Levi S. Peterson
Encyclopedia
Levi Savage Peterson is a Mormon
biographer, essayist and fictionist whose best-known works include the seminal biography of Juanita Brooks
, his own autobiography and his novel The Backslider, "standard for the contemporary Mormon novel". He was born and reared in the Mormon
community of Snowflake, Arizona
and is an emeritus professor of English at Weber State University
. He edited Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
from 2004 to 2008.
His work as a writer centers in "the possibility of wrong behavior"; his works "variously examine the tension between Sainthood as fact and Sainthood as aspiration, between belief and doubt, and between expected blessings and the traumas of reality." Similarly, he taught his writing students to "Write from the other side of your inhibitions".
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
biographer, essayist and fictionist whose best-known works include the seminal biography of Juanita Brooks
Juanita Brooks
Juanita Pulsipher Brooks was an American historian and author, specializing in the American West and Mormon history, including books related to the Mountain Meadows massacre, to which her ancestor Dudley Leavitt was sometimes linked.-Biography:Born Juanita Leone Leavitt, Brooks was born and raised...
, his own autobiography and his novel The Backslider, "standard for the contemporary Mormon novel". He was born and reared in the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
community of Snowflake, Arizona
Snowflake, Arizona
Snowflake is a town in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It was founded in 1878 by Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake, Mormon pioneers and colonizers. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 4,958....
and is an emeritus professor of English at Weber State University
Weber State University
Weber State University is a public university located in the city of Ogden in Weber County, Utah, USA. It was founded in 1889 and is a coeducational, publicly supported university offering professional, liberal arts and technical certificates, as well as associate, bachelor's and master's degrees...
. He edited Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal of "Mormon thought" that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement....
from 2004 to 2008.
His work as a writer centers in "the possibility of wrong behavior"; his works "variously examine the tension between Sainthood as fact and Sainthood as aspiration, between belief and doubt, and between expected blessings and the traumas of reality." Similarly, he taught his writing students to "Write from the other side of your inhibitions".
Partial bibliography
- The Canyons of Grace: Stories (1982)
- Greening Wheat: Fifteen Mormon Short Stories (1983)
- The Backslider (1986)
- Juanita Brooks: Mormon Woman Historian (1988) ISBN 978-1-60781-151-0
- Aspen Marooney (1995)
- A Rascal by Nature, A Christian by Yearning: A Mormon Autobiography (2006) ISBN 978-0-87480-851-3