Monday, March 19, 2012

Presenting

About 2.5 years ago, I read an op-ed by Jerry Johnston that stated that there will never be great Mormon Literature written by an active Latter Day Saint and subsequently blogged about it here.  About the same time I attended my first Sunstone Conference and started reading more LDS essays etc.  Anyway, as I feel like I'm stagnating intellectually, I've thought about tackling a large project. When Margaret Young announced a Call for Papers for the Association for Mormon Letters Annual Meeting, I thought about submitting a proposal for a paper.  Well, I submitted the proposal below which was accepted.
Here's the Abstract:

Title: The “Great LDS Novel,” Pipedream or Future Reality?
Author: Joy Buhler
In 2009, Jerry Johnston, a columnist for the “Mormon Times,” stated that the “Great American Novel” would never be written by an active Latter Day Saint because of the demands the religion makes on the devout member.  A “Great American Novel” is often defined as a work that captures the essence of being American during that time period that is written by an American Author.  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee or Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain are two examples of novels that are considered great American works.  Current critics agree that most novels exploring LDS themes written by active Latter Day Saints have not qualified as “Great American Novels.”
This paper analyzes the reasons Mr. Johnston gave when contending that there will never be “great” Mormon literature written by active Latter Day Saints.  Mr. Johnston is correct that active LDS members tend to promote their religion and gloss over controversial topics.  However, there’s a growing community of devout LDS people who are more willing to write, read and explore the “gray spaces” of the LDS religion with intent to illuminate rather than destroy the Church.   Great literature comes from the minds of inquisitive thinkers who delve into topics that have no clear answer.  Could the first great Mormon novel come from this community of LDS people who are examining the LDS faith, including the nebulous areas, with the intent to better understand who we are as a religion?  

I've been doing a lot of reading for the paper (yes, I even read "The Gospel According to Twilight" which is written by a Methodist, not a Mormon)and asked Jerry Johnston a series of questions.  He replied back to me today so his response will be incorporated in the paper.

Anyway, this is the "personal" project that I'm tackling and will be presenting my findings to individuals who know much more than I do about the subject next month.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Itching

I woke up yesterday with a rash on my leg.  I checked the bite when I arrived to work and noticed that it was oozing but didn't think much of it.  However, a little later I examined the leg a little more closely and marked the leg and went up to CVS to get a bottle of Benadryl Cream because the rash itched and burned.  Anyway, yesterday evening, I asked Kelli for some Benadryl and she asked to see the rash.  I showed her and found myself at Urgent Care a few minutes later.  Urgent Care had closed but the PA there told us to go to the 24 hour clinic or the ER last night.  We ended up at Kelli's ER and luckily left after about a hour with an antibiotic and outpatient instructions.  Turns out I the rash is actually infected and it's cellulitis.  The leg looks much better today, but it's even more sore, achy and hurts to walk on today so I stayed home from work.  I'm sure I'll be to work tomorrow.  

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Bus Stop

Monday evening I happened to be at the Pentagon Bus Terminal at the end of rush hour.  I had about 20 minutes until my bus came so I sat down to read a book* for the paper I'm currently writing.  As I was reading, I noticed a handsome black man trying to catch my eye.  I looked up at him and smiled.  He came over to me and asked what I was reading and then asked for the book.  I gave it to him.  His first question to me was, "are you Mormon?" I said yes.  His face immediately turned angry and disapproving.  I thought, "oh crap, he's been reading all the crazy stuff Randy Botts said in the Washington Post."  He asked me, "Why are you Mormon?" I immediately asked him what faith he was, but that didn't diffuse him.  He asked me again.  I answered him but he didn't like my answer.  He then asked me again and I answered.  At this point, my bus came and I asked for my book back because I didn't want it to end in the trash and I wanted to finish it.
As soon as I sat down on the bus, a gentleman engaged me in conversation (not that it matters, but he was black too).  He wanted to know what the other man said to me.  I told him the story and he shook his head, "Muslims, Mormons and Jews. People get so riled up over you."  He then told me to keep my head up and be proud of what I believed in and other words of encouragement.
Anyway, I've had similar things happen in the past, but never had a stranger give me a verbal pat of encouragement.  I found myself half-way wishing I was reading the book on my Kindle though.




Friday, March 9, 2012

Hiatus

I'm back.  Between a "personal" project I took on recently, a crazy deadline at work and the trees deciding to pollinate 3 weeks early, I haven't had a chance to update my blog.  I will tell you all about the "personal" project in my next post, but in the meantime, have you had a chance to watch the "penguin cam"?  Seriously.  Discovery Channel and Sea World San Diego set up a live penguin cam in the penguin exhibit.  Sounds lame, but just watch.  300+ penguins are hilarious..and noisy.




Free live streaming by Ustream

Thursday, March 1, 2012

I Had Forgotten He was a Jockey.


Davy Jones at age 19 Auditioning for the Monkees.

RIP Davy Jones.