Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Poem: "The Fundamental Unit"
Some brief introduction to the writing process first: feel free to skip straight to the poem below.
During May, Darlene Young--one of my favorite Mormon poets--organized an event she called Mormon Poetry Writing Month (MoPoWriMo), modeled loosely on National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Basically, a bunch of us committed to try to write a Mormon poem every day for a month. Many of us also shared our drafts with each other at the time. I really love seeing people engaging with our faith with their full imaginations and I love what can happen when you take ideas you care about and put them in a poetic register: it was great to have a reason to write and constant inspiration from what other writers were playing with.
I missed a few days--which meant that I finished the month with, I think, 27 poems. To put that in perspective, that's about as many poems as I'd written in the entire previous year. Thanks to Darlene, I've got enough now for a second collection to follow up my 2015 set Let Me Drown with Moses. This weekend, Nicole and I printed out all the possible material to include on 1/4 size pages and shuffled them around to find an order and a title. I've got some revisions to do, need a cover, etc., but I'm anticipating that Phoenix Song will be ready to release by the end of the year.
To give you a short glimpse at my MoPoWriMo work: here's a poem I wrote during May and later posted on a Facebook thread by the ever engaging Michael Haycock. Today, Walker Frahm asked if I could post it in a more share-friendly place. Here you go:
The Fundamental Unit
Before we were a Church
that strengthened families
we were a Church
that built cities.
Back then
Zion
was the
fundamental unit
of society.
And in that
dreamed of city
it wouldn’t matter
if a quiet kitchen
happened to be yours
alone, because
even the streets
would be holy
to the Lord.
They took
that away
from us, like
a child tearing
the legs, one
by one, off an
insect.
So maybe the pain
you feel is not from
God. Not some Saraic
trial. Maybe what you
feel is the phantom
pain of a kingdom
that has lost
its limbs.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
James Goldberg Q&A on the Mormon Lit Blitz and Mormon Lit Lab
Today is the last day for people to vote in 2018 Mormon Lit Blitz (though honestly, since Nicole and I will both be at ward council followed by 9 am church tomorrow, you could sneak in a late vote most of tomorrow). It's the seventh year we've held the contest and we're really proud of this year's work: we hope you'll take a look.
We're also at the beginning of the process to sign up regular patrons for a project called the Mormon Lit Lab. Basically, we're invited people to make a monthly pledge to support expanded contests, workshops, and publication opportunities in Mormon Literature.
Since we had so much fun hosting Q&As with this year's Mormon Lit Blitz finalist authors on the blog, we thought we'd finish the contest out with one more post where they asked us questions about the contest and the new Mormon Lit Lab. It's been fun answering. Take a look:
The secret origin version is that Scott Hales and I were called on a mission to evangelize Mormon Literature. We never did figure out what had happened earlier in the place where we were sent, but we think something must have gone wrong with a prior set of missionaries. No one would give us the time of day to teach a full-scale discussion. The local priests or professors or whatever warned young people against our message. Those were dark times.
A lot of the rumors we'd heard put the blame on people for being hard-hearted or close-minded. You can't reach people you resent, though, so we figured it was better to assume they had good reasons for being cautious. One day I said to Scott, "What if six hours of discussions is just too much to ask? Could we give them a message worth considering in one minute?" And Scott said, "That sounds so crazy it just might work. Let's make like Nephi and go and do."
And that's how the Mormon Lit Blitz started...
If you want the slightly less mythologized version, pieces of it are still floating around online. I had to do some research to find it, but it looks like the seed comes in the comments after Josh Allen's November 1, 2011 blog post "AML and Student Participation." In that post, Josh talked about the value of Mormon Literature in general and the Association for Mormon Letters in particular, then asked, "Why aren’t there more of us? With so many virtues, why is it that AML’s membership is relatively small and has been for years?"
In the comments and a follow-up blog post of my own, I tried to answer that question. Essentially, I argued that there's a very small group of people who want to study Mormon (or any) literature for its own sake, and that most people look to stories to give them something in their lives. I talked about why many avid readers who are also Mormons might feel turned off by stories that seem to be attacking them on the one hand and of stories that feel too simplistic on the other. I argued that if you want to build an audience for Mormon Lit, you need to give people a short, easy-to-access way to try it out--and you need to make sure their effort pays off.
And then Scott came up with the name and concept. For the early Mormon Lit Blitzes, he'd make memes for Facebook and we'd do tours around several Mormon culture blogs talking up the contest. Nicole came on board to give editorial notes: she's a really capable and effective editor. Some Mormon Lit regulars submitted to the first contest: but also a lot of writers we didn't know and came to love.
As with many missions, we succeeded at least in converting ourselves: the Mormon Lit Blitz has showed me personally a lot about the value in Mormon Lit, especially as I've watched friends and relatives react to pieces they connect with.
Eric Jepson: Once you've created the longlist, what criteria do you use to whittle down to the final few? How do you balance, say "objective" criteria with subjective criteria with variety?
There are no 100% objective criteria for what makes compelling writing, so we’ve got to trust our own subjectivity and assume the audience we’re trying to serve shares a lot of those tastes. I’ll try to pull back the curtain a little, though, on what those tastes are.
We average 100-200 submissions per Lit Blitz, so a piece only makes the longlist if it stood out to us for some reason. It’s not just competent craft: there also has to be a concept or character or image that grabs our attention. We need to laugh or gasp or find ourselves talking about the piece after we’ve walked away from the computer.
If a piece has made that first cut, our second step is to weed out a few pieces that fall short of that best moment, idea, or image. You get into the longlist by the strongest moment: you stay there by having a text that is consistent. Typically, though, that cut doesn’t quite get us down where we need to be.
The third cut is typically to think about the contest purpose again and ask ourselves which pieces are going to contribute the most for our audience: in terms of the cultural work they do or how they stretch the range of tools writers following the contest will have to draw on. In many cases, even that cut doesn’t quite get us there and concerns about variety within the contest are how we weed out the last few pieces. Some of those calls get really tough to make and there are pieces I still think about that didn't make our final cut.
Lehua Parker: As LDS writers who write stories, poems, and essays that delve into the “messy” reality of being human, do you believe we have a responsibility to write ultimately uplifting works?
I would not use the word "uplifting." The last two poems I shared on my blogs are serious downers, but lament as a genre can play an important spiritual role. Stephen Carter's "Slippery" comes to mind as a Lit Blitz example of a similar thing: a piece that warns rather than reaching catharsis.
So if "uplifting" may be too narrow a word for the types of spiritual contributions Mormon writers can or should make, what would I recommend instead? A phrase from D&C 121: 42, comes to mind, when it talks about "pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile." Maybe whether something enlarges the soul--whether in joy, aspiration, awe, trepidation, insight, mirth--maybe that's a test of whether things are being presented in a way rich enough to count as pure knowledge.
Lee Allred: I thought this year's formal Q&A worked rather nicely. Informative for readers, a chance to discuss MoLit story and storytelling in more depth for writers. How did it look from the point of view of the questioner? Did writers answer what you were really wanting to know or did they veer off into tangents (possibly very interesting tangents but tangents nevertheless)? Do you feel it somewhat ironic that the discussions of the stories were longer than the stories themselves?
I loved the Q&As. Sometimes even flippant questions yielded great answers, like Luisa Perkins' thoughts on cats.
I appreciated the craft discussions. One positive of the Mormon Lit Blitz is that it can help lower the barriers between readers and writers: it's a manageable enough size that some careful readers have tried their hand writing, and I'm glad the Q&As can give new as well as established writers new techniques to consider.
