Soapbox: Mark Hansen on the LDS music scene

Note: I asked Mark Hansen, LDS musician and Mo' Boy Blog author, to write a guest commentary/primer for A Motley Vision on LDS music. His response is below. He has also written a second commentary that speaks to the dilemma of artists finding an audience and the audience finding artists which will appear tomorrow.

-----

The State of the Art
By Mark Hansen

William, of A Motley Vision, e-mailed me and asked for a guest blog, a commentary on what's happening on the LDS music scene. One of his first questions to me was "Why do I think the Mormon music scene is worth checking out?" His second was, "Why do I think it's getting better?"

The funny part about those two questions is that it reveals an underlying dissatisfaction that we Mormons have had with our music for close to two decades, now. Ever since Papa Lex brought us "Saturday's Warrior", and the CES seminary program released, "Like Unto Us", we've been slowly developing a scene. A place (virtual, not necessarily physical), where we can hear music made by us, for us. Music that expresses our unique vision of cristianity, our unique lifestyle. So, what's wrong with that? What's there to be dissatisfied of?

Well, up until just recently, there wasn't much diversity. There still isn't the kind of diversity that CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) has, nor mainstream popular music, but there is certainly more than there was ten, or even five years ago.

In its infancy, LDS pop music was limited to pretty much one style, all encompassed by the sounds of Afterglow, Michael McLean, and Janice Kapp Perry. There were a few albums and early CD's that attempted to break out of that mold, but they failed, by and large, to draw much attention.

In the mid-90's or so, things started to change a bit, and the singer/songwriter/troubadour type began to bring a bit more diversity. A couple of the bigger LDS labels started to put more and more emphasis on the quality of the writing, so that the songs were more like the radio, less like a Sunday school lesson that rhymed. A major leap forward, in my opinion. The quality of the productions increased as well.

Since then, we've developed our mainstream pop music into four current, basic sounds:

1. Traditional "Soft Sunday" ballads. The gentle, relaxing music that you hear on a couple of the Salt Lake City Sunday radio stations. Mostly keyboard and orchestra-driven, it's very tranquil and inspirational. A lot of church members still love this stuff. Though there are individual songs that I love, by and large, it puts me to sleep!

2. The folk singer/songwriter troubadours. Acoustic instruments, intelligent writing, often not directly focused on gospel topics, frequently artistic! Peter Breinholt, Ryan Shupe, Sam Payne, and the celtic group Fiddlesticks have been champions of this style. There are many, many others.

3. A Capella and other vocal groups are quite popular. Mostly good-looking younger guys, they range from the silly (Moosebutter), to the temporarily hip (Jericho Road), to others with a bit more mileage under their belts (Eclipse).

4. Pianists are quite ubiquitous in the Mormon world. In the current scene there are several making CD's of inspirational piano music. Some would call it "New Age" music, others don't like the association with the "New Age" religions of recent years. Paul Cardall is a great example of this genre.

Now, there are others that are making CD's that don't fit into these categories. There are some categories that are just beginning to make a showing. Rock is a great example. For a long time, the only rock music was Greg Simpson (and he was sort of on the edge of folk and rock). Then, along came The Singles Ward and The RM soundtracks, and that showed us that rock can be cool, fun, and even safe for our testimonies. Still, I can count on one or two hands the CD's that I've heard that are really LDS-oriented rock.

Country is also woefully underrepresented. Jazz is beginning to make some appearances as well. In my 'net travels I have even encountered a handful of LDS rappers, though all but one were still too preachy.

To find much of the more diverse LDS music, you have to look and look deep. You have to find the underground, looking for the music beyond the Deseret Book shelf. You have to explore the 'net and spend some time.

I have to give a few warnings. Much of the indie music within LDS Music is new stuff. It's being produced and paid for by the artists themselves. As a result, it's often not as technically polished as the music you'll hear from Deseret Book/Excel. Many of these projects are DIY, with someone sitting at home recording their music in front of their computer. Still, I encounter some of the most innovative work while plowing through the depths of the Internet.

William also asked for some recommendations. Keep in mind that these are personal suggestions. I like them. A lot. Your mileage may vary. These are in no particular order.

