The following letter will be sent to all past Irreantum subscribers. Of course, the incentives described below will apply to anybody who chooses to subscribe. So don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Subscribe!!

Dear Friends of Irreantum,

Irreantum’s Spring/Fall 2009 Anniversary Double Issue will soon be released. As we celebrate Irreantum’s tenth year, we’re offering special incentives for all subscribers—past, present, and future.

The upcoming issue is one of Irreantum’s best yet, including fiction by Orson Scott Card, essays by Terryl Givens and Patrick Madden, poetry by Holly Welker, and photography by Val Brinkerhoff. You won’t want to miss it! (See a complete table of contents at the end of this message.)

This issue celebrates another milestone as well: having caught up with past issues, Irreantum now pledges to deliver Spring and Fall issues in a timely manner. Change, and even tragedy, has challenged Irreantum’s short history—including the death of our editor and dear friend Laraine Wilkins. Delays have resulted. But with this issue we’re officially back on track.

As a thanks to those who’ve stayed with us, the double issue will count as a single issue for current subscribers. If your subscription was due to end with the Fall 2009 issue, you’ll now receive a Spring 2010 issue before your subscription lapses. You’ll also receive another bonus: a complimentary copy The Best of Mormonism, courtesy of Curelom Books, the book publishing arm of Sunstone. This collection, which includes the best writing by, for, or about Mormons from 2007-2008, is packed with award-winning work from several national publications—including fiction, personal essays, book chapters, poetry, and a play. (A table of contents of The Best of Mormonism also can be found at the end of this message.)

A special offer for new subscribers and those whose subscriptions have lapsed: if you purchase a one-year subscription to Irreantum in the month of November 2009, you will receive Irreantum’s Fall 2009 Anniversary Double Issue, The Best of Mormonism, and next year’s Spring 2010 issue, edited by our new co-editor, Jack Harrell.

Irreantum is at a crossroads. Subscription rates have declined. If the numbers don’t improve, the magazine’s viability may be at risk. No matter how dedicated our staff, how excellent our contributors, Irreantum cannot continue without the support of paying subscribers. Please take this opportunity to renew your subscription. Pass this message along to friends and encourage others to subscribe. Or buy Irreantum subscriptions as Christmas gifts. The $25 one-year subscription to Irreantum includes membership in the Association for Mormon Letters, a non-profit organization advancing Mormon literature since 1976. To subscribe, please visit http://irreantum.mormonletters.org/subscribe. Your subscription will help ensure Irreantum’s survival and deliver the best in Mormon literature to your door.

Sincerely,
Angela Hallstrom
Jack Harrell
co-editors, Irreantum

Irreantum Spring/Fall 2009 Double Issue Table of Contents:

Fiction:

Orson Scott Card “The Elephants of Poznan”
Darin Cozzens “The Treading of Lesser Cattle”
Larry Menlove “Path of Antelope, Pelican, and Moon”
Charmayne Gubler Warnock “Nightshade”
Joshua Foster “Cheddar”

Critical Essays:

Terryl Givens “Paradox and Discipleship”
Jack Harrell “Human Conflict and the Mormon Writer”
Eric Samuelsen “The Association for Mormon Letters: Toward a Mission, Minus the Statement”

Poetry:

Doug Talley “Overcoming the World,” “Caelestia,” “Finding Place”
Paul Swenson “Behind the Mask,” “Traces of Laraine”
Holly Welker “Barren,” “Creation”
Michael R. Collings “Contrition,” “Damon Again”

Creative Nonfiction:

Jaren Watson “Of the Drowned”
Ryan McIlvain “Confessions of a Secular Mormon”
Patrick Madden “The Path of Redemption”

Reviews:

Patricia Karamesines, “No Better Off: Amy Irvine’s Trespass: Living at the Edge of the Promised Land”
Phyllis Barber “Big Love Before Big Love: Dorothy Allred Solomon’s In My Father’s House: A Memoir of Polygamy”
Laura Hilton Craner “A Mother Must Leave Behind Her Illusions: Kathryn Lynard Soper’s The Year My Son and I Were Born”
Heidi Hart “Fierce Voices: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History”

Best of Mormonism by Curelom Books Table of Contents:

Neil Aitken. TRAVELING THROUGH THE PRAIRIES, I THINK OF MY FATHER’S VOICE
FROM The Lost Country of Sight