I also liked the discussions of themes. A lot of Mormon Lit Blitz pieces manage to be extremely thought-provoking within their tight space constraints, and I loved getting the chance to talk about that.
As far as the length of discussion: I grew up talking about scriptures at far greater length than what's on the page. I like a piece that starts a conversation rather than trying to finish it.
Lee Allred: And last but not least -- Does the Postum lose its flavour on the bedpost overnight?
Sherry Work: Lee - Postum has very little flavour to actually lose. James and Nicole --would you consider dividing up the categories between poetry, stories, and personal essays?
Of all the ways we could categorize literature, whether something has line breaks doesn't seem like the most important distinction to us. We publish in those three categories because people tend to submit them the most, but we're also open to other forms. We've had very short plays submitted. Comics. Which tools writers use is up to them.
If we bring back the specialty fall contests we've done twice before, we may use genre distinctions in some of those. But we like mixing them together in the Lit Blitz.
Sherry Work: Could you explain how the ranked voting works? Is it a point system or highest number of first place votes?
A first place vote counts as four points, second place three points, third two, and fourth one. The piece with the highest point total wins.
We haven't yet had a piece that could win on the power of first place votes alone. The winners tend to be pieces that appealed a wide range of voters and showed up a lot at two, three, and four as well as one.
Faith : What the what is Patreon?
Glad you asked! We should have explained that better early. Basically, Patreon is an online system that allows people to make a monthly payment to an artist or artistic organization they support. It's sort of like Kickstarter, if you've seen that, but for ongoing projects rather than one-time ones. It's also sort of like the Medicis funding painters and sculptors to make the Italian Renaissance possible, but with a lot less murder and political intrigue.
Patrons receive something in exchange for pledging. For the Mormon Lit Lab, the main rewards are being able to weigh in and vote on the projects we prioritize. Anyone who donates get to see and comment on the "drawing board." Higher level contributors get to vote.
William Morris: Most Patreon offerings are about what contributors receive from the artist and behind the scenes peeks into the artistic process. Why are you pitching this more as a lab where contributors become part of the process rather than just "help us fund more of the Mormon Lit Blitz"?
I love art. I strongly dislike the common image of the solitary artistic genius. To me, art is fundamentally about conversation and connection. So I've always been drawn to much more collective models for artistic production, ones where the lines between audience and creator are narrower and where relationships between people involved in the featured and supporters roles in developing and organizing an artistic experience are both closer and better acknowledged than is often the case. To use a basketball metaphor, I believe teams will produce better when they value assists than when they focus only on points scored.
The Mormon Lit Blitz, to begin with, was not about what Nicole and I do individually as artists, but what we can help others achieve. And so a more collective, collaborative approach as we expand feels right.
We're also at the beginning of the process to sign up regular patrons for a project called the Mormon Lit Lab. Basically, we're invited people to make a monthly pledge to support expanded contests, workshops, and publication opportunities in Mormon Literature.
Since we had so much fun hosting Q&As with this year's Mormon Lit Blitz finalist authors on the blog, we thought we'd finish the contest out with one more post where they asked us questions about the contest and the new Mormon Lit Lab. It's been fun answering. Take a look:
Mormon Lit Blitz
Lee Allred: How did you come up with the idea for the Mormon Lit Blitz? What's its history? Its "secret origin" -- did a metaphorical bat fly through your window, did it rocket to Earth as an infant to escape a doomed planet, etc.?
The secret origin version is that Scott Hales and I were called on a mission to evangelize Mormon Literature. We never did figure out what had happened earlier in the place where we were sent, but we think something must have gone wrong with a prior set of missionaries. No one would give us the time of day to teach a full-scale discussion. The local priests or professors or whatever warned young people against our message. Those were dark times.
A lot of the rumors we'd heard put the blame on people for being hard-hearted or close-minded. You can't reach people you resent, though, so we figured it was better to assume they had good reasons for being cautious. One day I said to Scott, "What if six hours of discussions is just too much to ask? Could we give them a message worth considering in one minute?" And Scott said, "That sounds so crazy it just might work. Let's make like Nephi and go and do."
And that's how the Mormon Lit Blitz started...
If you want the slightly less mythologized version, pieces of it are still floating around online. I had to do some research to find it, but it looks like the seed comes in the comments after Josh Allen's November 1, 2011 blog post "AML and Student Participation." In that post, Josh talked about the value of Mormon Literature in general and the Association for Mormon Letters in particular, then asked, "Why aren’t there more of us? With so many virtues, why is it that AML’s membership is relatively small and has been for years?"
In the comments and a follow-up blog post of my own, I tried to answer that question. Essentially, I argued that there's a very small group of people who want to study Mormon (or any) literature for its own sake, and that most people look to stories to give them something in their lives. I talked about why many avid readers who are also Mormons might feel turned off by stories that seem to be attacking them on the one hand and of stories that feel too simplistic on the other. I argued that if you want to build an audience for Mormon Lit, you need to give people a short, easy-to-access way to try it out--and you need to make sure their effort pays off.
And then Scott came up with the name and concept. For the early Mormon Lit Blitzes, he'd make memes for Facebook and we'd do tours around several Mormon culture blogs talking up the contest. Nicole came on board to give editorial notes: she's a really capable and effective editor. Some Mormon Lit regulars submitted to the first contest: but also a lot of writers we didn't know and came to love.
As with many missions, we succeeded at least in converting ourselves: the Mormon Lit Blitz has showed me personally a lot about the value in Mormon Lit, especially as I've watched friends and relatives react to pieces they connect with.
Eric Jepson: Once you've created the longlist, what criteria do you use to whittle down to the final few? How do you balance, say "objective" criteria with subjective criteria with variety?
There are no 100% objective criteria for what makes compelling writing, so we’ve got to trust our own subjectivity and assume the audience we’re trying to serve shares a lot of those tastes. I’ll try to pull back the curtain a little, though, on what those tastes are.
We average 100-200 submissions per Lit Blitz, so a piece only makes the longlist if it stood out to us for some reason. It’s not just competent craft: there also has to be a concept or character or image that grabs our attention. We need to laugh or gasp or find ourselves talking about the piece after we’ve walked away from the computer.
If a piece has made that first cut, our second step is to weed out a few pieces that fall short of that best moment, idea, or image. You get into the longlist by the strongest moment: you stay there by having a text that is consistent. Typically, though, that cut doesn’t quite get us down where we need to be.
The third cut is typically to think about the contest purpose again and ask ourselves which pieces are going to contribute the most for our audience: in terms of the cultural work they do or how they stretch the range of tools writers following the contest will have to draw on. In many cases, even that cut doesn’t quite get us there and concerns about variety within the contest are how we weed out the last few pieces. Some of those calls get really tough to make and there are pieces I still think about that didn't make our final cut.
Lehua Parker: As LDS writers who write stories, poems, and essays that delve into the “messy” reality of being human, do you believe we have a responsibility to write ultimately uplifting works?
I would not use the word "uplifting." The last two poems I shared on my blogs are serious downers, but lament as a genre can play an important spiritual role. Stephen Carter's "Slippery" comes to mind as a Lit Blitz example of a similar thing: a piece that warns rather than reaching catharsis.
So if "uplifting" may be too narrow a word for the types of spiritual contributions Mormon writers can or should make, what would I recommend instead? A phrase from D&C 121: 42, comes to mind, when it talks about "pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile." Maybe whether something enlarges the soul--whether in joy, aspiration, awe, trepidation, insight, mirth--maybe that's a test of whether things are being presented in a way rich enough to count as pure knowledge.