1. Stephanie Smith -- She's a little on the edgier side of the troubadours. Great writing and a wonderful voice.

2. Cheri Magill –- One of my newest favorites. he's a singer/songwriter, but some of her tunes rock. Others are just good anyway!

3. Greg Simpson –- I've been a hard-core fan of his since I heard "Seven Wonders". Not very prolific, but I've found him to be worth the wait. His gravelly rock voice is, I think, one thing that keeps him from winning any of the many Pearl Awards he's been nominated for, but that's what draws me in. That, and his driving beats, virtuoso guitar work, and intelligent lyrics.

4. The RM Soundtrack –- I love this one! The rock versions of the hymns and the Janice Kapp Perry songs are way too much fun. In addition, there are a few songs that cross over from novelty into full-on art.

5. Dave Edwards is one of the most innovative songwriters I've heard in years. He's the greatest.

6. Sam Payne -- Even though Sam is a singer/songwriter, his tunes are bit more jazz-based. Really fresh stuff.

7. Lastly, I can't resist the shameless plug. My own brand of LDS-oriented rock, to be found at http://markhansenmusic.com. "One United Generation" is the only CD I know of aimed at an LDS audience with songs that rock this hard.

8. Well, except for Fast Sunday's "SumsaykyasmuS."

In addition, there are a few good hubs for finding independent LDS music out there on the net. Start with LDS Musician, and also check out LDS Audio and Latter Day Songs. Then just Google "LDS music" or "Mormon music," and see what comes up.

Ultimately, I'd love to see the scene grow to the point where we have the kind of diversity that CCM has. Pop, punk, rock, country, jazz, fusion, classical, folk, techno... The fullness of that kind of variety is a number of years off. The audience needs to be more aware, the musicians need to step forward and produce (represent, yo!), and then it will truly "blossom as a rose."

Thanks, Mark!

ALSO: Read the inaugural "Soapbox" commentary -- my sermon/rant on Mormons and media consumption.

Art: Images from BYU's "Thoroughly Modern" exhibit

I don't know how I missed this when I was writing my previous post on BYU's "Thoroughly Modern: The 'New Women' Art Students of Robert Henri," but the Museum of Art has posted an online gallery of selected works from the exhibit.

I wish that they had included links to slightly large versions, but here are my favorites:

1. "Women of Oaxaca" by Henrietta Shore (fourth on the page and pictured above)
2. "Chain Gang" by Margaret Law (eighth)
3. "Go Down Moses" by Hilda Belcher (tenth)
4. "Self-Portrait with Chinese Screen" by Florine Stettheimer (eleventh)

As you can tell, I tend to be drawn to paintings that use dark tones/colors and are representational but not realistic. I'm not sure what that means in art history/criticism terms, but from past experience I can say that I really like paintings that aren't classicly impressionist -- that have more earthy subjects (rather than, say, the somewhat ethereal flowers of Monet), but use a bit of the impressionist brushstroke and light.

"Thoroughly Modern" is on view through Aug. 27, 2005, at the BYU Museum of Art. Admission is free.

NOTE: Perceptive AMV readers may have noticed that I snuck "art" into my tag line above a couple of weeks ago. My original plan was to not include visual art as it's not an area of expertise of mine, but I've found it to be a compelling area in the world of Mormon arts and culture so I've reconsidered the scope of the blog.

Film: Rick Schroder's LDS-related project

Weekend Standard (subtitle: China's Business Newspaper) has posted an in-depth article on actor-turned-filmmaker Rick Schroder. It mentions his next project -- "a feature film he did not write called The Principle Wife, a story set in the 1870s about Mormons and polygamy."

The story also focuses on how he found financing and the difficulties he had in distributing his last film "Black Cloud." And it confirms that he self-identifies as Mormon.

I haven't seen "Black Cloud" so I can't comment on his filmmaking skills, but he seems like a down-to-earth guy, and I enjoyed the candid, personal quotes he contributed to the article.

Marketing: Deseret Book's marketing Foo

So does DB have the marketing chops, the 'Fu' so to speak, to market their new, nationally-targeted children's fantasy series?

Perhaps. They're certainly making a game attempt at it. Hoping to capitalize on the Harry Potter et. al. phenomenon, DB's Shadow Mountain Books (their national imprint) is publishing "Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo" -- the first in a planned series by writer Obert Skye.

