Interview: KZION's John Hesch

John Hesch's LDS Internet radio station KZION intrigues me -- not so much because I'm into LDS music (I'm not -- in fact I don't listen to much music of any sort), but because it is an example of something that we should see more of in Mormon arts -- a cooperative effort of artists and consumers (with John as the keystone). Granted, it takes a lot of effort and resources on John's part. But KZION wouldn't exist in the form it does without artists and record labels who are willing to let him play their music. In addition, KZION's listeners contribute to the functioning and content of the site.

John was kind enough to answer several questions about KZION -- which, as he mentions below, debuts a newly-redesigned Web site on Aug. 1.

I'm intrigued by the KZION Internet radio station model which features active participation on the part of your subscribers as well as LDS artists and record labels. What has been the most surprising aspect of the growth of KZION?

The growth of the listener base has been a slow steady climb over the past four years. For the first year I rarely had over 20 simultaneous listeners and today I rarely find under 180 simultaneous listeners during the workweek and many times over 220. The problem with growth is it's expensive. For every slot I have available for a listener it costs me $2/month. I currently have 225 slots available which comes to $450 per month for listener bandwidth only. Of course there are other expenses associated with running an Internet radio station.

I'm a little disappointed in the overall growth of the KZION listener base but at the same time grateful for the slow sustained growth that allows me to keep expenses manageable.

Probably the biggest surprise to me is the extent of the web site. Over the years the web site has grown into, as you mentioned, a place for listener interaction and participation. On Aug. 1 I will be releasing an all-new, ground level redesign of the web site. This will be one of the most highly developed, interactive Internet radio web sites on the net. It's not going to rival some of the best web sites on the Internet but for an Internet radio station it will be among the best developed.

As someone who prefer songs with lyrics, I really like that if one of your listeners takes the time to type them up, you list the lyrics of the song that's in current play. What prompted you to add that feature?

My limited time available and the dedication of many of the KZION listeners that I have witnessed over the years. Most KZION listeners are passionate about LDS music. I knew that I would get some participation if I made the process easy. I have been surprised at the level of participation. I have received some 200 lyrics from listeners.

Setting aside the subscriber requests you take, how do you decide the rotations of songs to play? Do you place newer songs in heavy rotation?

Rotation is decided by a very complicated set of rules and code that decides which song will play next. Many listeners think that I create a daily or weekly play list by deciding which songs will play and in what order. You can imagine the amount of time that would take and besides I'm not always a good judge of what people want to hear.

Basically the process works like this. Every song is assigned a weight. When a CD is first added it is given a fairly high weight unless I feel that it would not be of interest to the majority of listeners. Once I add the tracks and assign the initial weight the rest is left to the listeners.

When a song is played it is reduced in weight and when it is requested it is increased in weight. If a song is given a low ranking by voting members it loses weight, when it is given a high rating it is increased in weight. A request will increase the weight more than a rating of 4 but not as much as a rating of 5. It's quite a complicated process and there are some variables that I don't share so as not to invite those that wish to manipulate the process.

In essence, songs that are rated high and requested frequently are played more often than songs that are rated poorly and never requested. Over time a song will eventually land in the No Play category due to low ratings and no requests. However, the process also includes songs with lower weights to see if they will be revived by higher ratings and requests.

What feedback have you received from artists and record labels? Have any of them credited your play with increasing CD sales?

I have received quite a bit of feedback from artists that KZION sells albums. I don't have much feedback from the labels but they don't have any form of tracking in place to really tell.

My thoughts are that it's really not rocket science to figure out that KZION sells albums. You're probably like me, you walk into a Deseret Book, other LDS retailer, or an online store and you have no idea which CD to buy. You want to bring home some good quality music that shares your lifestyle and values but there are hundreds to choose from. You have never heard any of the CD's because they're not played on the radio.

With KZION streaming LDS music and the interactive web site a listener can hear a song they enjoy, request some of the other tracks to be sure they really like the music, click on the 'buy CD' link and purchase the CD over the Internet. Or they can click on the artist's home page and become better acquainted with the artist and their music.

KZION listeners hear most of the latest releases thanks to the major labels and they hear many independents that are quite frankly, very good.

Have you had any complaints from artists (or artists' fans) about the song rating feature?

I haven't. The new web site to be released Aug. 1 will allow only one vote per person but that person may change their vote as often as they like but cannot add votes. It's really a much more controlled environment then the old system.