Lee Allred: I thought this year's formal Q&A worked rather nicely. Informative for readers, a chance to discuss MoLit story and storytelling in more depth for writers. How did it look from the point of view of the questioner? Did writers answer what you were really wanting to know or did they veer off into tangents (possibly very interesting tangents but tangents nevertheless)? Do you feel it somewhat ironic that the discussions of the stories were longer than the stories themselves?
I loved the Q&As. Sometimes even flippant questions yielded great answers, like Luisa Perkins' thoughts on cats.
I appreciated the craft discussions. One positive of the Mormon Lit Blitz is that it can help lower the barriers between readers and writers: it's a manageable enough size that some careful readers have tried their hand writing, and I'm glad the Q&As can give new as well as established writers new techniques to consider.
I also liked the discussions of themes. A lot of Mormon Lit Blitz pieces manage to be extremely thought-provoking within their tight space constraints, and I loved getting the chance to talk about that.
As far as the length of discussion: I grew up talking about scriptures at far greater length than what's on the page. I like a piece that starts a conversation rather than trying to finish it.
Lee Allred: And last but not least -- Does the Postum lose its flavour on the bedpost overnight?
Sherry Work: Lee - Postum has very little flavour to actually lose. James and Nicole --would you consider dividing up the categories between poetry, stories, and personal essays?
Of all the ways we could categorize literature, whether something has line breaks doesn't seem like the most important distinction to us. We publish in those three categories because people tend to submit them the most, but we're also open to other forms. We've had very short plays submitted. Comics. Which tools writers use is up to them.
If we bring back the specialty fall contests we've done twice before, we may use genre distinctions in some of those. But we like mixing them together in the Lit Blitz.
Sherry Work: Could you explain how the ranked voting works? Is it a point system or highest number of first place votes?
A first place vote counts as four points, second place three points, third two, and fourth one. The piece with the highest point total wins.
We haven't yet had a piece that could win on the power of first place votes alone. The winners tend to be pieces that appealed a wide range of voters and showed up a lot at two, three, and four as well as one.
Mormon Lit Lab
Faith : What the what is Patreon?
Glad you asked! We should have explained that better early. Basically, Patreon is an online system that allows people to make a monthly payment to an artist or artistic organization they support. It's sort of like Kickstarter, if you've seen that, but for ongoing projects rather than one-time ones. It's also sort of like the Medicis funding painters and sculptors to make the Italian Renaissance possible, but with a lot less murder and political intrigue.
Patrons receive something in exchange for pledging. For the Mormon Lit Lab, the main rewards are being able to weigh in and vote on the projects we prioritize. Anyone who donates get to see and comment on the "drawing board." Higher level contributors get to vote.
William Morris: Most Patreon offerings are about what contributors receive from the artist and behind the scenes peeks into the artistic process. Why are you pitching this more as a lab where contributors become part of the process rather than just "help us fund more of the Mormon Lit Blitz"?
I love art. I strongly dislike the common image of the solitary artistic genius. To me, art is fundamentally about conversation and connection. So I've always been drawn to much more collective models for artistic production, ones where the lines between audience and creator are narrower and where relationships between people involved in the featured and supporters roles in developing and organizing an artistic experience are both closer and better acknowledged than is often the case. To use a basketball metaphor, I believe teams will produce better when they value assists than when they focus only on points scored.
The Mormon Lit Blitz, to begin with, was not about what Nicole and I do individually as artists, but what we can help others achieve. And so a more collective, collaborative approach as we expand feels right.
Mattathias Westwood: Besides the stated rewards, what benefits do you see donors receiving from participation in the Mormon Lit Lab?
At the end of the day, I hope it will be a great sense of satisfaction and a lot of good memories. Culturally, we have a very consumer exchange mindset about money...we're hoping that supporting the Mormon Lit Lab will feel less like buying something and more like being part of something. We hope everyone involved is able to feel like they did small and simple things to lay the foundation for a great and important work.
Mattathias Westwood: What do you feel the Mormon Lit Lab would provide that's distinct from other Mormon Literature organizations and presses?
There are a lot of other organizations and presses I like, but for purposes of this question I'm going to focus on two that are pretty close fits.
The closest analog to what we do is probably Segullah, which is a literary website and community for Mormon women. The most obvious difference is that we publish men and that what women develop with us is not necessarily going to be read as being part of a dialogue about Mormon women's experience the way the very same piece might be read on Segullah. Both can be valuable: just different.
Peculiar Pages is the closest press. Eight out of their nine titles have been anthologies, which reflects a similar focus on broadening the field and reaching out to a wide range of writers. Their mission is broader than ours: they try to be open to a wide range of culturally Mormon voices, while we focus on things we think would be of specific value to practicing Latter-day Saints.
OK, there's a third organization I don't know as well that's worth mentioning, the Mormon Theology Seminar. As its title suggests, it's not a Mormon Lit organization, but is a structure to bring together people interested in expanding the types and tonal range of discussions we have as Latter-day Saints. Like the Mormon Theology Seminar, we're interested in honoring our heritage by fostering deeper engagement with it. The main difference is that their works will share a technical vocabulary with other people studying theology; our work shares a set of conventions available to anyone who reads fiction, poetry, etc.
Lehua Parker: In addition to the scriptures, which books, essays, podcasts, etc., have helped frame your personal idea of what it means to be LDS and a follower of Christ?
A true but sort of evasive-sounding answer first: almost anything I read helps me frame those ideas. Being a disciple is of fundamental, anchoring importance to me and so I'm looking for insight and different ways to frame the gospel whether I'm reading about science, sociology, other religions, or just swapping stories with friends. For all time classic, I'd put Elie Wiesel's Souls on Fire pretty high. I return and return to the poets Ghalib and Faiz. The last book to blow my mind was Andrus Kivirähk's The Man Who Spoke Snakish. And all of them have influenced the way I frame my own faith and discipleship in some way.
As far as my favorite LDS Lit: loved Angela Hallstrom's Bound on Earth. Melissa Leilani Larson's play Little Happy Secrets is really valuable; I also liked Pilot Program--the two make up her recently published collection Third Wheel. The themes in William Morris's Darkwatch stories really resonate with me. A ton of the images from Scott Hales' The Garden of Enid still stand out in my mind. Eric Samuelsen's play The Plan is excellent. I could go on, but I should probably just sit down someday soon and make a reading list.
William Morris: What's your overall philosophy about genre fiction and literary fiction (Mormon faithful realism) both generally and in relation to what you plan on doing with the Mormon Lit Lab?
Mormonism excites me. Years of trying have yet to get me to the point where I can do justice to it in explaining why. Our faith speaks so richly to so many aspects of human existence. It's so simple and grounding on the one hand and so open to imaginative flights to divine heights at the same time.
We take it so much for granted. That's human nature: we turn on autopilot whenever something is routine, we forget the dazzling wonder to keep from being blinded.
Literature is a register that is particularly effective for me at creating an imaginative novelty that allows me regular, renewed access to that foundational wonder and lets me wrestle on ground that may be genuinely new at the same time. Really good Mormon Lit doesn't just impress me in the moment I'm reading it: it sticks with me, it increases my own capacity for imaginative engagement with the world around at both its visible and spiritual levels.
Why wouldn't I want more of that?
There are a lot of other organizations and presses I like, but for purposes of this question I'm going to focus on two that are pretty close fits.
