From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #324 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, May 17 2001 Volume 01 : Number 324 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 01:21:43 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Mormons as Flawed "R.W. Rasband" wrote: > "Brigham City" has elicited some interesting Letters to the Editor in the > Deseret News. One correspondent called the movie "sickeningly violent" and > accused Dutcher of trying to make money off the depictions of sacred > ordinances. It seems some Latter-day Saints are very, very touchy about > how things that are important to them are shown in a movie or on TV. > Such reactions raise the question: is it even possible to talk about > "Mormon art" that deals candidly with real life? If a movie that shows > missionaries as "silly little boys" (which they frequently are, believe me) > is objectionable, what hope is there of explicating the entire LDS > experience in comprehensible fashion? If Dutcher really is able to bring > off his proposed film biography of Joseph Smith, we will see whether such > an art is acceptable to the church at large, or whether we on this list are > just kidding ourselves. The squeaky wheel does indeed get the grease, doesn't it! A few extreme reactions in the newspaper, and we're wondering if a realistic Mormon art can even exist. But remember, _God's Army_ was profitable. _Brigham City_ shows every sign of being the same. They are successes. Is it possible to talk about "Mormon art" that deals candidly with real life? Of course it is. How do you do it? Ignore the naysayers, as every individual who has advanced the human condition since the beginning of time has done. - -- 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, 16 May 2001 09:26:50 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Mormons as Flawed Kellene Adams wrote: > > Otherwise, what's the use of even trying > to become like Christ if, in fact, we are unable to do so. That depends on what your definition of what "Christ-like" is. IF being Christ-like means you must never sin, be nice to everyone you meet, say yes to every calling you receive without hesitation, serve a perfect mission, etc., then you will inevitably be disappointed. If, however, Christ-like is more a mind-set, in which you strive to treat others fairly, to never purposely hurt another person, and to do your best to live the principles of the Gospel as you understand them to be, then you will see more successes. Also, if you define Christ-like as the second definition, I would be inclined to agree with you and LauraMaery that there are a lot of those people in and out of the Church. The wonderful thing about this Church, both as members of it, and as writers, is the incredible multiplicity of personalities that make it such a rich mine of character and situation, and example. - -- Thom Duncan Playwrights Circle an organization of professionals - -------------------------- Shameless Plug - ------------------------------- Don't miss the Playwrights Circle Summer Festival at UVSC! *J. Golden* - a one-man play by James Arrington, starring Marvin Payne *SFX5* - 5 original short science fiction plays *Peculiarities* - a new full-length play by Eric Samuelsen For more information about the Playwrights Circle and our summer festival: http://www.playwrightscircle.com - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 09:55:28 -0600 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] George MacDonald [MOD: This is a compilation of two posts by Marilyn.] Barbara, I just have to mention that I cut my literary teeth on George McDonald! I LOVE his work, and read everything outloud to my family when we were bitsy. I am so tempted to write a musical about Curdie and the Princess. Or the Light Princess. It's all in public domain. Thanks for bringing him up! Marilyn Brown (I answered the answering post). YES! George McDonald is my favorite. Let's resurrect him. I'll write the musicals, (Curdie and the Princess and Light Princess and Back of the North Wind) you write the criticism. Marilyn Brown - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 08:34:06 -0400 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: [AML] Donny Osmond Concert Donny Osmond was in concert here last night. I didn't go, but I'm listening to the radio and the DJs are taking calls about it. Apparently it was a big hit. Fans are saying it is the best concert they've ever seen. And people who waited around for autographs are saying how gracious and wonderful Donny is. Amazing success. Tracie Laulusa - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 12:36:18 -0400 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: RE: [AML] WEYLAND, _Ashley and Jen_ (Review) But lots of readers really like his books and they sell. Obviously it doesn't bother everyone. Why should he change if what he is doing works? Maybe he really enjoys writing that way as well, so doesn't even have a personal motivation to change. He writes, they buy. It works. Tracie Laulusa - -----Original Message----- Yes, these are problems. They are not stylistic choices. They are clear mistakes that simply do not go over well with today's audience. I recently read a twenty-year-old collection of Weyland stories, then wrote a review about the book. You never saw it, because it was so scathing, Jonathan bounced it back to me. I never bothered rewriting it, because I couldn't bring myself to be less scathing. Although it sounds