Brittney Carman. BELIEVING OWL, SEEING OWL
FROM Black Warrior Review

Johnna Benson Cornett. GATHER
FROM Segullah

Darin Cozzens. REAP IN MERCY
FROM Irreantum

Lisa Torcasso Downing. CLOTHING ESTHER
FROM Sunstone

Joshua Foster. GOD DAMNED THE LAND BUT LIFTED THE PEOPLE; OR, A REDEMPTION IN THREE LEVITATIONS
FROM South Loop Review

James Goldberg, PRODIGAL SON
FROM New Play Project

Angela Hallstrom. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
FROM Bound on Earth

Lance Larsen. A FEELING IN YOUR HEAD
FROM Iowa Review

Patrick Madden. A SUDDEN PULL BEHIND THE HEART
FROM The Best Creative Nonfiction, vol 2

Scott Russell Morris. NOTHING IN PARTICULAR
FROM Prick of the Spindle

Kathryn Lynard Soper. SOLITAIRE
FROM The Year My Son and I Were Born

Emily Summerhays. HOW THE PRAYERS RAN DRY
FROM Sunstone

Lynda MacKey Wilson. WE WHO OWE EVERYTHING TO A NAME
FROM BYU Studies

Darlene Young. PATRIARCHAL BLESSING
FROM Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought

The Association for Mormon Letters is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Irreantum fiction contest. A committee of judges considered 71 entries and awarded three cash prizes.

First place ($250): “A Confession,” by Lisa Rubilar of Niskayuna, New York

Second place ($175): “Abominations,” by Heather Halcrow of Orem, Utah

Third place ($100): “When We Remembered Zion,” by Thom Duncan of Sandy, Utah

Next year’s fiction contest will be announced in early 2010. With no official connection to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Irreantum fiction contest is supported by the Utah Arts Council, with funding from the State of Utah and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Irreantum 2009 Charlotte and Eugene England Personal Essay Contest Winners

The Association for Mormon Letters is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Charlotte and Eugene England Personal Essay contest. A committee of judges considered 42 entries and awarded three cash prizes as well as two honorable mentions.

First place ($200): “Mornings and Nights,” by Melissa Inouye of Costa Mesa, California

Second place ($150): “Reluctant Saints,” by Alison Stone Roberg of Bridgewater, New Jersy

Third place ($100): “Garden of Dead,” by Catherine Curtis of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Honorable mentions were given to “Blue,” by Stephen Carter of Lyman, Wyoming and “The Missionary,” by Stephen David Grover of Sugarland, Texas.

Next year’s personal essay contest will be announced in early 2010. With no official connection to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Charlotte and Eugene England Personal Essay Contest is funded through the estate of Eugene England.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Dear Irreantum Subscribers (and soon-to-be Irreantum subscribers):

There are some changes taking place at Irreantum that we wanted you to be aware of. But first, the Spring 2009 issue of Irreantum is due to ship soon. If you haven’t yet renewed your subscription (or if you have yet to subscribe) please visit http://irreantum.mormonletters.org/. During difficult economic times, print magazines need all the support they can get, and you don’t want to miss some of the excellent content in our upcoming issue.

Also, don’t forget our upcoming fiction and creative nonfiction contests. The deadline is May 31, 2009. Visit our contest page for more information.

This Spring 2009 issue will represent the last issue edited by Scott Hatch, who’s been heading up the magazine for the past two years. Due to a number of pressing academic and artistic pursuits, Scott has decided to step down from his position as co-editor of Irreantum. Scott’s artistic vision and commitment to Mormon letters has had an invaluable influence on Irreantum as a journal and on Mormon literature in general. We are very grateful for the time and talent he so willingly gave. Scott will be missed.

Our poetry editor, Michael Collings, is also stepping down. Michael is a very talented writer and editor who has done excellent work on Irreantum over the years. We wish him all the best and thank him for his many valuable contributions.

We are pleased to announce that Jack Harrell has agreed to sign on as Irreantum’s new co-editor. Jack will edit the Spring issue of the journal (beginning Spring 2010), and I will edit the Fall issue. Jim Richards has also agreed to join our staff as poetry editor.