The closest analog to what we do is probably Segullah, which is a literary website and community for Mormon women. The most obvious difference is that we publish men and that what women develop with us is not necessarily going to be read as being part of a dialogue about Mormon women's experience the way the very same piece might be read on Segullah. Both can be valuable: just different.
Peculiar Pages is the closest press. Eight out of their nine titles have been anthologies, which reflects a similar focus on broadening the field and reaching out to a wide range of writers. Their mission is broader than ours: they try to be open to a wide range of culturally Mormon voices, while we focus on things we think would be of specific value to practicing Latter-day Saints.
OK, there's a third organization I don't know as well that's worth mentioning, the Mormon Theology Seminar. As its title suggests, it's not a Mormon Lit organization, but is a structure to bring together people interested in expanding the types and tonal range of discussions we have as Latter-day Saints. Like the Mormon Theology Seminar, we're interested in honoring our heritage by fostering deeper engagement with it. The main difference is that their works will share a technical vocabulary with other people studying theology; our work shares a set of conventions available to anyone who reads fiction, poetry, etc.
Lehua Parker: In addition to the scriptures, which books, essays, podcasts, etc., have helped frame your personal idea of what it means to be LDS and a follower of Christ?
A true but sort of evasive-sounding answer first: almost anything I read helps me frame those ideas. Being a disciple is of fundamental, anchoring importance to me and so I'm looking for insight and different ways to frame the gospel whether I'm reading about science, sociology, other religions, or just swapping stories with friends. For all time classic, I'd put Elie Wiesel's Souls on Fire pretty high. I return and return to the poets Ghalib and Faiz. The last book to blow my mind was Andrus Kivirähk's The Man Who Spoke Snakish. And all of them have influenced the way I frame my own faith and discipleship in some way.
As far as my favorite LDS Lit: loved Angela Hallstrom's Bound on Earth. Melissa Leilani Larson's play Little Happy Secrets is really valuable; I also liked Pilot Program--the two make up her recently published collection Third Wheel. The themes in William Morris's Darkwatch stories really resonate with me. A ton of the images from Scott Hales' The Garden of Enid still stand out in my mind. Eric Samuelsen's play The Plan is excellent. I could go on, but I should probably just sit down someday soon and make a reading list.
William Morris: What's your overall philosophy about genre fiction and literary fiction (Mormon faithful realism) both generally and in relation to what you plan on doing with the Mormon Lit Lab?
I care about the work literature does way more than I care about the tools people use to do it. Both Nicole and I ask first how a piece opens us ways to us to think and feel and talk about Mormon ideas and experience: that trumps style every time.
And honestly, a lot of pieces blow stylistic distinctions out of the water. Lee Allred's "Beneath the Visiting Moon," in the contest this year, read a straight up literary realistic fiction to some readers and as genre fiction to others--either way, it was a great look into how we deal with our own demons and what it means to stand with each other through the tough times.
And honestly, a lot of pieces blow stylistic distinctions out of the water. Lee Allred's "Beneath the Visiting Moon," in the contest this year, read a straight up literary realistic fiction to some readers and as genre fiction to others--either way, it was a great look into how we deal with our own demons and what it means to stand with each other through the tough times.
Tanya Hanamaikai: Why does supporting Mormon Literature excite you?
We take it so much for granted. That's human nature: we turn on autopilot whenever something is routine, we forget the dazzling wonder to keep from being blinded.
Literature is a register that is particularly effective for me at creating an imaginative novelty that allows me regular, renewed access to that foundational wonder and lets me wrestle on ground that may be genuinely new at the same time. Really good Mormon Lit doesn't just impress me in the moment I'm reading it: it sticks with me, it increases my own capacity for imaginative engagement with the world around at both its visible and spiritual levels.
Why wouldn't I want more of that?
Friday, June 15, 2018
The Questions I Beg My Bible to Answer: June 2018
Why are the Egyptians
afraid of the Hebrews?
What moves Pharaoh’s gaze
out the palace window
from the glory of the
pyramids to the hunched
backs of foreign-looking
workers (their brows
bleeding sweat, their
hands caked in mud):
why does the strength
in their aching arms
trouble his dreams
each night?
Why are the Egyptians
afraid of the Hebrews?
What makes the general
in his chariot stop and
shiver at the distant
echo of a birthing scream
rising from the hovel
where the great-granddaughter
of a half-starved refugee
is delivering a son?
Oh God, please just
help me understand:
why are the Egyptians
afraid of the Hebrews?
What makes an aging
civilization, haunted
by mirages of its own
bygone youth, turn away
from its treasure cities
and toward the straining
figures of desperate families
determined only to choose
life—what makes them give
the order to tear children
from their mothers’ arms?
afraid of the Hebrews?
What moves Pharaoh’s gaze
out the palace window
from the glory of the
pyramids to the hunched
backs of foreign-looking
workers (their brows
bleeding sweat, their
hands caked in mud):
why does the strength
in their aching arms
trouble his dreams
each night?
Why are the Egyptians
afraid of the Hebrews?
What makes the general
in his chariot stop and
shiver at the distant
echo of a birthing scream
rising from the hovel
where the great-granddaughter
of a half-starved refugee
is delivering a son?
Oh God, please just
help me understand:
why are the Egyptians
afraid of the Hebrews?
What makes an aging
civilization, haunted
by mirages of its own
bygone youth, turn away
from its treasure cities
and toward the straining
figures of desperate families
determined only to choose
life—what makes them give
the order to tear children
from their mothers’ arms?
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Mattathias Westwood Q&A
"Missionary Weekly Report for 28 March-3 April, Mumbai 1st Branch, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" by Mattathias Westwood, the final finalist in this year's Mormon Lit Blitz, is up today. Check out the story, and then come back for the Q&A:
This piece explores an Indian Mormon experience
specifically. How do you feel like the national context shapes the
story? Would the same tensions play out differently somewhere else?
The only Mormon experiences I can speak to convincingly are American
Mormon experience and Indian Mormon experience. I do think that in
India, the pressure of missionary work is heightened by the fact that
there are just so many people around to teach. And because religion is
such a major and public part of most people's lives, there's not even
the excuse that exists in some parts of the world that most people
probably just aren't interested in religion of any kind, and that's why
they don't want to listen and we maybe don't need to bother them. In
India, almost everyone takes religion very seriously, and most people
are very open to talking about it. But that doesn't mean that they're
going to take Mormonism seriously or decide to join the Church, because
conversion is hard and the truthfulness of Mormonism isn't obvious or
self-evident at first glance (or second or third).
For me, this led to a state of constant discouragement, where I felt like because people were so ready to listen, if people were not interested in joining the church, it was because I wasn't good enough at teaching the gospel for them to recognize it. At some point, I realized that I was absolutely right-- I wasn't good at teaching it at all, but there were people who understood it anyway, who figured out all the things I couldn't teach them, because it wasn't me they were learning from. I was just there to give them a human point of contact and directions towards the church building.
For me, this led to a state of constant discouragement, where I felt like because people were so ready to listen, if people were not interested in joining the church, it was because I wasn't good enough at teaching the gospel for them to recognize it. At some point, I realized that I was absolutely right-- I wasn't good at teaching it at all, but there were people who understood it anyway, who figured out all the things I couldn't teach them, because it wasn't me they were learning from. I was just there to give them a human point of contact and directions towards the church building.
What role do you think literature could play in increasing our multicultural awareness and imagination in the Church?
The scriptures say that God speaks to people in a language they can
understand. I don't know what the future holds, but I hope that as more
Mormons from around the world share their own experiences, share how
the gospel feels and tastes to them, share what pulled them into this
life and keeps pulling them back even when things are hard, that it will
help us to be one, in the way that the scriptures say we should.
