An exploration of the ideological inconsistencies in the directing of Kurt Hale’s The Singles Ward.

(Note: This work is strictly a critical commentary on the film The Singles Ward. No consideration was taken for aspects outside of the work itself, and anything read as such is unintentional.)
In part one of this series, [...]

The art you create may relegate you to the margins of our community of faith. Church discipline seems very unlikely in most cases. Perhaps more likely: getting labeled as an “alternative voice”

Children and young adult lit author Rick Walton gave the plenary address at this year’s conference.  Rick is a funny guy.  He’s very straight-faced and physically still, even when giving a plenary address, but when he talks the words fly fast, laden with both humor and urgency. 

In the July 1977 issue of Ensign, President Kimball said:
We are proud of the artistic heritage that the Church has brought to us from its earliest beginnings, but the full story of Mormonism has never yet been written nor painted nor sculpted nor spoken.  It remains for inspired hearts and talented fingers yet to reveal [...]

So father of Mormon cinema Richard Dutcher has gone public with his disaffection from the LDS church and the Mormon audience. And, of course, godfather of Mormon cinema Kieth Merrill can’t help but respond. This repeats pretty much the re-enacts the same drama as last fall when Dutcher and Chris Heimerdinger got into it. I’ll [...]

In this post, I’d like to briefly outline what I see as the major problems with a currently popular style in LDS visual arts, a style that I’ve nicknamed “sunset in Arcadia.” This post will concentrate on the aesthetic aspect – what works and doesn’t work in creating relevant Latter-day Saint art. In a future [...]

Mahonri, Shawn, Katherine (William’s sister, head of the AML’s BYU student chapter, and newly appointed AML board member) and I made it to the 2007 AML conference this year, where we attended sessions on Mormon folklore, film, literature, and critical theory, and got to know each other a little better.  It was fun; I look forward to doing it again.  [...]

From the Association of Mormon Letters:
“AML’s 2007 annual meeting and conference will be held from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm in the Computer Science Building at Utah Valley State College.
The conference will feature papers and panels on many aspects of Mormon literature. This year’s focus is on Children and Young Adult fiction, and our featured [...]

When my friend and mentor Leslie Norris died on April 6, 2006, I was unable to attend his funeral or participate in Irreantum’s “Readers Write” feature addressing the topic, ”Leslie Norris Among the Mormons.”  With this post I’m making up for lost time.  It runs long, and I beg your indulgence, dear reader. 
If we pay any attention at all to where we’re going and to [...]