The comments system has been a little bit of trouble. I have had trouble makers land on KZION and leave inappropriate comments. Even well meaning LDS can be pretty blunt in their comments. The new web site will hold everyone accountable for their comments. To make comments a listener must be logged in first and will have to use their username in their comments.

KZION has been very up front with its listeners about its costs. You carried the burden of those costs for awhile and then set up a membership package so that listeners could help out. Would you ever consider taking the next step and add advertising?

Yes, that is coming. I do run some advertising now for free to artists who are willing to create a professional sounding spot for new releases. I don't feel good about selling advertising with just 200 listeners. But I'm hoping that the new web site will attract additional growth and at some future time I can sell advertising.

There is a concern with advertising and that is most people are used to advertising free Internet radio. But the bills have to be paid somehow and I believe that most people are understanding of that.

In your opinion, what genres/types of music are underrepresented in the LDS market? Or to put it another way, what advice would you give to an up and coming LDS musician who was looking to distinguish him or herself from the rest of the field?

Rock music is underrepresented. KZION has a show called the
Friday Night Edge where we play 2 hours of LDS rock and/or edgier type music. The show has been on hiatus lately because I can't get my hands on enough LDS rock music.

Good contemporary music is hard to find. Dance music is hard to find. We should be giving stakes around the world an alternative to dance music that is not value based but there is none. Good LDS jazz music is hard to find.

The genre that is completely saturated is inspirational music. Obviously inspirational and sacred music is the foundation of LDS music. But so much of it sounds the same.

There are a few artists lately that have maintained the inspirational feel but have created a unique sound. Artists like Alex Boye, Jenny Phillips, Hayley Anderson, and Dustin Gledhill.

So often I receive albums from very anxious and talented LDS musicians who did absolutely no homework and created a CD filled with versions of "His Hands" or "Window to His Love." I have 5 versions of "Window to His Love" on KZION. Great song but how many times do we need to record it with no substantial difference in arrangement?

I can't think of a better way to do your homework than to listen to KZION, search through the song list and create something unique and different but keeping the spirit of LDS music.

Assuming the time, resources andtechnologies were available, what features or functionality would you liketo be able to add to KZION?

The biggest one would be to synchronize the radio station with the web site so that the web site refreshes when the listener hears a song change. Unfortunately that technology is not available to me so it's hit and miss right now.

I would also love to get KZION on XM satellite radio so people could listen to KZION in their cars and in their homes without the aid of the Internet.

Thanks, John!

Folk: A pioneer song

In honor of Mormon pioneer day -- July 24 -- a pioneer song collected by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers that appears in the 1960 edition of History of Kane County:

THE PIONEERS

Tune (Keep the Home Fires Burning)

O'er the prairies came the pleading
Of a people sore distressed,
Who sought refuge in the mountains
Of the sunny, golden west;
Here to worship God in freedom,
Build a statehood fair and strong.
Then with reverence let their daughters
Join and sing this cheery song:

Keep their memories burning,
By their history learning.
Though but few of them remain,
We love them all.
Through the azure gleaming
There's a bright star beaming
On the banner of our land
And they placed it there.

They are sleeping on the hillside,
They are sleeping on the plain,
The who made the deseret blossom
With fields of waving grain.
Let our voices swell in praises
As the years they pass along,
And although we miss their faces
We will sing this cheery song:

Keep their memories burning,
By their history learning.
Though they sleep in silent graves,
We love them still.
Through the azure gleaming
There's a bright star beaming
On the banner of our land
And they placed it there.

--Alfa J. Robinson (p. 257. History of Kane County. Compiled and edited by Elsie Chamberlain Carroll. Kane County Daughters of the Utah Pioneers: 1960, Salt Lake City).

News: In Memoriam -- Elder Neal A. Maxwell

By now many of you may have already heard of the death of Elder Neal A. Maxwell, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and one of the Church's great sermonists. I'd like to add my own tribute to those already posted by Times & Seasons, A Soft Answer and By Common Consent.

Elder Maxwell holds a special place in the world of Mormon letters. His finely-crafted, poetic sermons, replete with apt, often biting metaphors, pointed turns of phrases, and memorable (sometimes too heavy) uses of alliteration, constitute one of the major achievements in the category of Mormon devotional literature.

