a better person, really does bless you, and really does help you achieve excellence, if you're willing to pay the price to earn it. In other words, we don't have to take no guff from nobody, just because we have religious standards. Maybe that recipe won't help you win as many playwrite awards, thanks to the current bias in mainstream theater, but as you say, it will help you connect with real audiences better. And that's the important thing in theater, is it not? - -- 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, 08 Feb 2001 00:56:08 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Flashbacks Rose Green wrote: > > One use of flashbacks that I can think of that seems to work is in Anne > Perry's Monk series. Her main character is a police officer who lost his > memory in an accident shortly before the first book begins. As the series > goes on, he remembers bits and pieces of who he was before the accident > (usually not very positive things about himself, actually). Even though this device is used fairly often, I've always considered it a fascinating kind of story to tell. As long as the character and/or mystery draws you in, you can't help but be hooked. I first came to this realization when watching Disney's _Escape to Witch Mountain_ (the original) for the first time. It's the story of two kids who have lost their memory of where they came from, and have unexplained psychic powers. Now _Escape_ is no great filmmaking. But still I was drawn in wondering what the heck was going on. What the heck _was_ going on turned out to be pretty cheesy, a reminder that you also need to be sure to make your payoff satisfying. But the mystery still drew me in. - -- 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, 08 Feb 2001 01:04:40 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Critical Terms Richard Johnson wrote: > Now I'm bitter because I didn't say something pithy in > the thrust of the thread..... I, I, I'm so > left out. Johnsonorous: feeling bitter for being left out of a list of satirical wordplays on people's names. - -- 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, 08 Feb 2001 10:19:15 -0500 From: "Eric D. Dixon" Subject: Re: [AML] Critical Terms Jonathan wrote: >[MOD: Ivan, or anyone else: Do you have some references on this? I'd >appreciate a good set of locations to look this up.] As for how many words Eskimos have for snow, it's a little more complicated than either Ivan or Marilyn indicated. Various figures have been "definitively" tossed around for years as to how many words Eskimos have for snow: nine, thirty, a hundred, etc. The point of this is usually to indicate that language reflects experience and value - -- in this case, that when a substance like snow is such an integral part of your life, you'll develop a language that captures it much more subtly than other languages. That may be true to an extent, but eskimos don't have a set number of words for snow. From "The Straight Dope": http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_297.html [...] The problem with trying to pin down exactly how many Eskimo words there for snow and/or ice--or for anything, for that matter-- is that Eskimo is what is called a "polysynthetic" language, which means you sort of make up words as you go along, by connecting various particles to your basic root word. For example, we may add the suffix -tluk, bad, to kaniktshaq, snow, and come up with kaniktshartluk, bad snow. By means of this system we may manufacture words that would fracture the jaw of an elk. To illustrate I offer the word takusariartorumagaluarnerpa, a chewy mouthful signifying: "Do you think he really intends to go look after it?" It takes nerve to flog your way through a word of this magnitude. [...] So, Eskimos can have as many words for snow as might occur to them, by constructing new words on the fly. But the Eskimo lingual *roots* for snow are limited. There's a more recent follow-up to that "Straight Dope" column here: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010202.html As for the Hopi concept of time, you probably want _Hopi Time: A Linguistic Analysis of the Temporal Concepts in the Hopi Language_, by Ekkehart Malotki. Every online bookstore I checked has it listed as a special order, but you can probably find it at a college library. Eric D. Dixon "Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters . . . but they mean to be masters." -- Daniel Webster - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2001 03:47:43 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: [AML] YOUNG & GRAY, _One More River to Cross_ (Review) ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS by Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray Book one of the trilogy "Standing on the Promises" Bookcraft, 2000 Hardcover, 331 pages, $19.95 "The Color Purple" for Mormons It doesn't matter whether the writing in this book is superb, above average, acceptable, tolerable, or even difficult. This is a book that had to be written. As the rest of the country tries to make up for the utter lack of information about black influences in American history, it's gratifying to know that a pair of LDS members are working to accomplish the same laudable goal in church history. Accomplish it they do. The book follows the lives of two black families as they find the Gospel, convert, and join with the Saints in Nauvoo, as well as the different choices they make when Joseph Smith is martyred and the church follows Brigham Young out west. The reader is amazed to discover how intimately associated with Joseph Smith these two families were. The amazement comes because, until now, no one has seemed to ever talk about it. Why haven't we known that Elijah Able was the undertaker in Nauvoo at Joseph's request and was part of