By Jack Harrell THERE SEEM TO be two forces battling for the soul of Mormon literature. Both originated outside of Mormonism, and both tempt us to work below our station. If we take Mormon theology seriously, however, I think we’ll find an important wellspring that can push our writers and thinkers in substantive and innovative …
Tag: writing
Faith By Proxy: A Conversation with Author Brady Udall
If we exclude science fiction and vampire authors, Brady Udall is currently Mormonism’s brightest literary star. Breaking onto the scene with his short story collection Letting Loose the Hounds (1996), Udall has been characterized as a contemporary Charles Dickens. His first novel, The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint (2002), tells the sprawling story of …
Making Ourselves Visible: A Conversation with Author Johnny Townsend
If you’ve been reading Sunstone and Dialogue for the past five years, you’ve run across multiple examples of Johnny Townsend’s work. One of Mormonism’s most prolific short story writers, he is constantly putting out fiction that is, as D. Michael Quinn puts it, simultaneously “insightful, insulting, quirky-faithful, and funny.” Townsend grew up in New …
The Pros and Cons of Writing Confessional Memoir in the Mormon Milieu
By Phyllis Barber Or, right-click here to download the audio file: The Pros and Cons of Writing Confessional Memoir in the Mormon Milieu (This paper was delivered at the International Conference of the American Literary West, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, October 2010) Because the focus of this occasion is the American Literary West and …