Or as a tribute on the Church's Web site puts it:

"Elder Maxwell’s ability to so perfectly articulate his experience with cancer did not come as a surprise to those who are familiar with what he called his 'love affair with the world of words.' His writings on gospel themes were nearly all laced with verbal imagery, metaphors, and alliteration. These poetic devices and his sense of the well-turned phrase often made his language closer to poetry than to prose."

In 1999 the Association of Mormon Letters awarded Elder Maxwell an award in the category of Devotional Literature for his collection One More Strain of Praise, one of only four awards in that category in the history of the AML. And in 1983, the AML presented him with a special commendation for sustained excellence in sermon writing, a commendation that's only been awarded once since that time (to Chieko Okezaki in 1993).

In his Times & Seasons post, Kaimi mentioned Elder Maxwell's trenchant, hilarious comparison of governmental programs that seek to address societal ills to "straightening deck chairs on the Titanic". It's one of my favorites as well.

A couple more great Maxwell moments:

"Mostly, brothers and sisters, we become the victims of our own wrong desires. Moreover, we live in an age when many simply refuse to feel responsible for themselves. Thus, a crystal-clear understanding of the doctrines pertaining to desire is so vital because of the spreading effluent oozing out of so many unjustified excuses by so many. This is like a sludge which is sweeping society along toward 'the gulf of misery and endless wo' (Hel. 5:12)" (Elder Neal A. Maxwell. "According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts." Ensign: November, 1996.)

"Surging selfishness, for example, has shrunken some people into ciphers; they seek to erase their emptiness by sensations. But in the arithmetic of appetite, anything multiplied by zero still totals zero! Each spasm of selfishness narrows one’s universe that much more by reducing his awareness of or concern with others. In spite of its outward, worldly swagger, such indulgent individualism is actually provincial, like goldfish in a bowl congratulating themselves on their self-sufficiency, never mind the food pellets or changes of water." (Elder Neal A. Maxwell. "Repent of [Our] Selfishness." Ensign: May, 1999.)

Godspeed, Elder Maxwell. Although we will miss the sound your voice, you leave behind a body of work that rings out -- a clear, piercing, sonorous tone in an increasingly cacophonous world.

UPDATE: Bob Crockett points out that the Titanic quote should be attributed to Rogers Morton who used imagery when asked about Gerald Ford's 1975 presedential campaign. That may be true, but my guess is that it's one of those phrases that either before Morton or because of him, entered the lexicon -- and to be fair Elder Maxwell does put it in quotation marks in his sermon. What I find amusing is that it would appear that Stephen R. Covey has picked the phrase up as have many others -- although some prefer the verb arranging.

Elsewhere: Orson's Telescope on Mormoniana

I usually only refence other blogs when I'm posting on a subject that other bloggers have posted on -- and only then when those posts include actual commentary [see for example my post on the Doubleday Book of Mormon]. But I've decided that if I run across a post that is outstanding and very much on-topic for A Motley Vision, I should give it due props. Such is the case with Orson's Telescope's recent review of Mormoniana, a collection of music and visual art created by Mormon artists.

It's a great review of an exciting piece of Mormon art. Check it out.

By the way, I'm especially pleased to see that a paperback edition will be printed and priced at $50. At $150, the hardbound edition is a bit pricey (albeit collector-worthy). I also hope that the Mormon Artists Group is actively trying to get libraries with Mormon collections [BYU, Claremont, SLC Main, UofU, etc.] to purchase a copy.

NOTE: This is as good a place as any to mention that I support the Blog Sourcing Petition and encourage others to do the same.

News: The most Mormon video game ever (so far)

With a story by Orson Scott Card and a soundtrack by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Majesco's upcoming action-adventure game Advent Rising appears to be the most Mormon video game ever -- or at least until I complete my Doom mod "Porter Rockwell: Avenging Angel" [That's a joke. I've played, like, five minutes of a trial version of Doom. And while I have a vague sense of what a "mod" is, I have no idea how to go about creating one].

According to a July 20 column by USA Today tech writer Marc Saltzman:

"[T]he premise behind Advent Rising involves a galaxy of races who believe messiahs will soon come to bring peace to the universe. These saviors are thought to be a powerful and ancient people — known as humans. The Seekers, a war-hungry race, believe humans are more than a myth and see them as a threat. Under the guise of benevolent explorers, the Seekers launch a campaign to locate and destroy human colonies."