I
think when we hear how the gospel sounds to other people's ears, it
will become even more beautiful, and maybe some of the things that cause
us worry or pain will be eased as we see them through other eyes, or as
we see different ways of doing things, as we learn from each other. I
don't think it's fully possible to separate gospel and culture, because
they blend together and it can be hard to tell which is which, and
stories that show how the gospel weaves itself into different cultures
can give us possibilities we didn't think of before or help us see our
own mistakes. And all of it hopefully gives us more types of language,
so that God has more ways to reach us.
Honestly, I would be happy just to have more of it, from more people, in
more places, thinking through Mormonism in their own experience and
writing what it feels like and means for them. I am much more of a
reader than a writer, and I read pretty much whatever I can get my hands
on and I'm grateful if it helps me think through my own experience or
think outside my own experience, and the details of where it comes from
or what it says don't matter much to me as long as they are genuine and
thoughtful. "Let a thousand flowers bloom."
Where can we read more of your work? As I said, I'm more of a reader than a writer. I have lots of stories that float in my head but usually I'm too busy finding new stories to add to the mix and break down into raw materials for living a good life for me to write stories of my own. You could try breaking into my parent's house and sorting through the boxes they keep in the spare bedroom for the notebooks I wrote in when I was in high school. But there are a lot of boxes, and most of them are just my dad's books, so you'd probably get tired of looking, and if you found those old buried stories they might not be worth it. If you're interested in listening to me ramble on about other people's stories, you can find me at http://mattathiasingh.
Friday, June 8, 2018
Eric Jepson Q&A
This year's Mormon Lit Blitz is winding down--just one more story left after today's excellent poem, Eric Jepson's "Joseph and Emma Grow Old Together." Here's a Q&A with the author:
In your introduction to States of Deseret,
you speculated about an alternate history where the wild success of
Joseph Smith Sr.'s ginseng venture allows him to send Joseph and Hyrum
to study with Ralph Waldo Emerson--and go on to found a college, not a
religion. What draws you to alternate history where the restoration as
we know it doesn't happen?
In the case of Joseph Smith, his greatness is inextricably tied to the
pain and tragedy he endures. We all want to be Christlike, but none of
us want to wander the dusty plains of Galilee only to be hung on a
cross. I don't know, if given the option, that I wouldn't take the
easily understood pleasures of studying with Emerson or growing old with
my wife over the recurring stress and sadness and horror of Ohio and
Missouri and Illinois. Martin asked to take the translation three times.
What if Emma had been as insistent on a peaceful life with her husband?
I don't think I could blame them if she had.
This poem seems to deal
with the tension between contentedness on the own hand and intense
spiritual quest on the other. How do we deal with a spiritually intense
founder in an era when simple, contented life has become such a central
value for us?
This is exactly what worries me. I'm teaching seminary now and this
year we covered the Book of Mormon. In just a few hundred pages, Mormon
lets us stand back and see the shape of one thousand years of human
history as a series of mountains and valleys. And times of simple
contentment don't often last.
I'm a firm
believer that the general thrust of human history is towards goodness
and peace---but that doesn't happen on the small scale. That's on the
centuries scale. We want to believe our comforts will last forever. I'm
not sure scripture smiles at that attitude.
But hey. Life is safer and more predictable without ten new sections added to the D&C every April and October.
Everything. I want more voices from more countries and regions and
languages. Which is an honest answer I'm working toward. The now answer
is more of what I already love. But please, worldwide Mormonism!
Convince me to love you all!
Well, buying stuff on Amazon is good for me.
Unfortunately, my website is down, but a complete bibliography as of seven months ago sits on my blog. (A good place to start might be my previous appearances on the Mormon Lit Blitz, one and two.)
Thursday, June 7, 2018
Sheldon Lawrence Q&A
Sheldon Lawrence's essay "The Last Swing" is today's Mormon Lit Blitz finalist. After you read it, join us for the Q&A:
This piece felt very reflective of Mormon values to us, even though there are no overtly Mormon references. Is it just the concern with family? Or do you think there's something about this piece thematically that might make it feel so resonant to us?
There is something about the passage of time and the limitation of memory that has always haunted me. It’s unsettling to think that any given moment will die and never repeat. Every passing moment is a death of something. Are these moments lost to eternity? Is our only comfort the prospect of eternal novelty, eternal rebirth of time? I think on some level Mormonism takes memory seriously, or the idea that the whole of our life, every detail, will be resurrected and make up the tapestry of our souls. I believe our memories will be redeemed, not only in that we will have perfect recollection, but that even painful moments will be seen as sacred and important. I think this piece reflects that sense of loss, of death, but perhaps hints at the hope of a resurrection of such moments.
How has parenting helped you as a writer--and writing helped you as a parent?
I didn’t set out to be a “dad” writer, but it turns out that an awful lot of my work, especially the stuff that has gotten published or recognized, is heavily influenced by my experience as a parent. I never knew that parenting would involve so much guilt and fear and joy all at the same time. Writing is a way of working through those issues. It makes me more reflective as a parent. When my kids appear in a piece, they feel honored, which is kind of fun.
We have a two-year-old daughter who just learned to climb out of her crib and now systemically destroys her room before falling asleep around midnight. Will we miss the last nighttime rampage with equal unspoken nostalgia?
Yes, you will! “The Last Rampage” has a nice ring to it.
What would you like to see more of in Mormon Literature?
It seems there is an unnecessary dichotomy out there that art is either angsty and raw (and therefore “real”) on the one hand, or trite and syrupy sweet (and therefore “fake”) on the other. I would like to see more work, especially in memoir and personal essay, that is uncompromisingly authentic but also celebratory of life and its richness. I suppose that is what I strive for, in any case.
Where can we read more of your work?
I usually put stuff on my blog: thepearlandswine.wordpress.com I also post links to my published work there.
This piece felt very reflective of Mormon values to us, even though there are no overtly Mormon references. Is it just the concern with family? Or do you think there's something about this piece thematically that might make it feel so resonant to us?
There is something about the passage of time and the limitation of memory that has always haunted me. It’s unsettling to think that any given moment will die and never repeat. Every passing moment is a death of something. Are these moments lost to eternity? Is our only comfort the prospect of eternal novelty, eternal rebirth of time? I think on some level Mormonism takes memory seriously, or the idea that the whole of our life, every detail, will be resurrected and make up the tapestry of our souls. I believe our memories will be redeemed, not only in that we will have perfect recollection, but that even painful moments will be seen as sacred and important. I think this piece reflects that sense of loss, of death, but perhaps hints at the hope of a resurrection of such moments.
How has parenting helped you as a writer--and writing helped you as a parent?
I didn’t set out to be a “dad” writer, but it turns out that an awful lot of my work, especially the stuff that has gotten published or recognized, is heavily influenced by my experience as a parent. I never knew that parenting would involve so much guilt and fear and joy all at the same time. Writing is a way of working through those issues. It makes me more reflective as a parent. When my kids appear in a piece, they feel honored, which is kind of fun.
We have a two-year-old daughter who just learned to climb out of her crib and now systemically destroys her room before falling asleep around midnight. Will we miss the last nighttime rampage with equal unspoken nostalgia?
Yes, you will! “The Last Rampage” has a nice ring to it.
What would you like to see more of in Mormon Literature?