like Weyland has made some progress by the way you describe his handling of bulemia, it's also apparent that he has made no progress in other areas since those early short stories. Why has no one pulled him aside and told him about point of view or the handling of exposition and backstory yet? - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 12:37:39 -0400 From: "Tracie Laulusa" Subject: RE: [AML] Public Domain So, are you saying that pretty much anything before 1923 is 'in the public domain'? And is that just literature or does it apply to music as well. (I have read some, probably tiny amount, of available information, and admit some confusion.) I have a book of poems by Emily Dickinson. I thought Emily Dickinson wrote long enough ago that her poetry would be in the public domain. Yet, this book clearly states that it may not be reproduced in whole or part by any means whatsoever and so forth. I can probably find every poem somewhere on the web. What is this book copyrighting? Their particular editing job? The page layout? Tracie - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 11:09:52 -0600 From: Terry L Jeffress Subject: [AML] Larry BARKDULL, _Praise to the Man_ (Review) Barkdull, Larry. _Praise to the Man._ Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997. 134 pp. ISBN 1-57345-320-X, mass-market paperback. $6.95. The back cover of _Praise to the Man_ claims that Barkdull's book tells the "poignant story behind the lyrics." Although it does tell the story behind the popular Latter-day Saint lyrics by William Wines Phelps, this telling falls far short of poignant. Barkdull's text creates its own biggest distraction. The narrator, Washington Talesford, travels from Missouri to get a deathbed interview with W. W. Phelps in Salt Lake City. Talesford supposedly wrote the text of this book in 1872, telling the story that he could not write for his anti-Mormon newspaper. Now, if you read from the seven-volume History of the Church or from W. W. Phelps's newspaper _The Evening and Morning Star,_ you notice distinct word choice and turns of phrase that date these works as originating in the nineteenth century. Barkdull fails to present any sense that Talesford's narrative originated in the 1870s. For example, Barkdull has W. W. Phelps say, "The Prophet directed Bishop Partridge to guard against freeloaders" (34), but the term _freeloader_ didn't come into use until 1934 [1]. I could have accepted anachronistic words and a modern tone if Barkdull had just told the story instead of posing the text as Talesford's own composition. The next biggest distraction comes from sloppy editing by Deseret Book. In one place, the text misspells W. W. Phelps's middle name by leaving off the _s_ (vii). On pages 46-49, Barkdull tries to transcribe an uneducated man's dialect. Barkdull uses contractions to show the sounds the man clips from his words, but half the contractions have an opening single quote instead of the correct apostrophe. Also in this section, Barkdull uses three forms for the word _to_: "to," "ta," and "t'." Perhaps some speakers do use different forms of the same word depending on context, but with all the other poor typesetting, I must suspect a sloppy proofreader. Even without the contemporary tone and poor editing dragging my attention away from the story line, you don't have much of a chance to really get involved in the plot. Barkdull uses one of the least effective expository methods: talking heads. You get the entire plot of _Praise to the Man_ through Talesford's transcribed notes of various interviews with W. W. Phelphs and others. This exposition provides no real sense of urgency or emotion from the conversations between these characters as they listen and question each other. A more effective method would have started each interview chapter with a short section of present time conversation and then transition into a straight narrative of the past events. Barkdull also distances us from W. W. Phelps by forcing us to see him through the eyes of a non-Mormon narrator. Talesford has his own problems, and the development and resolution of those problems compete with the reconciliation of W. W. Phelps with Joseph Smith and the Church. A cover blurb promises "a story of uncommon friendship," but instead of receiving the story of an amazing friendship we get Talesford's dull retelling of a dull interview. _Praise to the Man_ contains the elements of a powerful story, but distractions and poor expository methods kept me so far from feeling anything for the characters that I never had a chance to get emotionally involved. No minor changes could repair the text as it stands. A complete rewrite would seem in order to bring the story Barkdull wanted to tell to the forefront and give the story a chance to tug at my emotions. Unfortunately, Deseret Book did not insist on such changes, and a rewrite seems unlikely. [1] Merriam-Webster online collegiate dictionary (www.m-w.com). ### - -- Terry Jeffress | A creative writer must study carefully the | works of his rivals, including the AML Webmaster and | Almighty. -- Vladimir Nabokov AML-List Review Archivist | - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 12:51:00 -0700 From: "Frank Maxwell" Subject: Re: [AML] Mormons as Flawed Thom wrote, in response to LauraMaery: > I don't know these people, so you may be right, but may I suggest that, > if you were to walk a couple of days in their shoes, you may have a > different opinion, depending, of course, on you