I'll leave any possible Mormon doctrine parallels (family history work?) to enterprising priesthood holders looking to justify their gaming habits to disapproving wives. I will only note, that the games point of view character -- the character whom the player controls -- is named Gideon.

REJECTS: Jokes don't come naturally to A Motley Vision -- that's why he has a crack team of writers to crank them out for him, including the Porter Rockwell one above. In the spirit of DVD extras [but without the lame actor-standing-in-front-of-a-green-screen clips and annoying director/actor commentaries], A Motley Vision offers up the following Mormon-themed game rejects:

1. SIM City 8: Colorado City
2. God's Army: The Video Game [Tag-line = "Gotta dunk 'em all!" Game play features missionaries trying to find and baptize golden contacts while avoiding over-zealous APs and bible-bashers. Bonus points are awarded for successfully pulling practical jokes on rival elders]
3. NuAm: The Game of Multi-level Marketing
4. Dance Dance Revolution: The Mormon Expansion Pack [All the songs feature one dance move repeated ad nauseum: Right arrow. Left arrow. Right arrow. Left arrow. (that's a reference to the Mormon shuffle -- you know, that thing at youth dances where you step to the right and then back and then to the left and back -- it's the only 'fast' dance most of us white, suburban, Mormon kids know)]
5. Food Storage! [How many barrels of wheat can you stuff in your garage before your crazy, survivalist brother-in-law forces more on you?)]

Film: Documentary on New York Doll's bassist Arthur Kane?

UPDATE: No word on the documentary, but I did contact Southern California LDS Public Affairs and have confirmed that Bro. Kane did work as a volunteer at the Los Angeles Family History Center. I realize that news outlets have already reported that, but considering how often they get Mormon-related stories wrong, I decided to do a little reporting of my own.

Also: For recent photos of Kane, see the Web site of rock photographer Bob Gruen.

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LDS Today's news roundup for July 16 includes a link to an ap obitiuary of Arthur Kane, bassist for the newly-resurrected glam-punk band the New York Dolls, that appears on the USA Today Web site. Kane "died of complications related to leukemia" at the age of 55 not long after the New York Dolls got back together (at the prompting of Morrissey, president of England's NYD fan club during the '70s).

The obit hints that Kane converted to the LDS Church just over a decade ago:

"[Doll frontman David] Johansen said Kane suffered an abusive childhood, then conquered years of alcoholism.

'Practically every trauma that could befall a person happened to Arthur. But finally 12 years ago, through spiritual studies, he was able to overcome that vicious cycle and put his life back together,' Johansen said.

Kane had been working at the Family History Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Los Angeles. But he rejoined the band after British singer and Dolls fan Morrissey persuaded the group to play at London's Meltdown Festival last month" ("New York Dolls bassist dies at 55." Associated Press wire story. July 16, 2004).

Blabbermouth.net reports that Kane indeed was a "devout Mormon." What's more the site also says that Kane "was being followed around by a camera crew from the church for a documentary, 'A New York Doll', which detailed his recovery from alcohol and drug abuse."

Can anyone confirm this? I'd love to hear more about the documentary -- it sounds like a great story that, sadly, has come to an end much too soon.

ALSO: For more on the New York Dolls see the wikipedia entry and the punk77 page (make sure to check out the brief sound clips at the very bottom of the page).

Review: Under the Cottonwoods follow up

Now that Sunstone has put its earlier issues online, I thought I'd check for a review of Douglas Thayer's Under the Cottonwoods and other Mormon stories. Sure enough, a review by Roy R. Bird appears in the Summer 1977 issue. Sunstone doesn't provide direct links to articles so you'll have to scroll down to read it.

In his review, Bird picks up on some of the same things I did. For example: "[Thayer] candidly examines the conflict that inevitably arises between LDS cultural expectations and the challenges of individual experience."

Like me he thought the ending of "Rabbit Hunt" was "overly dramatic."

I'm not sure about what he admits is a "pretentious" comparison of the collection with James Joyce's Dubliners. Yes, both are short story collections that exude a strong sense of place -- Provo, Dublin -- and what's more a place that is at the center of a particular culture. But the stories in Dubliners add up to a broader portrait, I think.

I always find it a strange to see how others experience a work that I've read. Doubly so when it's one that I've written about.