It seems there is an unnecessary dichotomy out there that art is either angsty and raw (and therefore “real”) on the one hand, or trite and syrupy sweet (and therefore “fake”) on the other. I would like to see more work, especially in memoir and personal essay, that is uncompromisingly authentic but also celebratory of life and its richness. I suppose that is what I strive for, in any case.
Where can we read more of your work?
I usually put stuff on my blog: thepearlandswine.wordpress.com I also post links to my published work there.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
William Morris Q&A (Sister Greeley)
Today's finalist is "Proof That Sister Greeley Is aWitch (Even Though Mormons Don't Believe in Witches)" by William Morris. Here's our Q&A with him about this story:
One thing we loved about the story is the way it implicitly explores the network of relationships among the women in a ward. In the real world, how do you see inter-generational relationships influencing young Mormon women?
One thing we loved about the story is the way it implicitly explores the network of relationships among the women in a ward. In the real world, how do you see inter-generational relationships influencing young Mormon women?
Based on my experience--which is limited because I'm a male member of the church--young Mormon women both want and are leery of the influence of older Mormon women. They are leery of being judged and found wanting. Or they are leery because they have different cultural and/or political attitudes. But they also know that maturity can bring wisdom, and that there things they can learn, especially when visiting teaching/ministering and serving side-by-side in callings is working the way it should.
I will add that in my (again, limited) experience young Mormon women really appreciate it when middle-aged and elderly women are open (in a charitable way) about the challenges they had when they were younger. It helps them know that they aren't alone. They aren't weird. They aren't defective. And things get better, but you have to work at it and they never actually get perfect in spite of how things might sometimes appear.
It's also awesome when older women ask young Mormon women to help them with things where the young women have expertise (like technology--but other areas too).
Some of the practices Heidi describes seem old enough to be just outside living memory for the people around a young Mormon woman growing up today. How do past generations of Mormon women play into that network?
Hopefully they play a large role, but I'm not sure that they do. Or at least not as deeply and widespread as perhaps they should. Back in 2006, I wrote a post for A Motley Vision called Holding to the traditions of our mothers. In it, I wrote:
"What happens when our daily practices — our material life, our life with materials — is suffused with their spirit, with the way they do/did things?Let’s find out. I propose that all of us seek out our mothers — especially our aunts, great aunts and grandmothers — and learn from them whatever it is they do best. Not only cooking, but quilting, gardening, sewing — all the practices that arose out of gospel teachings, pioneer heritage and the conditions of life and history."
Since that time, these kinds of material practices--especially pickling and bread-making--have become much more widespread among young people. I would hope that Mormon women (and men) who engage with them tie them not to a fashionable but vague notion of authenticity but rather to the previous generations, especially the material culture of their mothers. And I'd add to my call above that I'd recommend starting with the women who are still living, but then also seek out (and, if needed, preserve) documentation for women who have passed on to other side--letters, journals, cookbooks, personal/family/ward histories, etc.
You told last week what you'd like to see more of in Mormon literature: what in Mormon literature are you most bored with?
I'm tempted to say novels about male Mormon missionaries engaging in high-jinks and short stories about middle-aged, white Mormon males from the American West have minor crises and epiphanies, but that's not entirely true. I think any subject or theme or setting can be interesting and innovative.
I suppose what I'm most bored with are works of Mormon literature that don't show any awareness of what has already been written or that engage in simplistic tropes. I don't know that we need more conversion or de-conversion stories or feminist awakenings or male mid-life crises. Not unless they're done in ways that add to the conversation rather than re-create it. I mean, I totally understand the impetus to write such works if that's what your personal experiences are, especially if you're a newer writer. But that's not what I'm interested in reading. And there's so much more to explore.
I'm also tired of genre fiction for the Mormon market that takes Christian or mainstream American fiction trends, files of the serial numbers, hastily magic markers on a Mormon serial number or Mormon-level appropriateness in content, and then presents the finished product as something of good report.
Finally, I'm bored with Mormon literature always being a referendum on the possibility/impossibility of Mormon literature (esp. vis a vis that whole Shakespeares and Miltons of our own quote). But that's such an old complaint of mine that to complain about it now also bores me. Let's just have some fun with MoLit, you know?
You told us last week where to read your work: what's some other Mormon Lit you'd recommend?
In all seriousness: read through the Mormon Lit Blitz archives. There's good short fiction and poetry to be found in Dialogue, Sunstone, and Irreantum. But if you want a quick, satisfying way to explore the wide range of modern Mormon lit, the Mormon Lit Blitz is the place to start. Also: pretty much everything from BCC Press (especially Third Wheel by Melissa Leilani Larson) and Zarahemla Books (especially Long After Dark by Todd Robert Petersen and the story anthology Dispensation, edited by Angela Hallstrom). A few older titles that influenced me: Nothing very important and other stories by Bela Petsco, Angel of the Danube by Alan Rex Mitchell, Salvador by Margaret Young, and For the Strength of the Hills by Lee Allred. Also: if you haven't seen the documentary New York Doll by Greg Whitely, then track it down--it can be streamed for free if you have Amazon Prime.
Thanks!
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Sherry Work Q&A
Today's finalist is "Still Clean" by Sherry Work. Here's our Q&A with the author:
The characters and setting of this poem feel believably ancient at the same time the themes feel very timely. When and how did you decide you wanted to write this poem?
I wrote this poem after preparing to teach an Old Testament class about David and Bathsheba, and wanting to research to see what might really have happened. Multiple depictions in art show Bathsheba as somewhat wantonly bathing on the roof of her house which exposed her naked body to David, leading to adultery (perhaps we would now call it rape) and murder. Centuries of patriarchy in the Christian church have shifted the blame at least partly to Bathsheba for her supposed immodest actions in tempting David. As I read the chapters following this initial incident I saw no blame attached to Bathsheba for her part in the story. Just has Eve has been exonerated from committing sin, I felt that Bathsheba should also be seen as a righteous daughter of God.
We loved your presentation of the bath as a mikveh. What's the value for you of imagining scriptural events from a perspective or voice we don't usually spend as much time with?
Here are the verses from 2 Samuel 11 depicted at the beginning of the poem. Bathsheba is not bathing on her rooftop as she is usually painted. It is important to note that verse 4 indicates that she may have been performing a mikveh, a cleansing ritual or washing required by the Mosaic Law after the end of menstruation. The water had to be "living water" from a natural spring which would flow over the body. It was very important to me to read more about Jewish ritual in order to be accurate about this story, and that in turn helped me to see much symbolism and types of Christ within it. The compelling part of the poem for me is to give Bathsheba her voice, as she is silent in the entire story, except to tell David that she is with child. She loved her husband, she was a righteous woman, but she was powerless to refuse David. My heart ached for her from the beginning of her story to the death of her child.
2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
What would you like to see more of in Mormon Literature?
I would love to read novels where the protagonist has to make hard choices, or where making the "correct" choice does not necessarily lead to what we might hope for. I think that it is important to read less simplistic works which better reflect the decisions that we have to make on a regular basis. It would be wonderful if Mormons everywhere could find a book where they see themselves represented.
Where can we read more of your work?
This question made me smile because the short answer is that you can't. My most prolific work is my 40 years of journals which would be a little tedious even for my own children, except for the very few pages where I remember that my opinions and experiences are far more important than what I did that day. I much prefer to read than write.
The characters and setting of this poem feel believably ancient at the same time the themes feel very timely. When and how did you decide you wanted to write this poem?