definition of "so close > to sinless." I know a lot of people who appear to be that way, but when > I've got to know them better, I find them more "human" than I had > previously thought. Just a couple of anecdotal examples. A BYU > professor, former mission president, has a "secret" cache of quality > films, many of them R-rated, many of them foreign films that should be > R-rated that he regularly enjoys with friends and family. Another, a > High Councilman, a BYU law professor, outwardly and professionally > (based on the cases he pursued) a very conservative individual, once > described his experience as a High Councilman to me (as he cranked up > Pat Benatar on his car stereo) as pretty much a "Yes-man's:" game, > describing him and his fellow councilmen as "fawning sycophants." I don't understand how the men in these examples are sinning. Or are you using the word "sin" in an ironic sense? So the former mission president has some videos of quality R-rated films. You did say *quality*, right? And he refers to his cache as "secret". Obviously he's being ironic. But is his collection "secret" because he thinks he's doing wrong? Or is it "secret" because the whole R-rated movie issue is so polarized that nobody can talk calmly about it (especially in Provo, the ground-zero of the Mormon culture wars), and because too many people in his community are quick to judge and slow to listen? (And even though I think that the R-rated movie issue is contemporary Mormonism's equivalent of Jewish kosher regulations, since some folks get more indignant about others breaking this rule than they do about people breaking the Word of Wisdom -- nevertheless, can we please NOT reopen the R-rated movie thread right now?) And how was the High Councilman sinning? Because he was listening to Pat Benatar? Because he was conservative? (I assume you meant politically conservative, rather than morally conservative?) Or because he was a "fawning sycophant"? I'm not trying to argue. I just don't get how this connects to "sin". Thom again: > Just two examples (and I have more) of outwardly appearing paragons of > Mormon orthodoxy but both of whom harbored secret sins. Maybe these 2 guys were "sinning" against "Mormon orthodoxy". But I don't see how they were breaking the commandments -- which I believe is the kind of "sin" that LauraMaery was talking about. And I'm sure we can take the High Councilman's description of being a "fawning sycophant" at face value. He, too, may have been speaking ironically. And even if he wasn't, I don't think it's safe to take his description as definitive of what goes on in his stake's high council. The dynamics of any small group should not be judged based on one off-hand comment, but upon the cumulative interactions and impressions of all the group members over a fair period of time. An organizational theorist might find the "sycophancy" joke to be the natural by-product of enduring an authoritarian, non-consensus-based, management style in that group. (This could lead to a long discussion about old vs. new leadership paradigms, in which we cite Steve Covey, Tom Peters, Margaret Wheatley, and D&C 121, which of course would be off-topic for AML-List. ) Thom again: > I just can't > believe these fellows are the only two like this. In fact, I'll go so > far as to say that in every case where I've becoming intimately > acquainted with a person that others would describe as "strong, > faithful, and close to sinlessness," I have found real people who are > sometimes weak, doubtful, and secretly sinful. > > > >If we refuse to acknowledge our flawed humanity we present ourselves > > >as a people with no need for a Redeemer. > > > > By that logic, we should present ourselves only as murderous, hateful, > > abusive rats who REALLY need a Redeemer. > > No, but as normal people, who try to live the best lives they can but > who occasionally make mistakes. > I agree with your conclusion, Thom. Let's portray Mormons as normal people, as you said. It also seems that this thread of "Mormons as Flawed" is actually dealing with the use of "flat" characters versus "round" characters. But there's more than one way to make characters "round". One is to show their little weaknesses in addition to their strengths, as I think you're suggesting, Thom. The other is to show how the character's strengths were developed through tribulation, as someone else has suggested. LauraMaery, an interesting experiment would be to interview a couple of the strong, faithful people you've observed. What have they gone through? Do they consider themselves faithful or strong? And after interviewing them, if you were to depict them in fiction or biography, how would you make their characters "round"? Regards, Frank Maxwell Gilroy, California - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 15:55:33 EDT From: MHoltTsutsui@aol.com Subject: Re: [AML] Mormons as Flawed In a message dated 5/16/2001 2:16:09 PM Central Daylight Time, dmichael@wwno.com writes: > < individual who has advanced the human condition since the beginning of > time has done.>> If Christ himself wasn't popular with everyone, then why should an artist of integrity expect to be? Marie Tsutsui - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 13:58:44 -0600 From: "Barbara R. Hume" Subject: Re: [AML] Donny Osmond Concert Where was this concert? I like Donny's voice, and he's a very nice man. I recently bought a CD of his, mainly because he's Mormon and nice, and found that I really enjoy it. I was thinking, listening to his strong, clear voice, that it must be wonderful to open your mouth to sing and have something that sounds great come out! Not an experience I've ever had. The CD has a cute duet with Donny and Rosemary O'Donnell, which is amusing after their little tiff. Barbara R. Hume Editorial Empress TechVoice, Inc. barbara@techvoice.