Benson Young Parkinson (born 1960) is a Latter-day Saint novelist, literary critic, and biographer. He has published two novels concerning fictional LDS missionaries, entitled The MTC: Set Apart and Into the Field, as well as a biography of S. Dilworth Young, an LDS general authority. In the mid-1990s he became involved in the Association for Mormon Letters (AML), primarily by creating an email forum for the discussion of LDS literature called AML-List, for which he was awarded the 2000 AML Award for Criticism. Parkinson then co-founded the literary journal Irreantum and served as co-editor for a year. His criticism of LDS literature has been featured in multiple publications. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University.

Personal life

Parkinson was born in Provo, Utah. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France. In 1985 he graduated from Brigham Young University^[1] with a degree in Comparative Literature.^[2] He and his wife Robin are the parents of five children and live in Ogden, Utah.^[3]

Career

Writing

Parkinson's novel The MTC: Set Apart was published by Aspen Books in 1995.^[4] It follows four new LDS missionaries as they enter the Missionary Training Center. Robert M. Hogge praised the "rich language, symbolism, ... and allusion" present in The MTC,^[5] but writer Brian Evensen called the novel's characters stereotypical and the dialogue "hackneyed and predictable."^[4] Parkinson continued the missionaries' story with 2000's Into the Field, which follows the four young men as they travel to France. In a review in Irreantum, Neal Kramer commended the realistic nature of the novel, saying: "I wondered whether I was reading a novel or a memoir. I had to shake myself a little to remember I was reading LDS fiction."^[6] Parkinson has also published a biography of his grandfather S. Dilworth Young, a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, entitled S. Dilworth Young: General Authority, Scouter, Poet.^[3] The author presented this work at the AML's symposium that year.^[7] In a review for the Journal of Mormon History, Gary Huxford called the biography "a good read that deserves a wide audience," citing Parkinson's inexperience as a biographer as both a strength and a weakness to the work overall.^[8] In 1996, Parkinson hosted a session at the Fourth Annual LDS Writers Conference entitled "How to Sell Your LDS Novel."^[9]

In addition to full-length books, Parkinson has written reviews and articles about Latter-day Saint fiction, many of which have been published in issues of Irreantum.^[10][11] The 1998 edition of AML Annual featured his essay "Electric Talk: Twenty Months of AML-List."^[12] "The Deseret School and the Missionary School," Parkinson's take on the different approaches to LDS writing, was published in the first volume of Irreantum in 1999.^[10] In addition to publishing such essays, Parkinson worked as an editor for the Church Educational System in the early 2000s.^[3]

The Association for Mormon Letters

Beginning in the mid-1990s, Parkinson was an active participant in the Association for Mormon Letters (AML). In 1995, he created AML-List, an email forum for the discussion of LDS literature sponsored by the association.^[13] He also served as moderator^[14] until the year 2000.^[15] The forum received an average of 30 posts per day,^[16] which included reviews of various LDS films and books. Over time, AML-List received more than 1000 entries from users.^[17] Parkinson wanted to facilitate an energetic environment that would allow people with different interests to share their opinions. During this time, he also worked on AML-List Magazine, which showcased authors' works online.^[2] Parkinson won the 2000 AML Award for Criticism for his work on AML-List: including establishing the forum, moderating it, editing thousands of posts, and creating regular columns of literary news and reviews.^[18]

Then, in 1999,^[19] he co-founded the literary magazine Irreantum with Chris Bigelow. The publication featured some content first produced on AML-List^[20] as well as "original fiction, poetry, essays, reviews, interviews, and literary news."^[2] Parkinson and Bigelow were Irreantum's first co-editors, with Parkinson serving as the first reader of submissions and collaborator with the editing staff. Similar to his goal of inclusivity for AML-List, Parkinson wanted the magazine "to give broad coverage and support to every sort of Mormon literature and to promote all kinds."^[2] During this time he also served as an ex officio board member of the AML.^[11] He ended his time as co-editor after the Summer 2000 issue.^[21]