Here’s a little more about both Jack and Jim:

Jack Harrell is a native of southeastern Illinois and a convert to the Church. He first heard of AML as an undergraduate, taking English classes from Eugene England in the early 1990’s. He holds an M.A. in English from Illinois State University, and a PhD in Education from the University of Idaho. He has published a novel, Vernal Promises, and short stories and essays in Irreantum, Dialogue, and the journal Popular Music and Society. Jack has been on the faculty of BYU-Idaho (Ricks College) since 1995. He and his wife Cindy have three children, Anjanette, Daniel, and Jessica.

Jim Richards teaches literature and creative writing at BYU-Idaho. He completed a PhD in literature and creative writing at the University of Houston in 2003. He has served as poetry editor of Meridian Magazine (online) and as a staff editor at Gulf Coast. His poems have appeared in The Texas Review, Perspective, Literature and Belief, and BYU Studies. He lives in Rexburg with his wife, Debbie, and their four sons.

I am confident that Jack and Jim will bring loads of talent and energy to Irreantum and I’m looking forward to working with both of them. This change ensures that Irreantum has plenty of fresh energy and new talent to keep us moving in a positive direction. Our Fall issue will be another double issue, and we will then be up-to-date and on track for delivering the best creative and critical work in Mormon letters—consistently, reliably, and on time! Please support us by submitting and subscribing, and telling your friends. You can also join our new Irreantum Facebook page (and tell your friends about that, too) at and receive updates, links, and other Irreantum news.

Your subscriptions and submissions will help ensure that Irreantum survives and thrives. Thank you for your support!

Best,
Angela Hallstrom
co-editor, Irreantum

IRREANTUM FICTION CONTEST

Any unpublished fictional form up to 8500 words will be considered, including short stories and excerpts from novels. The first-place author will be awarded $250, second-place $175, and third-place $100 (unless judges determine that no entries are of sufficient quality to merit awards).

With no official connection to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Irreantum and the Irreantum Fiction Contest are supported by a grant from the Utah Arts Council.

CHARLOTTE AND EUGENE ENGLAND ESSAY CONTEST

Unpublished personal essays up to 5000 words will be considered. The first-place author will be awarded $200, second-place $150, and third-place $100 (unless judges determine that no entries are of sufficient quality to merit awards).

The Charlotte and Eugene England Personal Essay Contest is funded through the estate of Eugene England.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Because Irreantum is a literary journal dedicated to exploring Mormon culture, essays and stories must relate to the Mormon experience in some way. Authors need not be LDS. Individuals may enter a maximum of two essays and two stories. Irreantum staff and members of the AML board are not eligible.

Deadline: Sat., May 30, 2009

Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Please email your entry as an MS Word, WordPerfect, or RTF file attachment to contest@mormonletters.org.

In the subject line, please write “2009 Personal Essay Contest” OR “2009 Fiction Contest.” Include your name, the title of your submission, and your contact information, including address and phone number, in the body of the email.

To facilitate blind judging, no identifying information should appear in the essay itself other than the title of the manuscript, which should appear as a header on each page.

Winners will be posted Irreantum’s website on Monday, August 31, 2009.

If my unabashed begging and bragging hasn’t enticed you, perhaps the table of contents will:

Fiction

Jack Harrell: “Calling and Election”
Wayne Jorgensen: “This Afternoon”
Darin Cozzens: “Reap in Mercy”
Arianne Cope: “Salt Water”
William Morris: “Speculations: Trees”
Kristin Carson: “Gypsy Holiday”
Mark Brown: “Cause”

Critical Essays

Elizabeth Busby: “Going Mainstream: Chaim Potok as a Model for Mormon Literature”
Kylie Nielson Turley: “Wrestling with LDS Motherhood: Josephine Spencer’s Feminist Evolution”

Poetry

Hart Wegner: Leaving; Towers
Darlene Young: Postpartum; How Long
Nani Lii Furse: To Anne Katrine, Ancestor
Tyler Chadwick: Two Poems on Fatherhood; Watching the Sunrise in St. George, Utah; Four Month Rosary
Mark Bennion: Dear Father, Love Abish; Swollen; Coronation Plea

From the Archives

Josephine Spencer: “Little Mother”

Creative Nonfiction

Emily Milner: “Beauty for Ashes”
Darren M. Edwards: “Psalm of a Heretic”