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 14:02:08 -0600 From: "Barbara R. Hume" Subject: Re: [AML] George MacDonald I appreciate also the information from Scott Duvall about the MacDonald books in the library at BYU. I tend to do my reading at other libraries where you don't have to park on the dark side of the moon and hike in. Barbara R. Hume Editorial Empress TechVoice, Inc. barbara@techvoice.com - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 14:24:18 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Mormons as Flawed "D. Michael Martindale" wrote: > Is it possible to talk about "Mormon art" that deals candidly with real > life? Of course it is. How do you do it? Ignore the naysayers, as every > individual who has advanced the human condition since the beginning of > time has done. You should also ignore the yay-sayers, so as not to think that you, the artist, are more than a vessel for your talent, rather than the source of it. That could be an interesting thread: "What can we do as Mormon artists, if we are suddenly blessed with massive success, to maintain our equilibrium? How do we keep from falling into Babylon's vanity trap?" - -- Thom Duncan Playwrights Circle an organization of professionals - -------------------------- Shameless Plug - ------------------------------- Don't miss the Playwrights Circle Summer Festival at UVSC! *J. Golden* - a one-man play by James Arrington, starring Marvin Payne *SFX5* - 5 original short science fiction plays *Peculiarities* - a new full-length play by Eric Samuelsen For more information about the Playwrights Circle and our summer festival: http://www.playwrightscircle.com - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 14:36:48 -0600 From: "bob/bernice hughes" Subject: RE: [AML] Public Domain >From: "Tracie Laulusa" >So, are you saying that pretty much anything before 1923 is 'in the public >domain'? And is that just literature or does it apply to music as well. >I have a book of poems by Emily Dickinson. I thought Emily Dickinson wrote >long enough ago that her poetry would be in the public domain. Yet, this >book clearly states that it may not be reproduced in whole or part by any >means whatsoever and so forth. I can probably find every poem somewhere on >the web. What is this book copyrighting? Their particular editing job? >The page layout? > >Tracie Pretty much anything that was published prior to 1923 is in the public domain. I don’t know anything about music, but I assume it is the same as literary works. For works published between 1923 and 1951, it depends on whether the copyright holder filed an extension. If so, then they still hold the copyright. If not, it is likely in the public domain (though in some cases the creator of the work may have filed a separate copyright claim from the publisher, so it isn’t as clear as pre-1923). For anything after 1951, the copyright is still in force. In the case of Emily Dickinson, only a handful of her poems were published in her lifetime. After she died her sister discovered 700+ poems and arranged to have them published. The publishers did an editing job to make her work more palatable to turn-of-the-century readers, but what was published may not have been what Dickinson actually composed. The first editions that came out in the 1890’s are now in the public domain. But again, they are not the poems as Dickinson penned them. Since then, various university presses have come out with dueling editions of Dickinson’s works with the hopes of getting it right. These critical editions rely on Dickinson’s scratches on scraps of paper, and the scholars attempt to get as close to the original as possible. For example, in the first edition the poem that begins “The Gentian weaves her fringes--” becomes three separate poems in a new critical edition, based on a scholar’s observation about how Dickinson separated stanzas versus her separation of poems. The newer editions are obviously different from the first editions, and the copyrights are in force for the more recent ones. regards, Bob Hughes _________________________________________________________________ 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, 16 May 2001 14:42:49 -0600 From: Thom Duncan Subject: Re: [AML] Public Domain Tracie Laulusa wrote: > > So, are you saying that pretty much anything before 1923 is 'in the public > domain'? Go out to this site: http://www.gutenberg.net/ and search for any book you may think is in public domain. If they have it, it is. You can also browse if you just want to see what's available. Interestingly enough, I did a search on the Book of Mormon. It is available as a public domain book. - -- Thom Duncan Playwrights Circle an organization of professionals - -------------------------- Shameless Plug - ------------------------------- Don't miss the Playwrights Circle Summer Festival at UVSC! *J. Golden* - a one-man play by James Arrington, starring Marvin Payne *SFX5* - 5 original short science fiction plays *Peculiarities* - a new full-length play by Eric Samuelsen For more information about the Playwrights Circle and our summer festival: http://www.playwrightscircle.com - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature http://www.xmission.com/~aml/aml-list.