by Scott Hales (bio)
Recently, I sent Mormon novelist, filmmaker, and blogger Margaret Blair Young a list of questions about her current projects with Darius Gray--a revision of their Standing on the Promises novel
series and the feature film The Heart of Africa--as well
as her own work as a creative writer and president of the Association for Mormon Letters. Kindly,
Margaret took time away from her busy schedule to answer them for me.
I've split the Q&A into two parts. Answers to the
questions relating to Standing on the Promises and The
Heart of Africa are featured here on Modern Mormon Men. Margaret's thoughts on her work, Mormon literature, and the Association for Mormon Letters are featured on A Motley Vision.
Scott Hales: The original Standing
on the Promises trilogy was published a decade ago—which doesn’t seem
that long ago to me. Why did you and Darius choose to revise and expand them
now?
Margaret Blair Young: We have realized that Mormons aren't
our main audience. We learned that LDS readers, those who frequent
Deseret Book, are looking more for a feel-good book than for the hard (but
inspiring) history we tell. So we have revised for greater accuracy, to
include new information, and to go about marketing not only to the
LDS audience but to a wider one.
SH: You originally published
the trilogy through Bookcraft, an imprint of Deseret Book. Why did you switch
to Zarahemla Books for the new editions?
MBY: We have freedom to direct our
publicity with Zarahemla, and far more freedom to get our books into places
where people are yearning for new information. Black LDS history is
American history which few know about. We consistently find that our
black audiences are very receptive to our work. They are not threatened
at all by it but grateful to learn the stories.
SH: Zarahemla Books is known
for publishing “unorthodox but not apostate Mormon fiction.” Did that branding
affect your approach to the new editions? Did publishing through Zarahemla
Books allow you, in other words, to tell your stories in a way that you were
unable to do under the Bookcraft label?
MBY: Honestly, we were looking for a press
which would work well with us, treat us respectfully and with full honesty, and
be with us to get our stories out. We're able to direct things in a more
hands-on way with Zarahemla than elsewhere. The realization that these
stories matter more outside the Mormon belt than within it is a big
impetus for us. Of course we'll market within Utah, but we have a much bigger
vision which goes beyond the LDS bookstores on the Wasatch Front.
MBY: Jane's story shows us that Joseph
Smith treated Nauvoo's citizens of color well, which matters in the re-framing
of the LDS experience within a global context. However, we tend to tell
the first part of her story, not the whole thing. Even in the Joseph
Smith film, Jane's faith is subsumed by Joseph's story. He wraps her
bloody feet in the mansion house. Actually, Jane's report says that the
Mannings prayed for God to heal their feet, and their feet "were healed
forthwith." She adds that they afterwards went on their way
"singing, rejoicing and praising God for healing our feet." As we go
with Jane to Salt Lake, the priesthood restriction becomes a sad reality for
her as she petitions time and again for temple blessings. She is
permitted to do baptisms for her "kindred dead," but is never allowed
to go into the temple for her endowments. Even when she is sealed as a
servant to Joseph Smith, it's done by proxy, Bathsheba Smith representing
her. But amidst such trials, we need to look at how she chose to end
her own life story. Despite her deferred dreams and unanswered prayers,
she closes her story (which she instructed should be read at her funeral) by
bearing her testimony, and proclaiming it "strong, nay if possible
stronger than it was the day [she] was first baptized."
SH: What has been the
response to Standing on the Promises over the past ten years?
How do you hope readers will respond to the new editions?
MBY: Book one did well. It tells the
first parts of the black pioneers' stories, during the Church's early
years. Sales for book two dropped dramatically compared to the first
book. We cover the priesthood restriction in that second book, as well as
the lynching of Sam Joe Harvey--a tragic event which Elijah Abel himself tried
to prevent. For whatever reason, publicity for the third book dropped off
dramatically. In fact, a $20,000 film project intended to advertise our
series was summarily dropped by Deseret Book after it was filmed. We
still don't know the full story about that, and I doubt we will. Nonetheless, we made the best of a bad situation and turned the footage into a
short documentary Jane James: Your Sister in the Gospel. There are still people who don't know that the third book was ever
published. It is the most historically accurate of all three, because we
had thorough records as we wrote it. We are eager to market the trilogy
as a set, which we were not able to do previously. We aim to debut the set at the
Mormon History Association conference on June 7th (my birthday).