As Andrew Hall pointed out on the AML List, that's almost certainly a pseudonym. And Deseret Book is playing up the mystery. Here, for instance, is the author's bio/mythology of the story from the DB Web site:

"Obert Skye slipped into our building (Shadow Mountain Publishing) like a shadow. We looked up and there he was standing against the wall and smiling. He told us the story of Foo and of the gateway and of Leven, claiming it was a real place whose story had real consequences. His tale immediately captivated us.

"He showed us the pages of his work and objects that he felt proved Foo's existence. We were in awe at the idea but told Obert we saw the story as fiction, not reality. We then suggested a series of children's fantasy novels beginning with, Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo. Needless to say, Obert was offended and left as quickly as he could gather his things.

"The story stayed with us, and the marvelous idea of Foo was one we could not shake. Three days later Obert returned. He looked tired and worn, as if he had been across the world and back. He had also come to the realization that the tale simply needed to be told and that if we weren't wise enough to see the truth, and insisted on calling it fiction, so be it. We were more than happy to oblige and publish his fictional story.

"We understand that there are those who might think Obert is, well, unbalanced, but we at Shadow Mountain think he's just misunderstood. After all, some people believe in Santa. Some people believe in fairy tales. And we think some people will soon believe in Foo."

I'm not sure that the specter of mental illness (no matter how benignly presented) is the right way to go about things. The whole schoolmarm, single mum thing that J.K. Rowling has going on seems like a better hook. But, hey, at least DB is trying to do something fun. It's also not clear to me why the photo of Skye shows him jumping off a boat in full scuba gear. That doesn't seem like something a fantasy novelist does, but perhaps that's more reflective of my own biases.

At any rate, you can read the the first part of Leven Thumps online. There's not enough to it to really get a great impression of the story, but it's clear that Skye has decent writing chops and it seems like an interesting premise.

There is also a groovy official Web site. The countdown to "April Foo's Day" is a great touch. Click on the "Obert Skye" link for another fake bio. Not bad stuff -- although I find the "help children use their imagination" thing to be superfluous and pedantic. Readers of fantasy don't need to be told to use their imagination.

A Utah book tour begins March 28 (see the official Web site for details). If any AMV readers decide to attend a reading, I'd love to hear a report of the event. E-mail me at motleyvision AT gmail DOT com.

NOTE: Do you think Skye and Deseret Book are aware of the urban usages of the word "foo"? I suppose that it doesn't really matter. It's a children's book. But "Journey to Foo" would actually be "Journey to Fool" here in the Bay Area. And according to the Urban Dictionary, it also is a slang term that programmers use. My hope is that there is a certain silly/humorous aspect to the novel that will mitigate this issue. Cause if we're supposed to take 'Foo' as seriously as we would take 'Rivendell' or 'Gilead' then this might be a problem. I do, however, have to give the author major props for his main character's name. Leven Thumps is a great name (albeit a bit Lemony Snicket-ish).

Music: A minimalist composer's Mormon cosmology

Since Orson's Telescope's Jeremy Grimshaw is working night and day to finish his dissertation (right, Jeremy? That wasn't you I saw logged on to the Warcraft server, was it?), he has left it up to me to inform ya'll that the Spring 2005 issue of Dialogue features his essay "Music of a 'More Exalted Sphere': The Sonic Cosmology of La Monte Young."

For those, like me, who are too cheap to subscribe to Dialogue, Jeremy's earlier article on Young -- The Sonic Search for Kolob:
Mormon Cosmology and the Music of La Monte Young -- is available online (originally published in repercussions).

Read it -- even if you don't know a thing about 20th century avant garde music. What's most interesting about the article is how Jeremy is able to infuse the right amount of Mormonism into readings of Young's work without a) trying to overstate its influence and b) becoming self-conscious about the Mormon aspects of the project. I don't know enough about the state of minimalist music criticism to fully critique the piece, but to my untrained eye, it seems to provide a needed corrective to the blind spot that is Mormonism for many critical studies of 19th and 20th century artists, which tend to both overdramatize and romanticize Mormonism as biography and discount it's influence in terms of theme and form.