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 14:52:51 -0600 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] Dutcher Joseph Smith Project Margaret Young wrote: > > I have no time to initiate a discussion, but I'd love to read what others think > of Richard Dutcher's newest project. Honestly, Dutcher is so good at depicting > focused, personal conflict that I am a little nervous about his tackling the > subject of Joseph Smith--a man who is an icon to many. I think this project has basically the same challenges as the eagerly-awaited "Lord of the Rings" trilogy coming out soon--if perhaps to a smaller degree. It's going to be next to impossible to please the majority of people (never mind "everybody," which we all know can't be pleased), because everyone feels like they own the Joseph Smith story in a personal way. This is why Dutcher is making the film now himself--he's afraid someone else won't please him if they beat him to it. I have the same concern. The film will have to be dang good to overcome this. And I think Dutcher has a better chance than most to accomplish that. And do you know why? Because he's not afraid to be honest in his films. He doesn't sit around fretting whether they can pass Correlation. He just tells the story like a good storyteller should. But it'll still be tough walking into that theater with an objective mind--just like when I go see "Lord of the Rings" #1. I'm sure we'll hear from the usual suspects how horrible it'll be that he dared to desecrate the sanctity of the Joseph Smith story yada yada. Meanwhile, LDS members will flock to the theaters in throngs to see the one story they've been dying to see on the silver screen since the church and motion pictures began. It takes a lot of hubris to decide to be the one to do it--and a lot of courage. Pride cometh before the Fall (does that mean his next film will be about Adam and Eve, rated R for nudity?) P.S. Courage and hubris are traits I admire. Not vain pride, as in, "I'm so much better than you," but hubris, as in, "I'm going to tackle this challenge that everyone considers too challenging." You know that kind of challenge; the one that causes people to say, "What makes you think you can do 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: Wed, 16 May 2001 15:02:49 -0700 From: harlowclark@juno.com Subject: Re: [AML] Public Domain On Wed, 16 May 2001 12:37:39 "Tracie Laulusa" writes > I have a book of poems by Emily Dickinson. I thought Emily > Dickinson wrote long enough ago that her poetry would be in > thepublic domain. Yet, this book clearly states that it may not > be reproduced in whole or part by any means whatsoever and > so forth. I can probably find every poem somewhere on the > web. What is this book copyrighting? Their particular editing > job? The page layout? > > Tracie When was the book published, Tracie? When we did Marden Clark's _Liberating Form_ back in 1991-2 we included one of ED's poems, and the book said the same thing, so we wrote to the publisher (Oxford UP? Harvard UP?) and they wrote back and said that we didn't need permission as ED's works were in the public domain. ED is a special case because so little of her work was published in her own lifetime. According to Brooks, Lewis and Warren, _American Literature, The Makers and the Making_ the first series of ED's poems was published in 1890, 2nd series in 1891, 3rd in 1896, 10 years after her death--but the first well-edited edition didn't come out till 1924 and 1929 (right in the gray area Bob Hughes mentioned, 1923-1951). The 3-volume variorum ("including variant readings critically compared with all known manuscripts," as Thomas Johnson, ed. _The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson_ put it) came out in 1955, but wasn't widely accessible, so Johnson brought out a non-scholarly collection, _Final Harvest_ in 1961. (see p. 1233. Interesting that ED starts out volume 2, the moderns.) What makes ED a special case is that unpublished material is not necessarily in the public domain (which is why Willa Cather's letters remain unpublished, per her will) and a scholar who published a manuscript could copyright it. I don't know if that still holds true with recent copyright changes, or when ED's works entered the public domain, but I hope I've given some idea of why the editions of ED you're likely to see in libraries carry a copyright notice. Harlow Clark (Just waiting to be corrected by someone more knowledgeable. BTW, Cynthia Hallen, lexicographer and ED scholar once told me ED's temple work has been done two or three times--ah, the un-batch-processable poet!) ________________________________________________________________ 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, 17 May 2001 06:19:24 +0900 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] Cracroft's LDS Classics (Meridian) Richard Cracroft, an English professor at BYU and AML stalwart, has a new article on Meridian Magazine,: "Some 'Classic' LDS Novels (Anyway, I Think So)." http://www.meridianmagazine.com/classicscorner/010515lds.html I asked him if we could post the article on AML, and he replied: Andrew: Sure, go ahead. Readers will be sure to note that I have left off some wonderful--but too controversial for Meridian--writers, such as Levi Peterson, John Bennion, and other books by Virginia Sorensen. In other words, the list for Meridian is different from the