The AML Conference at BYU Hawaii last weekend was a wonderful experience. There appeared to be nearly 100 attendees, including a healthy number of people from both the islands and “overseas”. A number of high quality papers were presented, and the keynote speeches, from BYU Hawaii President John Tanner (how great to have such a literary-minded university president!) and Terryl and Fiona Givens were inspirational. We were thrilled to present the AML Awards, and honor the careers of Phyllis Barber and Don Marshall. The film presentations of Freetown and The National Parks music video were wonderful ways to cap off the evenings. BYU Hawaii was very generous as a host, providing rooms and tech support, paying for the Givens’ travel costs, and providing meals that went far beyond the $50 registration fee. We should defiantly have our meeting in Hawaii again soon in the coming years.
An ad hoc planning committee, made up of Joe Plicka, Trevor Alvord, Scott Hales, Andrew Hall, Sheldon Lawrence, and Margaret Blair Young, met for a business meeting on Saturday, and discussed the next steps for the organization. Here are some points we discussed. Nothing is set yet, but we want to get a conversation started.
1. We would like to have the next major AML conference in the Rexburg area. We were impressed by the participation of BYU-Idaho people this weekend, and would like to do more to link together the various communities. There are some good possibilities of facilities we could use. Having it away from the Wasatch Front was seen by some as a good idea, since there are so many writer/literary events on the Wasatch Front already. Having a writer’s conference as part of the event was also discussed.
Considering the time it takes to plan an event like this, we thought we should hold it in late Spring (probably May) 2018.
In 2017, we could have another Utah mini-conference, similar to the 2015 conference held at the Orem Library. Something that would have less academic papers, more informal debates and discussion panels, readings, and the awards. Maybe at BYU-Salt Lake, UVU, or the Orem Library again. Another option is to go ahead and do a full conference in the Rexburg area in 2017.
2. We need to reorganize the leadership. Joe Plicka has served for two years, it is time to pass it on. We would like to reinstitute a full board, including a president, 2017 mini-conference chair, 2018 conference chair, treasurer, awards chair (Andrew is willing to do it again), literary journal editor, journal assistant editor, writers’ conference chair (if we decide to do that), website editor (Jonathan is willing to turn over his duties to someone else if there is a taker), maybe a secretary, and several at-large board members. Scott Hales has said he is willing to be involved in organizing a Utah Mini-Conference in 2017. The board can meet online, through teleconference and email. We would like to have a new president and board ready for a leadership change by September.
3, We would like to revive a literary magazine, like Irreantum. Joe Plicka said he is will lead “an exploratory committee” on the subject, with the possibility of becoming the first editor. It would probably be an on-line magazine only. He has worked on the BYU Hawaii student magazine, so has experience, and some students that could be involved. He would like it to include a wider variety of content then the generally traditional-literary-journal nature of the previous Irreantum. Trevor Alvord talked about different servers and platforms that could be used. He could be the main tech person for the magazine. Joe and others talked about finding a new name for the journal, replacing Irreantum, which was seen as a bit obscure. It is nice to have that connection with the previous journal, but it is not like it is irreplaceable. Wm Morris’ series of essays on replacing Irreantum should be required reading for those involved in reviving the journal.
4. The journal would require some cashflow to keep up the server, etc. The website server also costs a small amount of money. How can we raise money for the organization? Grants, charitable patrons, fundraising drives, corporate sponsorship, and Kickstarter are possible routes to go. Speaking of which, there are currently two AML accounts, one in Utah run by Glenn Gordon, and another in Hawaii run by Joe. The next treasurer will need to unify the two into one. The money currently in the accounts will probably run out this summer.
What do you think about our ideas for conferences and a magazine? Would you be willing to serve on the board, probably for a two-year term? Is there any particular position you would like to fill?
(We sent this out a few days ago as an email to several people, and have gotten great feedback. We are posting it to the blog to open the discussion up to the wider community.)
I would love to assist with planning a Utah mini-conference, writers’ conference, or help out on the journal. Really, I’d love to help out in any capacity!
Thanks RuthAnne! We are gathering the names of people volunteering. Could you send me your contact information? At mormonlit@gmail.com . Thank you.
Hey, that’s my sunrise pic! I accept royalties via check or paypal.
Yes, thanks to you and Emily for the pictures. All the profits from this post will go to you!
I like the idea of a writers conference or even AML sponsored writing retreat (could be a hybrid). It would be fun to have a place to workshop and discuss craft. It could be run in conjunction with the conference or independently.
If one of our goals is to promote literary scholarship, I think a high priority would be to try to revive the Proceedings volume as a potential peer-reviewed publication–presumably online as this would help keep down costs. I’d be willing to help with that, but probably could not take the lead.
I have also volunteered to help with developing a contact database (probably in spreadsheet form) of Mormon literary scholars, using existing contact databases from AML and/or Mormon Scholars in the Humanities. Note that I don’t actually have access to either of these existing databases, so the first step would be to obtain that access…
Personally, I think there is value in sticking with the Irreantum brand, with the observation that literary journal titles often tend to be obscure, so why not? Also, I would add that for much of its history, Irreantum was broader in its publication focus, narrowing in on a more purely literary only under its last few editors. A broader editorial crew might help both to (a) diversify the journal, and (b) prevent burnout.
If there is an AML contact database, I don’t know about it. We have the contacts of those who participated in the conference, and there are the names on the emails I have sent out. Probably the business managers of Irrenatum had some kind of subscriber list. Anglela Hallstrom, Jack Harrell, and Josh Allen were the last editors.
Any or (ideally) all of the above would be a place to start.
Has there been any sharing of lists with the Mormon Scholars in the Humanities group, as far as you know?
The enthusiasm for bringing back Irreantum has been surprisingly strong. Having never been directly involved with the journal myself, I am of course open to all the wisdom and advice of those who have gone before. I’m trying to figure out the history and gauge the present possibilities . . .
As many of you know, this is a lot of work. Many hands can lighten it, but the whole process can be fraught with financial concerns, disagreements over editorial vision, the unrelenting publishing schedule, etc. Right now, I’m thinking we start small. An annual publication. Digital only, until we secure funding for something else. Maybe we eventually go to twice a year, with a rotating editorship. The key position for any digital journal is webmaster, really. If you have someone plugged in there, the rest can fall into place. Unfortunately, I have no expertise on the digital design/layout side of things.
What are people’s feelings on a Kickstarter or some other type of fundraising endeavor? At some point, the money will matter. If anyone knows of potential grants for the arts, I am willing to look down that road.
Joe,
It would be cool to have a finished, well designed issue each year. One drawback could be the drop in interest in the long interval. Another model might be something like what River Teeth Journal does with their beautiful things column, a piecemeal publish as you go thing. The fun thing about that was the quick turn around from submission to publication. Also, it could be shared via social media. If writers are sharing their recently published pieces in Irreantum on fb and other places it keeps the brand visible and alive throughout the year.
On the other hand, if you choose the once a year model, maybe submissions could be fueled by a contest as in the past, but publishing seconds, thirds, and honorable mentions to fill out the issue. Just a couple thoughts…