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Scott Parkin has penned a fabulous new review of Monsters and Mormons. At first I intended to lift a quotation here are there to convince you that our book’s worth reading, but I chopped out so many pieces you might as well read the whole article. So here’s just one. Click on it to visit a pdf of the whole.
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Tyler Chadwick, of course, is the editor of the Peculiar Pages volume Fire in the Pasture.
The Association for Mormon Letters has just, mere moments ago at their annual awards luncheon, given “Award for Excellence in Anthological Editing.”
It could not be more deserved. If you haven’t read it yet, buy your copy today.
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Also awarded today was Mike Allred for his body of work. He’s one of the greats. And he’s also, recall, the guy who said this:
Isn’t it incredible that existence even exists? So much is taken for granted, right? For anyone that ever wanted to crack open their consciousness to what might be beyond the beyond, MORMONS &MONSTERS could be the read for you.
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Perhaps other friends of Peculiar Pages were rewarded today? Haven’t heard yet. Excited to.
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. . . the Latter-day Saints are a minority with a vibrant subculture which has an inherent value, just like any other minority. The interesting thing about the Mormons as a minority is that the defining characteristic of the people is not ethnicity, language or place, and that the faith is the only binding factor that this global group has – yet it is strong enough to form an identity and a sense of community or of united group.
In such a varied collection, it is difficult to pick favourites, but I definitely enjoyed the approach of “something strange or horrifying invades the every-day” rather than the imagines worlds of tomorrow (or yesterday): “Other Duties” by Nathan Shumate tells of a bishop whose ward has a special calling: to battle demons; “Charity Never Faileth” by Jaleta Clegg is a story of the carelessness with which some Mormon women treat the unique opportunities to care for and serve one another, and the monstrous consequences that carelessness can have – and Green Jell-O of course; “The World” by Danny Nelson is possibly the most delightful description of the insides of a contemporary Mormon’s head; and “The Eye Opener” by Brian Gibson -which is really close to being my very favourite – tells of what goes on during a prayer, that strange time when no one is looking up . . . .
Come read the latest review—and the first by a Finn—in full at Elftown.
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If you are in Utah Valley, head on down to UVU and check out Life, the Universe & Everything. Always a blast, natch, this year will be even better with a Monster & Mormons session led by none other than Nathan Shumate and featuring Dan Wells! Eric James Stone! Jaleta Clegg! Steven Peck! and possibility of a couple surprises on the side.
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This Saturday at Claremont Graduate University, Sunstone West, a small tidier Sunstone Symposium, will feature panels about two Peculiar Pages book. (Note that times and participants are subject to clarification.)
The first, Monsters & Mormons, accomplished with the help of A Motley Vision and the most fun currently available in print. Participating authors Erik Peterson (“Bichos”) and Brian Gibson (“The Eye Opener”) will be talking about their works as well as reading their own and others’ stories. Responding to their presentation will be Patrick Q. Mason, the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies and Associate Professor of North American Religion at Claremont, and the author of The Mormon Menace: Violence and Anti-Mormonism in the Postbellum South (Oxford University Press, 2011).
Also featured are several poets from Fire in the Pasture. Featuring editor, poet, and AMV-contributor Tyler Chadwick discussing a Javen Tanner poem, and, in a separate session, readings from Tyler, Neil Aitkin, Karen Kelsay, Elisa Pulido, Laura Stott, Holly Welker, and, we hope, more.
Sunstone West is always great fun and you’ll want to catch other panels and presentations while you’re there.
Come to L.A.!
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Mike, as I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, is one of modern comics’s great talents—possibly a genius—and, wait for it, he’s a Mormon. This is his spifftacular take on our latest tome.
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Isn’t it incredible that existence even exists? So much is taken for granted, right? For anyone that ever wanted to crack open their consciousness to what might be beyond the beyond, MORMONS &MONSTERS could be the read for you.
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Galen was awarded Orycon’s Directors Choice award for Best Horror in the Art Show. We’re very excited for her. And in celebration, how about a snippet from her Monsters & Mormons work (script by John Remy)?