Art: Kathryn Abajian on painter Ella Peacock

The University of Utah Press has just published "First Sight of the Desert: Discovering the Art of Ella Peacock" by Bay Area author Kathryn Abajian. The book -- which combines memoir and biography -- focuses on the life and art of Peacock, a relatively unknown 20th century Utah painter.

Abajian agreed to answer a few questions about the book (which can be ordered from University of Utah Press). Also note that Abajian will be involved in a series of readings and events related to the book -- including the opening of an exhibit of Peacock's work later this year at the Museum of Utah Art and History.

I doubt that many AMV readers have ever heard of Ella Peacock. Would you mind telling us a little bit about her?

Many people outside of the art community in Utah haven't heard of Ella Peacock. She was the sort of person who hid her light under the bushel of privacy. She was modest, unassuming and unusual, especially in the small Mormon community of Spring City where she lived.

She was raised on the east coast, in Germantown, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Like lots of easterners, I imagine, she pictured the West as a place of great potential. In fact, she said, "Of all my family, I wanted to move west the most and I was the last to leave!" She attended the Philadelphia School of Design for Women on scholarship and graduated in 1927, then put aside her painting just to survive the Depression. She married late, then ended up supporting her small family (one son) working as a draftsman for twenty-eight years. It wasn't until she finally moved west that she began to paint seriously. Then she blossomed!

How did you first become aware of Peacock and her work? And -- related to that, how did the book come about?

I learned about Ella Peacock accidentally. I was driving around Sanpete County one day and took a side road to Spring City, National Historic District, according to an old wooden sign on Highway 89. This was in 1980 and my husband was from Sanpete County. I was there with our family on a summer visit. So that afternoon, I practically stumbled on an amazing woman with a house full of wonderful art. Walking into her house that day changed my day and the next decade of my life.

I didn't start thinking about writing a book until years later. I think it was when I learned that Ella had donated a large number of paintings to BYU's new Museum of Art and she was in her eighties. I thought it would be important to document her life, so art students, at least, would know her story. So when I was on summer break, for many years, I visited Ella in Spring City and the documentation grew. It didn't become a book for many years.

A few examples of Peacock's work can be seen on your Web site. But how would you describe her paintings?

Her paintings look as though they're painted in another century practically. They are nothing like current styles of representational or impressionist art. The reason is that Ella painted in the style she knew, the one she learned in the 1920s. So her work documents important history in the old buildings of Sanpete County and the Utah desert's ageless landscape, sights you can see today, but in a style from another era. Her work is most like other Philadelphia regional impressionists, one group especially -- The Philadelphia Ten -- a group of women who were a generation before Ella and some of whom she knew from art school. Her paintings evoke the California impressionists from the early part of the 20th century as well, paintings that came about during the Arts and Crafts Movement. In fact, Ella lived many of the ideals of that movement.

The blurb on your Web site suggests that you approached the book as part biography, part personal essay? Is that a fair characterization? How do your own experiences figure into the book?

Yes, the book blends memoir and biography. I'd originally intended to write a straight biography and actually completed an entire draft. Then I started getting questions from my writers' group, from editors and anyone who read any of it, actually, asking about my involvement in Ella's story. So many people wanted to know why I was interested in her and her work. To me that was like asking why I like art or why I read. It seemed a given to me, especially that anyone who met Ella would be fascinated by her and would want to know more. Right about that time, I met the perfect editor, Dawn Marano, who worked then for the University of Utah Press as Acquisitions Editor and worked occasionally as a developmental editor. She made the difference -- encouraged me to find the nexus of my life experience and Ella's. She was unfailingly supportive and insightful.

So the book developed slowly. It became what it is -- a narrative structured around ten of Ella's images, each one lending a theme for a chapter. In each chapter, I try to tell two stories -- Ella's and mine. During the years I came to know Ella, my entire personal and professional life changed dramatically -- notably, I left a marriage and a church I'd long known. But it was only in the reflection that writing requires that I realized that the impact of those changes was directly influenced by, and symbolic of, my quest to know Ella.

What role did Mormonism play in Peacock's life?