list for AML. Richard So here is the article: Some "Classic" LDS Novels (Anyway, I Think So) by Richard H. Cracroft Mark Twain said that "a classic is a book which everyone praises but no one reads"; my personal definition of a "classic" is one which I have read (usually several times) thoroughly enjoyed, and place on a mental shelf to which I return again and again, and which becomes part of my frame of reference, and which I will eventually read again--and again (emotionally, if not actually), and recommend to others--again and again. With that definition in mind, I present, 'umbly (and knowing that many readers will demur, mumble, grumble, and wonder), a list of Some Novels Which I Believe Will Delight, Uplift, Inspire, and Entertain Most LDS Readers. My criteria are simple: 1) I personally like these novels; they please me; 2).they are well-written; 3) they are reader-tested: between 1972-2001, I have taught most of these books in my Literature of the Latter-day Saint courses, some I have taught many times; these novels have risen to the top of the heap as the books that students like to read, discuss, and write about; 4) these are the books that, for the most part, are redolent with LDS-ness; 5) I have omitted some popular LDS novels and novelists from the list because a) there are so many of them; b) they have not (yet) stood the test of time--most of them, uplifting and entertaining and even well written, are ephemeral-they come and they pass, without sticking to the soul-at least to mine. In nearly every course I have taught at least one current, popular novel; I have seldom taught them more than once-and some of the books I'm recommending here are so new I haven't had time to teach them yet! And so the canon-the "Classics"--that generally accepted list of enduring and significant LDS novels gradually takes shape over time, and these become the "standard works" of Mormon literature-the books which one needs to know to be savvy about LDS literature. Many of the books on this list belong to the "canon" of Mormon novels (a wonderful list of LDS short stories is yet another column, down the road, perhaps). Some don't belong-yet, and may never belong. Some of the canonical novels are not on the list because they treat their subjects in ways which would upset many :LDS readers-so I omit them, even if I like them personally. Remember, this is a list of fine books which I think will appeal to most LDS readers; it is my personal list and, unlike some of my recent lists, is not a comprehensive "Best Mormon Novels" list-in fact, I am painfully aware of the gaps in this necessarily limited list and apologize for its unevenness. But it's a good list and will, I suspect, have a number of surprises for some of you who didn't know there is such a saintly body of writing out there. I invite readers to send in recommendations of LDS novels which I have not listed here, but which have made a difference in your lives and which, classic or not, you feel would appeal to Classics Corner readers. Send me your picks by May 25, with a one-line statement about the book's significance. I reserve the right to judge as to whether the book will appeal to our readers. So, enough disclaimers and pussy-footing. Here's the list: Some Novels Which I Think Will Delight, Uplift, Inspire, and Entertain Most LDS Readers (And If You Disagree, Woe, Woe Be Unto You . . . ) Anderson, Nephi, Added Upon (Bookcraft, 1898; 1997, 53rd Printing); this is the "first" Mormon novel, the granddaddy of Saturday's Warriors and My Turn on Earth; it's not great fiction, but you can't beat the Subject Matter. Arnold, Marilyn, Desert Song (Covenant Communications, 1998), Song of Hope (1999), and Sky Full of Ribbons (2000): a trilogy of novels about a (less-active) LDS English professor who re-discovers her Utah roots and her faith and has some exciting adventures en route. Brown, Marilyn, The Earthkeepers Trilogy (Aspen Books,1992-1994)-Thorns of the Sun, Shadows of Angels, and Royal House-the saga of a Mormon family and the settling of Utah Valley through World War I. Brown, Marilyn, Statehood (Aspen Books, 1995): an historical novel featuring George Q. Cannon and the exciting time of transition between the Manifesto of 1890, the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple in 1893, and the coming of statehood in 1896. Brown, Marilyn, The Wine-Dark Sea of Grass (Cedar Ft. Inc., 2000); a well-written historical novel about the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the challenges of plural marriage. Some people just don't like novels about massacres and polygamy; this is a wonderful handling of both sensitive topics. Card, Orson Scott, Saints (TOR, 1984); a powerful and moving love story set in Nauvoo and featuring Joseph Smith, Emma, and the fictional heroine, Dinah Kirkham, who is Joseph's plural wife (she reminds us of Eliza R. Snow); Card has written in my copy, "My love story to our people"-and it is. Of course, any fiction attempting to portray the Prophet Joseph and plural marriage is bound to unsettle some readers, but Card succeeds in making Joseph Smith live, both as a man and a prophet of God. Card, Orson Scott, Sarah: Women of Genesis (Shadow Mountain, 2000). The first in a trilogy of new historical novels on women of Genesis, Sarah is Card's imaginative take on the life of Sarah, nee Sarai, wife of Abraham (nee Abram), and mother(at ninety) of Isaac; Card takes his bearings from the Book of Abraham. Card, Orson Scott. The Tales of Alvin Maker, 