I wrote this poem after preparing to teach an Old Testament class about David and Bathsheba, and wanting to research to see what might really have happened. Multiple depictions in art show Bathsheba as somewhat wantonly bathing on the roof of her house which exposed her naked body to David, leading to adultery (perhaps we would now call it rape) and murder. Centuries of patriarchy in the Christian church have shifted the blame at least partly to Bathsheba for her supposed immodest actions in tempting David. As I read the chapters following this initial incident I saw no blame attached to Bathsheba for her part in the story. Just has Eve has been exonerated from committing sin, I felt that Bathsheba should also be seen as a righteous daughter of God.
We loved your presentation of the bath as a mikveh. What's the value for you of imagining scriptural events from a perspective or voice we don't usually spend as much time with?
Here are the verses from 2 Samuel 11 depicted at the beginning of the poem. Bathsheba is not bathing on her rooftop as she is usually painted. It is important to note that verse 4 indicates that she may have been performing a mikveh, a cleansing ritual or washing required by the Mosaic Law after the end of menstruation. The water had to be "living water" from a natural spring which would flow over the body. It was very important to me to read more about Jewish ritual in order to be accurate about this story, and that in turn helped me to see much symbolism and types of Christ within it. The compelling part of the poem for me is to give Bathsheba her voice, as she is silent in the entire story, except to tell David that she is with child. She loved her husband, she was a righteous woman, but she was powerless to refuse David. My heart ached for her from the beginning of her story to the death of her child.
2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
What would you like to see more of in Mormon Literature?
I would love to read novels where the protagonist has to make hard choices, or where making the "correct" choice does not necessarily lead to what we might hope for. I think that it is important to read less simplistic works which better reflect the decisions that we have to make on a regular basis. It would be wonderful if Mormons everywhere could find a book where they see themselves represented.
Where can we read more of your work?
This question made me smile because the short answer is that you can't. My most prolific work is my 40 years of journals which would be a little tedious even for my own children, except for the very few pages where I remember that my opinions and experiences are far more important than what I did that day. I much prefer to read than write.
Monday, June 4, 2018
Lee Allred Q&A
Welcome back to the second (and final) week of this year's Mormon Lit Blitz. Today, we posted Lee Allred's "Beneath the Visiting Moon." You owe it to yourself to read the story before the Q&A...check it out first, then come back for this behind-the-scenes look:
At first, we read this story as a psychological study of the difficulties and trauma of returning home from war. It wasn't until just after we finished reading that we realized it's also a werewolf story. Which totally blew our minds: we loved the way the werewolf element deepened, in many ways, the exploration of trauma. What made you think of putting the two elements together?
Actually, I've been writing "movie monster" stories as Mormon Lit Blitz contest entries for some time now, looking at monster movie tropes through a Mormon lens. I've done already done vampires ("Where Nothing Lives But Crosses") and Frankenstein (the non-finalist "Organized Matter" -- which I'm working up as a longer piece), This year I did my werewolf piece.
As an Iraqi War vet myself, I guess it was natural to see lycanthropy through the lens of PTSD and how the Church assists returning wounded warriors through local ward Home Teachers.
It's a bit unusual to take a fantastical element and make it so subtle--and yet so present at the same time. What advice would you give to someone who wants to pull off an effect like that?
Bit of mental ju-jitsu, really. Saturated with Hollywood and 24-hour news, the reader will come into the story with certain preconceptions about PTSD. You construct a story where the details all feed into those preconceptions. "Moon" can in fact be read as a straight PTSD story. Nothing per se violates that premise.
But the reader also has preconceptions about werewolves, and each of the details you put in are actually dual-purpose. They feed into those werewolf preconceptions, too.
As the story progresses, the details are more and more weighted towards the werewolf side -- raw meat, animal bite, moon, wolves howling -- until there is an obvious "aha!" moment with the big reveal.
Only you don't write the big "aha!" reveal. You end the story short of that. (The micro fiction format of Mo Lit Blitz aids in this regard; it’d be far more difficult in a longer piece. )
What you are left with is a mainstream PTSD story constructed in such a way that the reader's werewolf preconceptions are just starting to overcome their PTSD preconceptions right as the story ends.
Tricky and I wasn't sure I'd timed things right. Nice to read from your comments I had.
What would you like to see more of in Mormon Literature?
More Lee Allred stories. Somebody needs to prod that author into writing more of 'em! :)
Seriously, we're in the Golden Age of Mormon fiction. I feel sort of silly asking for more when our cup is so overflowing.
Where can we read more of your work?
I've had quite a few genre stories published in recent Fiction River anthologies. I have stories in the Mormon fiction anthologies States of Deseret, Mormons & Monsters, and Dispensation. My Assembled Allred collection is also still in print I think, and there should soon be a second Rookhouse Books collection appearing, hopefully before the end of the year. And you can always check 2016’s Lit Blitz and 2014’s Lit Blitz Meeting of the Myths monster mash-up for my finalist pieces there.
Also, keep an eye on my @lee_allred Twitter feed. I have a number of short fiction pieces coming out (sold seven this year so far) and some upcoming comic book stuff. I'll announce them on Twitter whenever my publishers give the go-ahead.
At first, we read this story as a psychological study of the difficulties and trauma of returning home from war. It wasn't until just after we finished reading that we realized it's also a werewolf story. Which totally blew our minds: we loved the way the werewolf element deepened, in many ways, the exploration of trauma. What made you think of putting the two elements together?
Actually, I've been writing "movie monster" stories as Mormon Lit Blitz contest entries for some time now, looking at monster movie tropes through a Mormon lens. I've done already done vampires ("Where Nothing Lives But Crosses") and Frankenstein (the non-finalist "Organized Matter" -- which I'm working up as a longer piece), This year I did my werewolf piece.
As an Iraqi War vet myself, I guess it was natural to see lycanthropy through the lens of PTSD and how the Church assists returning wounded warriors through local ward Home Teachers.
It's a bit unusual to take a fantastical element and make it so subtle--and yet so present at the same time. What advice would you give to someone who wants to pull off an effect like that?
Bit of mental ju-jitsu, really. Saturated with Hollywood and 24-hour news, the reader will come into the story with certain preconceptions about PTSD. You construct a story where the details all feed into those preconceptions. "Moon" can in fact be read as a straight PTSD story. Nothing per se violates that premise.
But the reader also has preconceptions about werewolves, and each of the details you put in are actually dual-purpose. They feed into those werewolf preconceptions, too.
As the story progresses, the details are more and more weighted towards the werewolf side -- raw meat, animal bite, moon, wolves howling -- until there is an obvious "aha!" moment with the big reveal.
Only you don't write the big "aha!" reveal. You end the story short of that. (The micro fiction format of Mo Lit Blitz aids in this regard; it’d be far more difficult in a longer piece. )
What you are left with is a mainstream PTSD story constructed in such a way that the reader's werewolf preconceptions are just starting to overcome their PTSD preconceptions right as the story ends.
Tricky and I wasn't sure I'd timed things right. Nice to read from your comments I had.
What would you like to see more of in Mormon Literature?
More Lee Allred stories. Somebody needs to prod that author into writing more of 'em! :)
Seriously, we're in the Golden Age of Mormon fiction. I feel sort of silly asking for more when our cup is so overflowing.
Where can we read more of your work?
I've had quite a few genre stories published in recent Fiction River anthologies. I have stories in the Mormon fiction anthologies States of Deseret, Mormons & Monsters, and Dispensation. My Assembled Allred collection is also still in print I think, and there should soon be a second Rookhouse Books collection appearing, hopefully before the end of the year. And you can always check 2016’s Lit Blitz and 2014’s Lit Blitz Meeting of the Myths monster mash-up for my finalist pieces there.
