Category Archives: The Populist’s Soapbox

Searching for a Markus Zusak of Our Own

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Jessie Christensen

Today over at Motley Vision, William posted an excerpt from an Ensign article about LDS literature published in 1981 by Richard Cracroft. This sentence in particular caught my eye: Many of the sweetest messages of life are subtle, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mormon LitCrit, The Populist's Soapbox | Tagged , | 25 Comments

Whitney Finalists 2012: Initial Thoughts

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Jessie Christensen

In case you haven’t heard, the finalists for the 2012 Whitney Awards were announced last Friday. Over at Segullah, Emily has already posted some of her thoughts about the finalists, so I thought I’d post a few of my initial … Continue reading →

Posted in Mormon LitCrit, The Populist's Soapbox | Tagged | 18 Comments

All Those Books I Haven’t Read

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Jessie Christensen

It’s that time of year again: ‘best books of 2012’ lists are popping up on every blog, website, magazine, and newspaper I read. December, January, and February are months for reflections, compilations and awards, and yet for me they often … Continue reading →

Posted in The Populist's Soapbox | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

Windmill Variations: In Defense of Message-Driven Fiction

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Scott Parkin

I suspect inopportune literalism is the primary limiting factor in my confusion as to why good fiction must not, dare not, shall not contain a message. I read the books that others tell me are “good” and I see messages aplenty, and more often than not I see aggressive arguments for particular viewpoints. Scout may pretend to be unformed and open-minded, but “To Kill A Mockingbird” leaves no doubts about what the author believes are better (and lesser) moral conclusions through her voice. Continue reading →

Posted in Community Voices, Storytelling and Community, The Populist's Soapbox, The Writer's Desk | Tagged | 3 Comments

Is Contemporary Literary Fiction any Fun?

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Josh Allen

I try to read a lot of contemporary literary fiction. Students in my creative writing classes know why. How, I often ask them, do you plan to enter a literary conversation if you haven’t been paying attention to that conversation? … Continue reading →

Posted in The Populist's Soapbox | Tagged | 13 Comments

Fantasy and Reality

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Julie Wright

Tracy Hickman, a writer I greatly admire, wrote an interesting blog the other day about the new TV series Once Upon a Time. He gave a brief synopsis of the story that went like this: “It is about an Evil … Continue reading →

Posted in The Populist's Soapbox | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Best and Worst

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Julie Wright

We used to play a game at my house called Best Part of the Day (I know. We’re brilliant with titles, aren’t we?). It was where everyone went around the table and shared the best part of their day. Sometimes, … Continue reading →

Posted in The Populist's Soapbox | 10 Comments

Dear Author . . .

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Julie Wright

I spent a bit of time perusing the Dear Author for the romance category boards over on Amazon. It was hilarious . . . until it wasn’t. I’m in the process of editing one of my earlier manuscripts that I have … Continue reading →

Posted in The Populist's Soapbox | 11 Comments

Signs

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Julie Wright

In college, there was a patch of lawn on campus surrounded by signs insisting the students keep off the grass. While walking to class one day with a friend of mine (majoring in accounting), he veered to the left, obeying … Continue reading →

Posted in The Populist's Soapbox, The Writer's Desk | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Vilify Me

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Julie Wright

In a book I finished several months ago, I had an epiphany about villains. They don’t think they’re villains. The evil cheerleader who picks on the ugly girl with glasses? She doesn’t think she’s evil. Maybe she’s picking on the … Continue reading →

Posted in The Populist's Soapbox | 3 Comments