5 vols (1987-1998); Seventh Son, The Red Prophet, Prentice Alvin, Alvin Journeyman, Heartfire, a wonderfully imaginative fantasy re- telling in an alternate world of the life of Joseph Smith, Jr. /Alvin Miller, Jr. (a "Maker" with supernatural powers) and Emma/Peggy (a "Torch"-a Seer); I love these books-and so do my students. Card, Orson Scott, The Homecoming series, in 5 vols.: The Memory of Earth, The Call of Earth, The Ships of Earth, Earthfall, Earthborn (Hatrack River Publications, 1989-1998); an imaginative sci-fi rendering of the Book of Mormon: the Over-Soul leads Nefi and his brothers out of the city of Basilica on a distant planet, in order to prepare his people to return to Earth, destroyed 40 million earlier in a terrible war. Nefi is willing, of course, "to go and do what the Over- Soul commands," knowing that the Over-Soul gives no commandments to his children without preparing a way for them to accomplish the mission. Fascinating. Daybell, Chad, The Emma Trilogy (Cedar Fort, 2000), three exciting time-travel novels-An Errand for Emma, Doug's Dilemma, and Escape to Zion-which take place in the 1860s, 1944, and in the future, shortly before the coming of the Savior. Fillerup, Michael, Beyond the River (Signature, c. 1991). A well-conceived and well-executed novel about Jon Reeves' struggle to find himself and finally come to grips, as a young husband, father, and bishopric member, with the gospel and the complexities of the world as introduced to him years before by Nancy, his high school tutor and friend. He makes it! Heimerdinger, Chris, Daniel and Nephi (Covenant Communications, 1993) s, 1993), is an engaging and imaginative story of Nephi and Daniel meeting in Jerusalem, antagonizing each other and then becoming fast friends until Nephi and his family flee the city, and Daniel faces captivity among the Babylonians. Heimerdinger, Chris, Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites, series (1989-1998). The first of Heimerdinger's fun stories of time-traveling adventures of a contemporary LDS family among the Nephites. The whole series is wonderfully entertaining, especially for teenagers. Hughes, Dean, Children of the Promise series, 5 vols (Deseret Book, 1997-2000); a typical Mormon family from Sugar House, Utah, is seriously tried, tested and threatened by WWII, in these wonderfully authentic historical novels which movingly evoke the uprooting of American and Mormon lives, 1938-1947; Kemp, Kenny, I Hated Heaven (Alta Films Press, 1998)-about a man who, dying, protests so vehemently to the powers that be about work left unfinished that he get another chance. Kidd, Kathryn H., Paradise Vue (Hatrack River Publications, 1989); a hilarious, serio-comic novel about a very funny Paradise Vue Ward and its slightly unorthodox Relief Society presidency; followed by its sequel, Return to Paradise (1997); and the tonally related The Alphabet Year (1991); Lund, Gerald N., Fishers of Men, vol.1, The Kingdom and the Glory series (Shadow Mountain, 2000); the first in Lund's series about the life of Christ (begun and nearly completed, Lund tells me, before he was sidetracked into writing The Work and the Glory series. Lund, Gerald N. The Work and the Glory series, 9 vols. (Bookcraft, 1990-1998); has changed the way millions of Mormons think and feel about Mormon history, 1827-1847. Marcum, Robert, Dominion of the Gadianton (Bookcraft 1991) is one of Marcum's several exciting adventure/mystery/intrigue novels. McCloud, Susan Evans, Where the Heart Leads (1979), is one among the 30-plus LDS-centered novels, biographies, and histories by this prolific and popular author. Mitchell, Alan Rex, Angel of the Danube: Barry Monroe's Missionary Journal (Springville: Cedar Fort Inc., 2000) is the retrospective missionary journal of Elder Barry Monroe, lately of the Vienna Austria Mission, as he attempts to come to grips with the gap between an ideal mission and a mission where one's message is constantly rejected. This is a funny but basically serious novel about a young man's salvation journey/mission. Morris, Carroll Hofeling, The Broken Covenant (Deseret Book, 1985). The story of a woman's fall into sexual transgression, and the long and hard way back. Nelson, Lee, The Storm Testament (1982-1990)-a multi-volume tale of Western adventure among the Mountain Men and the Indians. Nunes, Rachel Ann, Tomorrow and Always (Covenant Communications 2000) is another in the dozen popular romance novels by this prolific author. Parkinson, Benson Y., The MTC: Set Apart (Aspen Books, 1995), features the stories of several elders' coming-of-age experiences in the Missionary Training Center as they prepare to serve in France. One of the surprisingly few missionary novels in Mormon literature. Perry, Anne, Bethlehem Road (St. Martin's Press, 1990), not actually a "Mormon" novel, but one of her internationally popular best-selling Victorian mystery series, featuring Inspector Thomas Pitt and his astute and liberated wife, Charlotte. Perry is a convert to the Church and lives in Scotland. This novel is, in part, about a Mormon woman who is starved to death by an abusive, chauvinist husband who denies her the right to make decisions about religion. Perry, Anne, Tathea (Shadow Mountain, 1999), a landmark in Mormon literature, Tathea is, at the turn of the 20th to the 21st century, what Added Upon was at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century--a wonderful fantasy re-telling of the Plan of Salvation as experienced on another