For what it's worth, this is the best part of the review:

"Skillfully employing understatement, Thayer generally resists the temptation to make his characters' epiphanies overtly didactic. Instead, like Joyce again, he maintains a deceptively calm narrative surface to his stories. This apparent calm, juxtaposed against the internal turmoil of his characters, enables Thayer to generate considerable intellectual energy in his stories."

Source: Roy R. Bird. "Provo, Front and Center!" Sunstone. Issue 6: Summer 1977, page 41.

Review: Under the Cottonwoods and other Mormon stories

The short stories in Douglas Thayer's collection Under the Cottonwoods and other Mormon stories are definitely Mormon -- very Mormon, very male, very Provo. All (ten) of them feature male characters -- many of them age 18-22-- who live or grew up in Provo in the '50s, '60s or '70s. I suppose one could fault Thayer for this narrow focus, but I would argue that the results testify to the power of concentrating one's creative efforts on one slice of life, for collectively these stories powerfully capture an important aspect of Mormon culture -- the joys and costs of the burden of expectations that Mormon men (especially young men) are expected by their families and wards to carry.

The list of expectations shows up in different forms throughout the stories, but the elements remain the same: mission, college, married in the temple, good job (hopefully in one of the professions), and kids.

In "The Clinic," a young man comes back to Provo from Vietnam to find that those he left behind expect him to resume the his life track -- enroll in college, begin dating -- and are surprised when he shows no interest in either of those things. In "Greg," a young man faces the realization that one moment of sexual sin will probably lead to him missing out on a mission and perhaps even college and tries to get up the courage to go to his bishop and confess. In "Testimony," a father who has just ordained his son a priest worries about all the temptations -- drugs, sex -- that seem more prevalent than when he was growing up and hopes that his son gets up and bears his testimony as a sign that he is on the right track.

All of the stories feature straightforward, stripped down (but not overly sparse) Raymond Carver-like prose and are told in third person limited omniscient with liberal use of free indirect discourse. In addition, certain images and tropes carry across stories. These stories are about blood, guns, fathers, sons, fishing, death, being an example, clothes and cars. Several of the stories feature characters who are obsessed (some almost compulsively) about physical cleanliness (linked as it were to moral cleanliness) -- they take showers and change their clothes more than once a day. In several of the stories we find fathers who don't hold family prayers or bear their testimonies -- who believe but aren't demonstrative. Several of the fathers are also worried about how the world seems to pressing in on Provo, its temptations much more available, the innocence and cohesiveness of a homogenous way of Mormon life ebbing away.

These repeated themes and symbols combined with the style and point of view create an intense reading experience.

Not all the stories work. The shocking ending of "The Rabbit Hunt" is a bit heavy-handed, the irony too thick, the conclusion too blunt. "Zarahemla," a story about a young father who realizes that it finally may be time to sell the small-town Utah stone house he inherited from his grandmother (pioneer and plural wife), lacks the power of the other stories -- it's nice and all, but the collection would be fine without it.

The best story of the lot is "Elder Thatcher." The entire narrative takes place as the returned missionary of the title sits on the stand in sacrament meeting and thinks about his mission and what he's going to say to the congregation, struggling with whether or not to give them the values-affirming, standard RM, welcome home talk that they all expect or do what a disaffected, bitter RM had challenged him earlier that day to do -- to "not tell more lies" than he has to (77). The power of the story is that as Elder Thatcher, who went on his mission because that was what they (his family, his ward) had all expected of him, unsure of his testimony, recalls the reality of his mission -- the homesickness, the doubts, the elders who tortured themselves with memories of home or who fought or who didn't do work, the elders who had strong testimonies and worked hard, the members in Germany where he served, the feeling that his body was aging, that he was losing two years of his youth and vitality, the unresponsive people who answered the door and stared blankly at them when they said they were messengers of Christ -- it becomes apparent that he has truly gained a testimony, a living testimony.

He realizes: "The gospel wasn't sentimental; it was real, fact. He had seen it change individual converts, whole families, dozens of missionaries, and he had begun to see now what it had done to him and how it had made him new" (104).

Thayer is too good of a writer to actually dramatize Elder Thatcher's talk, but we are left with the feeling that he is going to find a way to make all those people in the congregation -- all of them and their expectations -- realize that his mission wasn't just another thing to check of the list, a nice thing to do, a thing that all Mormon young men from Provo should do.

It's a great story. One of the best in Mormon literature.