Reviews

Joel Lee: “The Land Eternal: Warren Hatch’s Mapping the Bones of the World“
Doug Gibson: “Hedges and Edges in a Genre-Based Market: Christopher Bigelow’s Kindred Spirits and Eugene Woodbury’s The Path of Dreams“
David G. Pace: “Coffee with Levi Peterson: Levi Peterson’s A Rascal by Nature, a Christian by Yearning“
Lynn Pederson: “A Balance of the Large and Small: Lance Larsen’s In All Their Animal Brilliance“

Art by Maralise Petersen

This issue excites me for lots of reasons. There’s the beautiful, provocative, insightful fiction by some of our very best LDS writers, including Bruce (aka Wayne) Jorgensen, Darin Cozzens, and Jack Harrell. There’s Elizabeth Busby’s incisive essay about Mormon artists’ particular affinity for Chaim Potok, and Kylie Nelson Turley’s exploration of an obscure (and stunning) feminist short story by Josephine Spencer. The story, “Little Mother,” has been reprinted in our “From the Archives” section, and I’m honored that Irreantum is publishing what I believe to be important, but largely forgotten, example of early Mormon literature. Add to this a bunch of great poetry and personal essays and reviews, some beautiful photography by Maralise Peterson, and what do you have? An issue you’ll want to have in your personal library.

Hope you like it.

On the face of it, none of these topics seems particularly “uplifting.” In fact, many of them are downright dark. But as I’ve read and reread the stories and essays and poems contained in this issue, I’ve found myself inspired, even spiritually fed. As I contemplated why such difficult topics can engender such seemingly contradictory responses, I began to fashion my editorial on the idea of communion, compassion, and charity in literature.

So before you read the editorial, I’ll pose my question:

It seems to me that Mormon theology can (or should) equip us as Mormon artists to create work that engenders and promotes charity. But are we doing this? If we are, where do you see it? If we aren’t, at least not very effectively or consistently . . . why? (I have my own ideas about this, but I want to hear yours first.)

***

What does your character want?

This is a question any writer of stories must be able to answer. At the core of every good piece of fiction or creative nonfiction—even, I would argue, at the core of every good poem—lies an unfulfilled yearning. Sometimes this yearning expresses itself in grand adventure. There are dragons to slay and mountains to scale. But often a character’s desires are circumscribed by the boundaries of the personal; there’s a longing for love, independence, faith, renewal, understanding. In the hands of a skillful writer, a character with these private yearnings can be just as potent and compelling as any sword-wielding hero.

This issue of Irreantum is full of heroes and heroines, and each one of them, in turn, is full of desire. The details of what is wanted change from story to story, but it seems to me the impetus for each character’s journey is essentially the same: the people in these pages want communion.

The sacred overtones of the word “communion” are appropriate for a journal like Irreantum. After all, this magazine attempts to bind two impulses—the artistic and the religious. But I see the broader definition of communion working somehow in every piece published in this issue. I sense the longing for intimate connectedness, the desire to be stripped of pretense, the need to be seen, to be heard, to be known.

I understand these characters’ desires. My own search for communion has led me, time and time again, to other people’s stories. To literature. The best characters—be they found in fiction or nonfiction—are those who let me know them. This intimacy not only helps me better understand those who live outside my personal and cultural boundaries, but I believe it helps me know myself better too.

In the contributors’ notes for Best American Short Stories 2007, the author Richard Russo posits that transformative literary experiences can help tear down the walls we humans erect around ourselves. He says:

The study of literature has had what I believe to be a salutary effect on my own character, making me less self-conscious and vain, more empathic and imaginative, maybe even kinder. Perhaps it’s an oversimplification, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to wonder if maybe this is what reading all those great books is really for—to engender and promote charity. Sure, literature entertains and instructs, but to what end, if not compassion? (409)

The idea that we create art as a way to encourage charity is a heavy one to contemplate. But it rings true to me. As a Mormon, I believe each individual on earth is a hero in his or her own epic, extraordinary, eternal journey. Each life on this planet is but a chapter in a decidedly character-driven story. As I try to see the world and the people in it more clearly, every story I know broadens the scope of my vision. I agree with Russo: my acquaintance with literature helps me live with compassion.

As readers come to the stories and essays and poems in Irreantum’s pages, it is my hope they will get a sense of the communion I believe the best art offers us. Perhaps some will see themselves in these characters’ yearnings and, in that recognition, gain a measure of power, or peace. Is this a lofty goal? I suppose. But if there’s any kind of literature that can “engender and promote charity,” I believe a Mormon literature can.