many personal and tender moments as various members of the Smith family died, from Joseph Sr. to all too many of Emma's children? Why didn't we have a clue all those years we received church history lessons in Sunday school, priesthood meeting, seminary, institute, and BYU religion classes that Joseph and Emma had a live-in black woman named Jane Manning, who was proud to be known as the houseservant of the Prophet? Where are these black faces in the numerous films we've seen of the Nauvoo era, when the people behind those faces associated often with the most important characters in the films? Why did no one tell us about them? I grew up assuming there were no blacks to speak of, because I never heard about them, and, I suppose, because I figured no blacks would want to be around with that policy on the priesthood. But they _were_ around. They were around and converted and loved the church and the prophet who founded it. They recognized the charity of Christ in the society of Saints at Nauvoo, and felt more welcome there than anywhere else, in spite of the inevitable racist attitudes of some members of that society. Which attitudes make one cringe when reading of them. Long before Jane and her family, or solitary Elijah, come across the society of Saints, we have grown to love and care about them deeply. We have followed them through their travails, as Elijah's mother flees slavery with her children through the underground railroad; as Jane is raped and impregnated by her white preacher; as Elijah buries his mother in a heartbreaking scene; as houseservant Jane endures the "help" she receives from her Protestant mistress to be a good Christian, help sullied with condescension and bigotry. We rejoice with them as they find the Gospel and convert; as Elijah goes on a mission as a seventy, proud to be a holder of God's priesthood and to be called by a prophet of God to preach the Gospel; as Jane leads her family on a harrowing trek across hundreds of miles to reach Nauvoo. And when the first hints of the policy on blacks and the priesthood appear, we watch with dismay, knowing the pain and heartache that will be coming in the years ahead. A quarter century after the end of the difficult doctrine, we ache as we witness its early beginnings. We don't want these people to have to endure it. The issue never comes to a head in this book, and is mentioned directly only once in the notes at the end of a chapter, in a way that promises greater coverage in books to come. But the hints are already there, as prominent leaders of the church--leaders we are used to seeing in a positive light--inform Elijah that he is only to preach to other blacks; as both Elijah and Jane come to notice that the exciting new ordinances being performed in the Nauvoo temple are somehow not being offered to them. All through the book, we receive the mind-jarring experience of seeing early Mormons through black eyes. Sometimes it's a positive view, sometimes it's not. It's an experience no less transforming than Walker's _The Color Purple_ or Morrison's _Beloved_, albeit in a quieter way. _One More River to Cross_ is a vanguard publication in a trend one hopes catches on and becomes permanent: restoring our black brothers and sisters to their rightful place in our church history. >From now on, whenever a book or film depicts the death of a Smith family member in Nauvoo, Elijah Able had better be there handling the funeral arrangements. Whenever private moments in the Nauvoo Mansion with the Smiths are shown, Jane had better be there as the housekeeper. On the streets of Nauvoo, happy-go-lucky Isaac James, eventual husband of Jane, had better be there, surrounded by admirers as he entertains them with his legendary dancing skills. When stories of sacrifice are told as the Saints gathered to Nauvoo, the story of the Manning family needs to be among them. When we tell pioneer stories to each other, the blacks who were part of the first group to enter Salt Lake valley had better be entering it. This is one of the most important LDS books to come out in years. It wouldn't matter how good the writing is--it's still a must-read. But how good _is_ the writing? The book is told in a bardic style--black bardic, if there is such a thing. It's as if one of Alex Haley's ancestors from _Roots_ were telling the tale. It's a valid literary choice, but I wasn't sure what I thought of it at first. The book tended to commit literary sins--inexcusable sins if a standard storytelling approach had been used. But they were justified in _One More River to Cross_ because of the choice Young and Gray did make. You could almost feel yourself sitting around the one room shanty, fire flickering orange ghosts on everyone's faces, as the white- haired grandfather of a black family spun yarns of his early life experiences. It was as if Celie herself sprang from the pages of _The Color Purple_ and decided to tell you a story of black Mormons. To me, the most bothersome element of this style was how so many details were lacking in parts of the story where I would have liked to experience the details. A standard storytelling approach would have been obligated to include them: a verbal storyteller not so. But I missed the details. However, as I read, as I became engrossed by the experiences of these new brothers and sisters I had never known, as I began to care about them, I stopped worrying about whether I liked the style or not. It didn't matter. The stories transcended the storytelling. By the time I reached the melancholy end of the book, I wanted more. I was glad to know that I would be receiving more, and sad that I couldn't receive it now. - -- 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 ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #252 ******************************