And the entire collection is a true Mormon classic. Thayer manages to strike the right balance. These stories are respectful of Mormon culture and tradition and the desire of the older generation to see its young men stay close to the Church (especially outwardly i.e. the 'list' mentioned above). But they also dramatically illustrate how those expectations are not without cost for the young men upon whom they are placed.

Source: Douglas H. Thayer. Under the Cottonwoods and other Mormon stories. Frankson Books: Provo, 1977.

News: Doubleday publishes the Book of Mormon

UPDATE 7.12.04: The Christian Science Monitor also makes the Krakauer connection (thanks to LDS Today for the link).

UPDATE: Read Deseret Book's account of the Doubleday deal. Here's a quote from DB head Sheri Dew: "Sheri is quick to add her feelings, 'The Lord does not need Doubleday, nor does the Church. But I believe there are people who will pick the Book of Mormon off the shelf because it says 'Doubleday' on the spine. There are some who will take it seriously because it is now appearing as serious religious literature, published by a national trade book company.'"

ALSO: Kim Siever likes the cover design as well. And so does Justin Butterfield over at Mormon Wasp (added 7.12.04).
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I was pleased to see that I wasn't the only one amused by Doubleday's plans to publish a trade edition of the Book of Mormon. Doubleday also published Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven. Although the book focuses on the Lafferty brothers, excommunicated Mormon polygamists, some LDS readers felt that book attempted to cast a shadow over the institutional church as well, suggesting that Mormons as a whole might be more prone to violence than the average America. Doubleday is also the home of The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown, whose next book will take on Masonry in the United States, including, most likely, references to Joseph Smith and Mormonism [sorry I can't remember and find my source for this which I ran across pre-blog so didn't think to document].

To be fair, Doubleday does have a religious books imprint so it seems like a natural fit. And now all those academics who are curious about the Book of Mormon or (gasp!) even want to use it in their scholarship or teaching now can buy a title unsullied by all those footnotes/references that signal its ties to and status as scripture. In fact, I predict that the Doubleday edition will even catch on with the Mormon intellectual crowd -- what better way to display that you've broken away from the institutional church but still maintain your status as a cultural Mormon than to carry the Doubleday edition around? That said -- I kind of dig the cover (click on the hi-res version).

The one thing unsaid in all of this is: who gets a cut of the sales? Not that I have any problem with the Church taking a percentage. Or even Deseret Book for that matter.

Sources: Dave at LDS Review and Julie in Austin at Times & Seasons. Note that the discussion at Times & Seasons on the Doubleday announcement is mixed in with a discussion about the Church's recent statement on a constitutional amendment on marriage so if you want to avoid getting dragged into the SSM debate, do a "find on page" for "Doubleday" and just read those posts.

Criticism: Mormon magic realism, part IV

Read: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

Too lazy to dig into the literary criticism on the genre, but curious about what the surface-level academic view of magic realism is, I decided to turn to The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism. The listing for "Magic Realism" referred me to the entry on "Realism."

After a brief discussion of "Realism" and its major permutations (naturalism, socialist realism), the entry includes one paragraph on "Magic Realism":

"Another term that has been used in conjunction with discussions of realism is magic realism. Applied to a group of writers that include Latin American authors Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel Garcia Márquez, as well as German Günter Grass and Englishman John Fowles, magic realism describes the technique of combining realistic depictions of events and characters with elements of the FANTASTIC, often drawn from dreams, myth, and fairy tales." ("Realism." The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism. Pages 255-57. Edited by Joseph Childers and Gary Hentzi. Columbia University Press: New York, 1995).

Not much help. But it's a good reminder that although the definition can perhaps be broadened a bit more than how I've been portraying, don't forget the "realism" part of magic realism. Works that include fantastic elements but don't really fit in to the realist tradition aren't magic realist works.

Which is why I am surprised that Borges is included in the list above. I haven't read his later novels so perhaps that qualifies him for the appellation, but I don't see his stories as fitting into realism. Do we call Kafka a magic realist? Maybe, but I've never seen the two linked. The world(s) of some of Kafka's stories have certain resemblances with the "real" world, but they aren't "realistic" in the same sense as Balzac's Paris or Henry James' Boston. This is not to say that neither Borges nor Kafka fits into the "literary" literary tradition -- although that's a whole other discussion (that is, why do certain works of "fantasy" become canonized and others don't). Nor do I think that "magic realism" has to be set in a real-world place and time. Garcia Márquez's works invoke (recreate?) the real-world, but are often hazy on the time and place. But they do it in a way that's much different than Kafka in The Trial or The Castle (actually, now that I think about it "Metamorphosis" might be the one Kafka story that comes close to magic realism).