Ella was a Mormon woman who did exactly what she wanted to do, an unusual concept to me at the time (when I met her, I'd been a converted member of the church for nearly thirty years). She and her husband converted when she was in her late fifties, but she never completely assimilated into the rules and responsibilities that typical church membership implies. She told me she was drawn to the church because of her slight exposure to it in the 1930s on a road trip west. And she told me she really wanted to learn about the church because she wanted to learn about schools in Utah for her son to attend. My research told me much more about her motivations. Ella was the sort of woman who didn't tolerate frivolity in any form and, though she remained "true" to the church's teachings for the most part, she didn't embrace the social lifestyle aspects of it.

How was her work received while she was alive? What was her reaction to the public reaction to her work?

Ella's work was well received when she was alive, but her attitude toward marketing her work nearly sabotaged it. She was a very private person and didn't enjoy (and refused to attend) art openings. She enjoyed the honor and loved being appreciated, but she was uncomfortable in social situations.

As she aged and her memory and hearing failed, she worried that she wouldn't be able to communicate intelligently at a reception. Thus, when Robert Redford asked her to participate a second year at his Sundance Institute art exhibit, she refused. She even felt uncomfortable when a San Francisco gallery owner wanted to exhibit (and sell) her paintings and recalled them only weeks after sending them to San Francisco. She couldn't be cajoled to attend the opening reception of an exhibit, called Eighty Something at Art Access Gallery that showed many of her paintings, even though she was offered chocolate and a nice hotel room.

Most people who own an Ella Peacock painting today will tell you a charming story of the process of acquiring it. She wasn't readily inclined to sell paintings, and needed to be sure each painting went to the right home. But when she got to know and like someone, she would give her paintings away.

Thanks, Kathryn!

UPDATE 3.12.05: The best way to order the book is not from the University of Chicago Press Distribution Center (as originally reported), but directly from University of Utah Press. Or look for it at your local independent bookstore.

Theater: Reviews of Samuelsen's 'Family'

As promised, R.W. Rasband has posted his review of Eric Samuelsen's new play "Family" to the AML List. It's a well-written, entertaining review (and I'm not just saying that because I get mentioned in it).

Here's an excerpt:

"Samuelsen's play delivers an unusual level of insight and candor about the psychology of 'ordinary' Mormons. And how that individual psychology affects in an organic way the other members of the family, and how that family is shaped by -- and in turn helps shape -- a larger Mormon culture. One observer of the church (I think Harold Bloom) once said that in Mormonism the basic unit of salvation is not the
individual, but the family. I wouldn't go that far, but Samuelsen's play certainly illustrates the central place of the family in Mormon thought."

Nan McCulloch has also submitted a review to the AML List. Here's a brief excerpt:

"'Family' is a comedy, but full of poignancy and pathos. Any person raised in any kind of family can relate to the issues raised in the play. This family just happens to be Mormon."

Granted, Eric Samuelsen is an active participant on the AML List, but in my experience, that doesn't get you a free pass when it comes to reviews. So it sounds like 'Family' is of the more significant pieces of Mormon drama to come out in a long time and one of the best works of Samuelsen's career.

From what I can tell, none of the Utah newspapers have reviewed the play -- let me know if any of them do, and I'll update this post.

And go see the play. It runs through March 19 at BYU. Details here.

Interview: author/poet Darlene Young

Although Darlene Young lived in the same ward as I did for two or three years in the late '90s and I knew her opinions on a variety of subjects from her contributions to the AML List, I didn't actually become aware of her as an up-and-coming voice in the world of Mormon letters until her short stories placed in the first two Irreantum short fiction contests.

I specifically wanted to interview her because I know that she struggles with two of the main challenges that face active LDS writers of literary Mormon fiction -- how to find time to write and where to publish. And she was gracious enough to not only accept my request, but to also give very candid answers to my questions.

Young lives in Pocatello, Idaho with her husband and four sons. Before embarking on her current adventurous career of homemaking, she worked for a few years as a technical writer. Her degree from BYU is in Humanities and English teaching, and she considers herself a teacher more than a writer at heart. In addition to Irreantum, she has published in Orson Scott Card's Vigor, Exponent II, The Ensign, The New Era and her local newspaper. She spent a year as secretary for AML and wishes she still lived in Utah so she could continue serving there. When she was a child her dream was to appear on the children's TV show Zoom -- or grow up to marry Donny Osmond. Her favorite calling is Relief Society teacher but she is currently a den leader (unavoidable when you have four sons).

