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That Smiley Fella, Hit by a Bus
My Mother, a Living Legend
I Have No Tears, And I Must Cry
Proper Romances
A Couple of Bands You Should Know
SUMA: The House That Jimmie Built
Celestial Navigation
The Carl Arrington Archive
Virtually Me
K Dawn
K Dawn Follows
Benjamin Taylor
I enjoyed reading Benjamin Taylor’s recent article on prominent video game composers in the greater LDS community. Not only was it a fascinating introduction to a creative world that is increasingly relevant, but it went a long way toward demonstrating the continuity between more traditional forms of art music and the art that is so apparent in these immersive and entertaining digital worlds. As a teacher of younger composers, it’s increasingly clear to me why so many of them are entranced by this music.
Ethan Wickman
San Antonio, Texas
The Chosen
Glen Nelson's piece on "The Chosen" (Nov. 17) beautifully lays out how the "scripture Jesus" vs. "cool Jesus" debate isn't just an argument about reverence and propriety but about the reach and relevance of theology in contemporary life. Every encounter with scripture involves some creative licence, even if it's just on the part of our mind's eye. Any storyteller attempting to capture an infinite Divinity accepts inevitable sins of editorial commission and omission. (Personally, for example, I think any rendering of Jesus that doesn't portray him as funny, at least sometimes, is historically suspect, not to mention boring.)
But more importantly, any portrayal that limits the bounds of his mercy is, in my mind, far more blasphemous than a bit of anachronistic slang. Nelson's juxtaposed imagery of Jesus on the cross and Matthew Shepard on the barbed-wire fence is not only emotionally wrenching, but, to Book of Mormon readers, scripturally accurate: Alma 7 tells us outright that Golgotha and Gethsemane weren't just transactions of suffering for sin, but voluntary exercises in radical empathy. We believe in a Jesus who took upon himself our infirmities "according to the flesh," i.e., first-hand, so that he could know, first-hand, how to help us through our suffering. The cross only matters if the fence matters too.
Nelson's piece also brought to mind the moment in Levi Peterson's The Backslider when Jesus appears to eponymous ranch hand Frank Windham in the form of an irreverent cowboy--because that's the only way Frank could be convinced he was redeemable. What's more blasphemous: imagining Jesus in a cowboy hat, or imagining a Jesus that would never deign to put one on?
Jeremy Grimshaw
Ted Bushman
Ted Bushman is a composer and writer currently based in the Hudson Valley. He is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, and his fiction has been published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Metaphorosis, and Inscape.
Ena Fowles
Ena Fowles enjoys volunteering for worthwhile organizations–a favorite being the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. She lives in New York City where she and her husband had the good fortune to raise their children.
Gabriel González
Gabriel González has worked as a translator, interpreter, lawyer, language teacher, and sports commentator. He is now a college professor.
Megan Eckersley
Megan Eckersley is a graphic designer based out of New York City and has worked with clients like Squarespace. She is currently at Square as a Brand Designer.
Glen Nelson
Glen Nelson is a bookbinder with approximately 500 volumes to his credit. In 1999 he created Mormon Artists Group, which produced 29 original projects–most of them limited edition books–with some 85 LDS artists.
Blake Loosli
Blake Loosli is an illustrator/designer at Blake Loosli Illustration. He lives in West Jordan, Utah.
Jessica Nelson
Jessica Nelson is a full-time student at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah, majoring in Spanish with a minor in Music. She also works front desk at the St. George Art Museum.
Joël René Scoville
Joël René Scoville is an actress, writer, and lyricist. Her work includes musicals, an upcoming comic book, and her web series, Crazy with a K! She is a member of the prestigious BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop as both a librettist and lyricist. She lives in Spanish Harlem, NY with her husband and they have three sons.
Kwani Povi Winder
Kwani Povi Winder is an oil painter based in Utah and an enrolled member of the Santa Clara Pueblo. She's an inspired mother, pianist, hiker, camper, who loves reading, painting and living life.