planet, but one still covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Tathea, a deposed queen, undertakes an allegorical Gospel Journey, receives and translates The Book, and preaches the gospel throughout the world It's full of sound and profound doctrine and gives the reader a refreshing distance and re-take on old truths. Smith, Robert Farrell Smith, The Trust Williams Trilogy (Deseret Book, 1999-2000), is comprised of, All Is Swell: Trust in Thelma's Way, Falling From Grace: Trust Williams at the End of the World, and Love's Labors Tossed: Trust and the Final Fling. These hilarious novels recount how Elder Trust Williams spends his mission in Thelma's Way, a backwash of Mormonism, founded by Thelma, a headstrong Saint who, while leading her party of pioneers out of Nauvoo, got lost and ended up in the Tennessee hill country. Trust and companion are sent in to redeem the Thelma's-Way-Saints, whose faith and organization has suffered wonderfully from 150 years of in-breeding and neglect. The adventures are wacky and, well, hilarious. You'll love these novels. Taylor, Curtis, The Dinner Club (Published by the author, 2000); the fast-paced tale of a luke-warm Mormon who becomes a Latter-day Saint by forgiving his straying wife. One of the first LDS novels to be set in contemporary California. Taylor, Samuel W. Heaven Knows Why (1948; Aspen Books, 1994)- still vying for the title of Mormonism's funniest book, this book, by the son of Mormon apostle John W. Taylor and grandson of President John Taylor, has fun with revelation, the Word of Wisdom, and a backsliding Jackson Skinner, as his late grandfather, now an angel assigned to the membership division in the heavenly bureaucracy, gets permission to appear to Jack and frighten him back on course to the Kingdom. It all works out just right, and only Heaven Knows Why. First published in the old Collier's magazine. Smurthwaite, Donald S., Fine Old High Priests (Bookcraft, 1999) is the story of Marcus and Sam, two Latter-day Saints, friends, and neighbors, and how they came to be a pair of "fine old High Priests"; a beautiful, tender, and moving tribute to Latter-day Sainthood; this is a book that everyone should read for a gentle yet powerful spiritual recharge; and his recent sequel, A Wise, Blue Autumn (Bookcraft, 2000) is more of the same; these are, I think, must reads for LDS; my Mormon lit. students think so, too. These books are LDS responses to Tuesdays at Morrie's, only better. Sorensen, Virginia, The Evening and the Morning (1949; Signature, 1999), follows Kate's visit to her Mormon village home in Sanpete County, where she confronts the results of her adultery and flight from Mormonism some twenty years earlier. This is fine novel by a writer of national stature who left the Church to became an Episcopalian. Weyland, Jack, Charly (1980), and Sam (1981) are two of Weyland's many very readable short novels for LDS teenagers centered in meeting and overcoming contemporary challenges. It's easy to get happily hooked on Weyland's well-told and morally well-founded stories. Whipple, Maurine, The Giant Joshua (1941; Western Epics Inc., 1976) one of the finest-and perhaps most controversial-of the novels on the list; the story of the founding of St. George and the life and pioneering hardships of Clory, the fourth wife of Abijah MacIntyre; it is a wonderful and intimate look at life on the Mormon frontier. Some readers don't like its rawboned (and distorted?) picture of life on the Mormon frontier; others see it as inspiring tribute to the Mormon people; one reader wrote to me last month that she became interested in the Church because of this book; old-time St. Georgeans saw the book as a betrayal. It isn't; it is a wonderful read, as Whipple portrays the Mormon settlers of that arid region as "human beings by birth and only saints by adoption." Woolley, David G., Pillar of Fire (Covenant Communications 2000); the first of a projected 7 novels centered in 1 Nephi and The Book of Mormon. Woolley brings the Holy Land alive with rich detail about life in Jerusalem in 601 B.C. This is a solid historical novel. Yorgason, Blaine, Charlie's Monument (1978) and The Windwalker (1979) are best-selling and enduring short novels for young adults, among a number of fine novels, as is The Bishop's Horse Race (12979), by Blaine and Brenton Yorgason. You can't go wrong with any work by the Yorgasons. Young, Margaret, House without Walls (Deseret Book 1990). Recounts the story of a Jewish convert to Mormonism. Young, Margaret Blair and Darius Aidan Gray, One More River to Cross, Book 1 in the Standing on the Promises series (Bookcraft, 2000); the first in a series of historical novels about Elijah Abel, Jane Manning, and several other black Mormon pioneers. Young, Margaret Blair, Salvador (Aspen Books, 1992)-a fine novel about the darkening of idealism among an American family of Latter-day Saints touched by religion gone awry in the jungles of El Salvador. You can find more information about these books on-line, at the websites for LDS publishers; for example, at Covenant Communications' website, there is an interesting list: "Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Published in the LDS Market"; and there is a great deal of information to be found on the "AML List.com," website for the Association for Mormon Letters. Good reading! (Andrew Hall) _________________________________________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #324 ******************************