When and why did you start writing "for real"?

I wrote a lot as a child and a teenager (I have a whole stack of really awful love poetry) but I quit writing in late high school when I discovered real literature and was completely humbled. I didn't try again for years. One day I was thinking about my mother's near death experience and my own first experience in the temple, and the feelings were so strong that I thought I'd try to get them down in poetry. That was "Approaching the Veil." Since my mother was on my mind, I also wrote an essay about her at the same time. I published both in Orson Scott Card's "Vigor" and "Exponent II." I didn't write anything else for several years, mostly because I didn't feel I had an audience or a place to publish. I really got serious about writing after I joined AML, and the first short story I ever wrote, "Companions," came about as a direct result of a conversation on AML List. I can't stress enough the effect that a supportive community such as AML can have on a writer.

How do you find time to write? [and how much do you need to write in a week to feel like it has been a 'good' writing week?]

When I have a writing goal (such as the Irreantum short fiction contest), I write just a little here and there until the point comes that I kind of catch on fire with the story. Then it's like I'm obsessed and I sneak every extra second to write, and I can't really be at peace until it's done. (It's a lot like giving birth, actually: "Get this thing out of me!") Naptime around here is good writing time, if I can discipline myself not to check e-mail instead. That's about it -- I need a lot of sleep, so I don't do the late-night thing (unless, as I said, I'm on fire). For now I don't really have a weekly goal. I'm trying to sort of keep my writing at a minimum until the kids are in school. I'll write for specific things but I don't have a lot of ongoing work.

What are you currently working on?

I've found that I don't work on anything unless I have an audience in mind and a place or reason to share what I've written. I am exploring ways of getting myself motivated -- looking for new places to publish or a writer's group, for example -- so that I will write more. With the goal of getting an audience and a deadline, I recently began a creative writing class by independent study through BYU. I am producing a lot for that class -- short stories and essays. I have a vague idea of a novel that I'll get to someday, but I can't let myself start that one for a few years yet for fear I'll get on fire and neglect my family.

After living in Berkeley, Calif., for a few years, you and your family moved to Idaho. Has the change in scene influenced your writing at all? In what way?

As I said, the biggest influence on my writing has been my association with AML, which is an on-line community and isn't affected by where I live. I must say, though, that my years in Berkeley had a great maturing affect on me as a person and on my opinions about community and what it means to be a Mormon. Also, in Berkeley I had a very well-educated, thoughtful and also orthodox Mormon peer group, the likes of which I haven't found anywhere else. I suspect that I might be writing more, or more interestingly, if I were still around those people all the time. I miss them.

To date most of your work has appeared in Irreantum. I know that in the past you've expressed frustration with the lack of venues for Mormon poetry and literary fiction -- the church magazines have stopped publishing it, you're a bit wary of Sunstone, etc. -- is this still a major issue for you? What would help? Are you looking to publish in markets outside of Mormondom?

Yeah, it's still an issue for me. My problem is this: there are people who I believe would appreciate what I write who have this prejudice against Dialogue and Sunstone. Whether or not they are justified doesn't matter. The point is that it is possible to be labeled "a Sunstone Mormon," and to have my audience limited thereby. It's a catch-22 because the majority of people who would appreciate my writing do read these magazines, and by not publishing there I am missing out on a good audience. I have not reached a decision about this. I predict that I will eventually publish in Dialogue.

My writing is very Mormon. It is about Mormons. It is for a Mormon audience. I have no desire to publish in national markets. I write for my own community. I am envious of others who can stand back from their Mormon-ness in their writing but I just can't. The issues that interest me have very much to do with life in a ward, or an individual's efforts to live the gospel. So, yes, the limited arena for publishing does concern me greatly, especially considering my handicap of needing an arena before I will write. Currently I am writing for my AML friends. They are the audience I keep in mind. So Irreantum has been perfect for me.

