Exmo Arts-n-Lit Roundup!

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1. Update: Speaking of Torn by God, Mormon Lit blog A Motley Vision has just posted an interview with the author.

   In other news, The Sunstone Blog has opened a cafe press shop for all you Sunstone Mormons out there! 😀

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2. I think you’ve covered most of the ones I’ve heard of…thanks for compiling this list.

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3. No problem!

   I’ve actually found a couple more that I’d missed!

   Visual Arts: Pixelfish (whose blog I’ve cited in my weekly roundup a few times) has started an art blog, including graphic arts tutorials in addition to displaying her own work.

   Then just have a look at the paintings of Dayle Ann Stratton! Her blog doesn’t appear to say much (if anything) about Mormonism, but here’s some of what she wrote in a comment on my blog:

   I’m also ex-mo, all the way back on the white side. I like to say “Born, raised, escaped, no thank you” whenever the little boys in blue suits come to my door. It is SO wierd that I now actually live in the same state that Joe Smith and Brig Young were born in. No wonder they were so… unique.

   And there’s more. My mother’s great grandmother was a black woman who was 4th wife (of 7) to one of the early polygamists. This was apparently back in the days when they decided to “brighten” up the race by intermarriage, since converting them didn’t work exactly the way Joe claimed and they stayed stubbornly black.

   In our family, the story of our African ancestry (that’s how it was referred to) was passed down female to female, never to the boys, and we were warned to be careful who we told “because most people won’t understand”. My mother knew black history and culture and talked to me about it a lot. My brothers have no recollection.

   On top of that. my primary cultural identity is Navajo on my dad’s side. The brown mormons, though just about everyone except one aunt dropped out after a couple of generations.

   Those are the folks I learned the truth from about the mormons– we were a large, extended family and it was a kick to hear all those older folks badmouthing and laughing about the mormons. Except the one aunt, whose proud accomplishment in life was to have lots of kids grandkids and spend all her retirement money on missions. I imagine as a result, she is well-ensconced as co-goddess on her very own planet now (polygamy goes back into effect after you die, according to current mo dogma).

   Technically, I’m not an apostate because I refused to be baptized, which created a huge scene at the baptism thing. They made me sit there behind the curtain in those stupid white clothes because they wouldn’t believe me when I said I didn’t want to be baptized. When they came to get me, I literally dug my heels in and started screaming. Smartest thing I ever did. (This whole thing was my aunt’s idea, and I never forgave her for it.

   So now here I am, an escapee from mormon culture, mixed blood Navajo/Euro/African, practicing Buddhist, living in a small village where people don’t much care one way or the other, and everybody knows everyone else and how they are connected. A lot of my Euro ancestors were here from when NE was first settled by English, so I actually have relatives here. They don’t hug out here, though, which is the part I can’t get used to.

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4. It ain’t great literature, but the website Moron Church of Latter-day Saints is a site attempting to bring lightmindedness to those looking for it.

   The site is new, and will soon be soliciting submissions from others.

   http://www.moronchurch.com/main

   Also, I have been corresponding privately with an individual who has been writing some PostMo, ExMo short fiction. I think that can have a cathartic function. Does anyone know if there is already a site dedicated to short fiction by and for PostMo/ExMo folks?

   Best wishes.

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5. Andrew — sorry it took so long to fish your comment out of the spam bin. (I don’t check it very often because Akismet is usually pretty good at identifying non-spam as non-spam).

   Thanks for the link — I’ll add your site to our list.

   There is no site that is specifically dedicated to PostMo/ExMo short fiction (or at least not one that is large and active). The closest thing is this site right here (Main Street Plaza) and my personal blog.

   Please have your friend email me: chanson dot exmormon at gmail dot com. I might be able to help find a good place to publish the stories (online) and/or offer other assistance.

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6. hi chanson – just heard about this – it’s not fiction but exit stories. leaving the fold book.

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7. Thanks for the link! I’d heard of this book before, but I’d forgotten the title.

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8. Pingback: Calling all ex-mormons: the Great Mormon Novel? | Main Street Plaza

9. Have a work in progress, a novel with the working title “A Lost Argument”. Should be finished in another month or two … 🙂

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10. Therese — Sounds interesting!

    Keep in mind that there really aren’t many resources out there for exmo lit (unlike faithful mo lit which has its own publishing industry, distribution network, etc.), so there’s no straight-forward path to publication. Personally, I write reviews of exmo lit works and I try to network together what resources exist. Email me: chanson dot exmormon at gmail dot com

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