I balk at Borges' inclusion in the same way that I balked at Eugene England including Orson Scott Card in his comments on Mormon magic realism. It seems to me that OSC is clearly writing in the traditions of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror) and historical fiction. In fact, he made a conscious turn away from literary fiction. Sure, those are marketing categories decide by publishers, but those categories also affect, in turn, how his books are read and interpreted and what works they are compared with -- the tradition they are tied in to. And once an author becomes part of that market, he or she is constrained (and liberated) to a certain extent by the demands of that market.

My guess is that Borges is included simply because he's a canonical, Latin American writer who works are often fantastic.

But to get back to my original point: let's not forget the "realism" aspect of magic realism. It's a crucial part of the reading experience, of why and how the fantastic elements operate in the way they do for the reader (and thus the problem of Mormon readers I bring up in parts I-III). This is why it'll be interesting to take a look at Margaret Young's Salvador. From what I understand, she works in the realist tradition.

NOTE: In stressing the link to realism, I in no way intend to discount works that fall more into the fantasy tradition than the realist tradition. In fact, if anything, this discussion on magic realism proves that literary criticism has not dealt satisfactorily with fantasy and fantastic elements in literary fiction. Not to mention the fact that it has paid but meager attention to genre fiction (although that has begun to change).

ALSO: If you missed it, check out The Semiotician's comments on Mormon magic realism at the end of part III. He summarizes well what I've been trying to say about the problems Mormon readers create for a "true" Mormon magic realism.

AND: I apologize that it's so difficult to track new comments posted on this site. I'm looking for a way to display the last five posted comments on the right nav bar, but so far have had no luck finding a piece of code that works with Blogger.

Marketing: Deseret Book's book club

As part of its continued Oprahfication, Deseret Book has started a book club. I have long thought that considering how small the market is, LDS publishers and booksellers should team up to provide enticements to book clubs -- discounts, reading questions, extended author's bio, sneak peaks at upcoming titles, background material (drawn from the research the author did in writing the book), etc. The chance to sell 8-10 copies of one title is not one that should be passed up.

Deseret Book's book clubs are geared towards women and organized online. Participants receive 30% discounts off of each month's title, free tickets to DB-sponsored events, and a "Discovery Guide" with reading questions and suggestions on what to write about in your journal. In the grand Mormon tradition of Nuskin and Amway, wannabe book club leaders who are able to gather together a full quorum of participants (8-25) receive additional incentives.

So far the three titles selected for the book club are devotional or inspirational nonfiction works. That's disappointing. I hope that works of fiction are also included in the program -- although considering the image DB is projecting for this venture, I doubt that will happen.

The Discovery Guides read suspiciously like the questions at the end of each lesson of the current Priesthood/Relief Society manuals (and other correlated materials). Does that really appeal to DB's potential participants? Don't they (they not we -- I'm not including myself in this because, well, look at the Web sites I've linked to above) get enough self-improvement discourse on Sundays?

Obviously not, considering that devotional and self-help titles sell well in the LDS market. And to be fair, the Discovery Guides don't seem that much different from what you find with Oprah or any of the other self-help gurus. This seems to be a discourse that resonates with middle-aged, middle class American women.

One thing that DB's system doesn't do is allow for those LDS book groups who prefer to choose their own selections and (so far) for those who prefer to throw some fiction into the mix.

This opens up some room for the other LDS publishers, I think -- especially Covenant (but also Cedar Fort and others). Covenant should totally team up with Seagull Book and Tape and provide incentives to book groups. They could have a monthly selection, but they should also have incentives and free supplementary materials for all of the titles that are likely to sell well and make those (and the discounts) available to book clubs who come through with a minimum (DB's starting point of 8 seems reasonable) number of orders. And while much of this could be online or e-mailed, it wouldn't cost that much to offer print materials through bricks-and-mortar stores as well -- i.e. individual bookstores could have special online access to materials and print them out for book club members.

ALSO: One more incentive that I'd offer to LDS book clubs -- special notification of and the ability to submit questions for an online chat with the author.