What would help? Well, I like where Irreantum is going. They're doing great with it and I'm so grateful for it. I hate the idea of being so limited, though. I'd like to expand, and Irreantum may not want to keep publishing me. I like what you're doing with "Motley Vision" -- the more criticism and publicity Mormon writers can get, the better. (It's very encouraging even just to have someone say "I noticed that you've been writing.") I'd like to see Deseret Book take more risks in what they publish. I spoke to Corey Maxwell from D. B. about this and he seemed to think that many of us writers have the wrong impression of them -- that they would be willing to look at a lot more "difficult" or thoughtful work than we have been sending them. It's possible that they have just not been getting the more literary stuff because everyone sends it to Signature. I don't know. Signature doesn't have the resources to do as much as they would like (and as much as I wish they'd do), and when they do bring something fantastic out (I'm thinking of Bennion's Falling Towards Heaven, for example), they don't do much in the way of advertising and publicity. Thoughtful readers don't often know that such books even exist.

I think there's a large audience out there of Mormons who are thoughtful readers and want a little more meat to their literature than what they've come to expect from LDS writers. We need to find a way to get the word out that really interesting things are being done in Mormon literature. Once publishers, even Deseret Book, see that there is a population out there worth marketing to, they'll be more interested in literary books. (I am admittedly using the term "literary" loosely to mean "books that require the reader to be somewhat of an experienced reader, skilled enough to see beneath potentially troubling elements to the greater truth of the book.") This is where I see AML as being in a position to be useful. We can spread the word, have readings and conferences, start discussions among ourselves and other educated Mormons. I think we can be doing more, in fact. We're in such a good position, independent of any university or political persuasion. I'm committed to doing all I can for AML because of this.

Finally, I think there is a great role for criticism in the progress of Mormon literature. We have in the past tended too much towards congratulating each other on producing things that have "a good message." We can't settle for that anymore. I think we need a few more brave souls who are willing to point out ways that their brothers and sisters can improve in their writing. It's hard because we see the benefits of sticking together, we writers, and encouraging each other. We want to remain friends. But when we don't criticize, the standards remain low. I think we need more real criticism going on, the kind that is insightful and encouraging to the author because it takes as a given that the author is capable of producing something great. (Of course, I say all this easily but when it comes to my own stuff I want critics to rave about it always, at least if the work is in its final form!)

What other genres do you write in besides fiction?

Well, there's poetry. Most of my poetry is still awfully affected and immature, but I have some good ideas and once in a while I get something right, so I haven't given up yet. I'm trying to let myself grow. I write essays and am really interested in pursuing that more, but I struggle with preachiness. The LDS testimony/RS lesson/sacrament meeting talk is too engrained in me. I like to read Tessa Meyer Santiago and Eugene England to help me with essays. As a teenager I wrote some humorous stuff but I seemed to have lost the knack (of humor) as an adult. I'd like to rediscover that. I would also like to explore writing for teenagers sometime. I love Louise Plummer's stuff. I'm not really interested in writing speculative fiction (though I enjoy reading it) because it's too much work. I'm too lazy to invent a new world and there are enough interesting things to explore in this one anyway. Same goes for historical fiction -- I'm too lazy to research; I'd rather spend the time writing.

What's your biggest obstacle in writing?

Honestly, it's my sheltered life. I grew up in a good family and I am married to the kindest person I have ever known. I just haven't experienced much ugliness or pain in my life. I struggle with depicting characters, especially male, who are mean or nasty because I have so many great men in my life. (Not a bad problem to have, eh?).

Finally, what have you read lately that has fired you up -- motivated you to work on your own stuff?

Again, conversation on AML list often gets me going. Here are some authors that always make me want to write: Wallace Stegner is my idol. His writing is what I call heavily "internal," as mine tends to be (not so heavy on plot). I also like Virginia Sorenson for the same reason. For character I like Anne Tyler and her quirky details, E. M. Forster's A Room with a View, and Louise Plummer. For point of view I am motivated by Orson Scott Card. (I also really enjoy his essays.) When I haven't been writing for a while, reading diaries always gets me itching to write. I've enjoyed the journals of Lucy Maud Montgomery and Anne Morrow Lindbergh (although I can't stand Gifts From the Sea). Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies and the essays of Barbara Kingsolver have also influenced me, as have the essays of Tessa Meyer Santiago, one of our best current LDS essayists. Finally, I think Neil Chandler's Benediction should be required reading for all Mormons who want to write about Mormon communities. I return to that book again and again for inspiration. (It's out of print now but I bought up several copies and every once in a while I present them to friends who prove themselves worthy.)

Thanks, Darlene!