SH: The earliest black
character I know of in Mormon fiction is a character named Louisiana Liz, the
murderous “octoroon paramour” of a sleazy army captain in Susa Young
Gates’ John Stevens’ Courtship (1909). Obviously, I think your
novels prove that Mormon fiction has made some significant progress in the way
it depicts people of color. At the same time, however, I think Mormon fiction
remains a relatively white subgenre of American fiction. Do you see that
changing anytime soon? Are you aware of any other Mormon writers who are
telling stories about African-American Mormons, or Mormons in international
settings? I mean, beyond missionary stories?
MBY: We've just had two books about Elijah
Abel come out, though they're more of a scholarly type. Mormon fiction is
indeed very white. My primary goal as the president of the Association
for Mormon Letters is to make our organization an international one, in which
we learn about and showcase authors/artists from other countries. It's slow and rather tedious work, but we do know of a Latter-day Saint
playwright in Zambia who wrote a number of plays before his death. I
intend to get my hands on those and do whatever is necessary to get them
produced. My own future projects will definitely go to Guatemala, where
I've spent a lot of time, and to China and Russia, where my parents lived for
years. I wish I knew of others besides myself. Well, Tom Rogers comes
to mind. I am certain we'll find out about others.
SH: Tell me about your
current project, the feature film The Heart of Africa.
MBY: We are excited about it! Because
I wrote to a bunch of DR-Congo missionaries from the MTC branch my husband and
I were in, I got to experience about a dozen missions--including those of some
African nationals. One of the Congolese missionaries had been a
revolutionary before his conversion. The scenario of a Congolese man
trained to hate all emblems of Colonialism, including Anglos, and a naive kid
from Idaho serving together before either has recognized the depth of his
prejudice, intrigued me. We intend to make it a compelling piece of
cinema with all sorts of anthropological significance. We will honor the
dialects, music, and dress of the Congolese throughout the movie. We will
also have leadership roles filled by Blacks--in clear contrast to the
common model of white missionaries leading the Africans. We invite anyone
interested to visit our website: www.heartofafricafilm.com.
SH: I notice that one of your
protagonists is named Elder Price, a name he shares with the missionary
in The Book of Mormon musical. I assume this was deliberate? Should
we understand The Heart of Africa as your response to The
Book of Mormon?
MBY: Oh yes. In fact, I think Parker
and Stone should give us some money for furthering the discussion. Frankly, the launch we get from The Book of Mormon will be
part of our publicity.
SH: Unlike your first film,
the documentary Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons, The
Heart of Africa tells a fictional story. What are the advantages of
fiction?
MBY: Fiction can get at truth more directly
than non-fiction. In good fiction, we don't need to deal with false
memory or various agendas (including self-vindication) interfering
with the narrative. A good screenwriter will build characters the
audience will love, and provide believable conflict. A good film will
linger with the audience for hours or days after the closing titles have
finished. We hope our audiences will have the Congolese song "Nzambi
Wetu" playing in their heads for hours, and that they'll want that song in
future hymnbooks.
SH: In your opinion, how
does The Heart of Africa dovetail with Standing on the
Promises?
SH: What should we expect
from Margaret Blair Young after Standing on the Promises and The
Heart of Africa?
MBY: Expect a novel about an old man who is
certain he will not go to the Celestial Kingdom because of secrets he has kept,
and his compassionate, gay son who arranges for him to confess to a bishop--and
then, after the old man's death, goes about uncovering the secrets.
Expect a film set in Guatemala done in
Spanish and Cakchiquel (Mayan dialect) which will honor the life of Pablo Choc,
one of my heroes.
Expect Darius and me to continue
working together until one of us dies.
