Tag: Brigham Young University

Benson Parkinson’s “Three Kinds of Appropriateness”

Benson Parkinson, founder of the AML-List and co-founder of Irreantum, was kind enough to send me a copy of his essay “Three Kinds of Appropriateness” for posting here at AMV. It used to be posted on the Association for Mormon Letters website, but it got lost in the shuffle a while back. It hopefully will be back up on the AML website soon, but since I refer to it often and will be referring to it again in the future, I’m thankful Ben has given me permission to post it here. It originally ran on the AML-List in January 1997 (and sadly those early days of the List, which featured several excellent essays/columns are no longer archived online).

LITERARY COMBINE: Three Kinds of Appropriateness

by

Benson Parkinson

Morality is a mark of Mormon literature. It probably wouldn’t have to be that way, but even the most fringe Mormon offerings generally get around to taking a moral stand. People say that everyone has a different idea of appropriateness, a different degree of tolerance for sex, violence, bad language, and depictions of sinful behavior. I find that, when it comes to appropriateness, Mormon literature tends to be of just three kinds. Continue reading “Benson Parkinson’s “Three Kinds of Appropriateness””

Have you updated your Mormon Literature Database entry yet?

A quick note to all authors (and filmmakers), agents, publishers, publicists and fans out there: what’s the status of the Mormon Literature Database entry for you (or the author you love/represent)?

Authors and agents (and I bet that publicists with close ties to the author would be accepted since most authors publishing in the Mormon market don’t have agents) should fill out the MLDB Submission Form.

For fans or publishers who want to submit data on multiple authors, here’s what you should do:  “If you wish to submit corrections, updates, or other information about a given author, please do so by sending email to the MLDB Committee at MormonLit@byu.edu.”

I’m going to work on the info for my entry (and yay for actually having stuff to submit) this week.

Will Elna Baker Get Respect?

Sunday’s New York Post gossip column, Page Six, contained an item I can identify with, because several of my relatives don’t seem to like New York, where I live.  Elna Baker’s mother worried when her daughter headed to NYU for college instead of BYU, warning her to beware of smoking, drinking, drugs, homosexuality and exotic dancing in sin-filled New York City. Elna says, “I left thinking, ‘Great, my mom thinks I’m moving to the big city to become a lesbian stripper.’ “

Continue reading “Will Elna Baker Get Respect?”

Mormon Interest: Not Just C.S.Lewis, but Chaim Potok

Normally, when Mormons are mentioned in the weekly Jewish newspaper, The Forward, it has to do with the Baptism for the Dead of Holocaust victims. But the current issue finds a Mormon interest in author Chaim Potok, citing none other than the “expert on Mormon arts and culture” William Morris.

Continue reading “Mormon Interest: Not Just C.S.Lewis, but Chaim Potok”