Also, keep an eye on my @lee_allred Twitter feed. I have a number of short fiction pieces coming out (sold seven this year so far) and some upcoming comic book stuff. I'll announce them on Twitter whenever my publishers give the go-ahead.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
William Morris Q&A (After the Fast)
We're closing out the first week of the Mormon Lit Blitz with William Morris's "After the Fast." Here's our Q&A. Feel free to add your own questions in the comments.
Stories about the Three Nephites are a classic Mormon genre. What made you decide to join the tradition?
I included a character that was one of the Three Nephites in last year's Lit Blitz entry "There Wrestled a Man in Parowan," but the story didn't require interpreting it that way, which delighted me because it seems like a lot of the stories that use the Three Nephites as a way to discomfit the institutional church and/or orthodox Mormon characters. A valid approach, to be sure, but not one that interested me so I figured I'd get mine out of the way (because, yes, every Mormon writer has to have a Three Nephites story). But then earlier this spring, the notion of what it'd be like to try to eat again after fasting for forty days and forty nights started rolling around my brain, and, like it always does, my brain revolted against the strictures I had tried to set for myself (like the time I decided I wouldn't be writing Mormon faithful realism anymore and then three weeks later wrote the most Doug Thayerish story ever). And it is easy to see why a Three Nephites story is irresistible: as doctrine and folklore, it's unique to Mormonism, and the mysterious stranger who is helpful but also a bit unsettling is a classic character trope.
Have you ever eaten colivă?
I have. It was given to us either by a recent member or a long-time investigator. I believe she had made it not for a recent death, but for placing on the graves of loved ones. The version I had was starchy and chewy and not as sweet as it looked. Nor did it have cocoa powder on it or dried fruits in it. It was quite filling, though, and that's the most important thing for young missionaries.
Was your time in Romania an influence on the story thematically at all?
Honestly, the ending of the story came as a complete surprise to me. More so than most of the stories I write. I wasn't planning on drawing on my mission experience at all. Indeed, I didn't know that the Third Nephite would go back to the dead woman's house until I wrote it. I had originally planned to take him to his favorite restaurant and have the story be more about aesthetics and memory than about grief and honoring the dead. And once he's at the house, he ends up in the basement. And what would be in the basement but food storage? And so then what would be a better way to break his fast than with food storage? But what are you going to do with barrels of wheat? And then that's where serving a mission in Romania and being able to draw on that experience paid off.
What would you like to see more of in Mormon Literature?
More novel-length fiction about sister missionaries. More stories about older Mormons, international Mormons, urban U.S./Canadian Mormons, rural but non-Intermountain West Mormons, etc. More fiction and nonfiction that takes Mormon history and theology/doctrine/folk beliefs seriously. More stories about single Mormons and childless Mormons and single parent Mormons. An alternate history novel where the United Order works and Mormons become the world's leading communitarians. An anthology of Mormon satire that skewers the larger world as much as it does Mormon life and culture. A romance novel where a recently married couple figure out how to mesh their differing backgrounds and orthopraxises in relation to Mormonism and the ending is happy but also bittersweet.
And, of course, more readers of Mormon literature, more venues where Mormon writers can publish their work, and, ultimately, actual paying markets for Mormon writers, especially fiction writers.
Where can we read more of your work?
Most of my Mormon-related short fiction from 2003 to 2015 can be found in the story collection Dark Watch and other Mormon-American stories. I have also edited two anthologies: Monsters & Mormons and States of Deseret. For more Mormon stuff visit A Motley Vision. And for my non-Mormon market work, see Frozen Sea Press.
Friday, June 1, 2018
Faith Kershisnik Q&A
Today's piece is "Counsel" by Faith Kershisnik. Take a look at the poem, then come back for the Q&A:
A lot of Adam and Eve stories deal with the firsts, and this piece features a cool one: the first surgery. The first time doctors ever talked while their patients were under. What drew you as a writer to this moment?
A lot of Adam and Eve stories deal with the firsts, and this piece features a cool one: the first surgery. The first time doctors ever talked while their patients were under. What drew you as a writer to this moment?
Oh, that’s an
interesting observation. Does it sound crazy to say I hadn’t thought of it at
all in those terms? I didn’t have a surgical scenario in mind when writing
this, but I was fascinated by the dramatic irony of God’s words to Adam regarding
the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. We know the story, we know that Eve and Adam
eat and don’t die that day (in the sense that we understand the term). There’s
some disconnect between what God says and what Adam could comprehend in that
moment, and then what he and Eve experience. So what do we do with that, as
readers? I wanted to play with Jehovah being in that position, dealing with the
disconnect, and getting a response directly from God. If this Jehovah has
anything in common with me, he would’ve been bursting at the seams to reconcile
the dissonance as soon as he had a moment alone with God, which happens to come
right as they put Adam in a deep sleep. I wanted the conversation to reveal
some of the complexity of that type of confrontation, to leave the reader with a sense of ‘huh,
yeah, what was the right thing to do here? Who’s position do I identify with?’
Maybe it's cheating for us as readers to ask you this, but: what's
the relationship for you between the frame scene of forming woman and the
counsel God is giving the Son?
That’s totally
cheating.
…But I’ll indulge
you anyway. I think this is the part of creation where everything gets
interesting. I like that human relationship is in the process of being created
at the same time woman is created, and that this is a complicated,
conflicted relational moment between God and Jehovah, when he is also teaching
Jehovah about the complexities of human relationship. It felt like a great
moment to illuminate the death and destructive processes inherent in the
creativity of relationship. You don’t
get one in this world without the other.
What would you like to see more of in Mormon Literature?
I guess that
depends on whether we’re talking about literature with Mormon themes and
content for a Mormon audience, or literature written by Mormons. I should also
preface any responses with the admission that I’m not a Mormon literature
connoisseur, so undoubtedly I’ll say something really ignorant that
marginalizes someone’s work. Feel free
to leave a comment telling me how wrong I am.
As for literature
with Mormon themes and content for a Mormon audience, I’d like to see 2 things:
first, more Mormon midrash. More Mormons diving into scripture with their
imagination, coming up with more pearls to share with the rest of us. Second,
I’d like to hear/read more literature about people’s actual lived experiences
with Mormonism. We have loads of fiction at places like Deseret Book or Seagull
Books that idealize the Mormon experience, but I think there’s a disconnect
with those types of stories and what a lot of people are living now. I want art
that deepens (or demands that we deepen) how we apply faith in our real-life
struggles, rather than art that fantasizes about or sentimentalizes faith.
As for literature
written by Mormons but not exclusive to Mormon audiences, I’d like to see more
Mormons publishing literary work, in addition to the strong genre presence we
have out there. I know there are strong voices already in the mix, so I don’t
mean to dismiss their work; I just want to see more of us in the game. I think
we sometimes get a bad wrap for being ‘juvenile’ because there’s so much young
adult fiction out there, or for being incapable of writing and comprehending
tragedy because of our relationship to grief/the afterlife/eternal families,
but I feel there’s a richer and more faceted cultural voice that’s needing to
be shared. I don’t care what the literature is about and how ‘Mormon’ it is, I
just want to see it done and available for the world to experience.
Where can we read more of your work?
I’m a rookie. I
was first published last month with Segullah’s editorial journal, which can be
read online, and I’m currently working with Tryst Press to publish my complete
collection of poetry and short stories on the Genesis Creation myth in art book
form. Feel free to follow me on IG for updates on the project :)
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