2009  AML Award: Humor

Presented to:
Elna Baker

For:
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance

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Humor is serious business. The word wit derives from the Old High German wizzan, through the Old English witan which means “to know.” Wit and wisdom come from the same root; to have wit is to have knowledge. In The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance, Elna Baker’s wit enlightens us about the world of Mormon singles, but also shows us the world of a young Mormon woman trying to live in two worlds simultaneously: the world of her Mormon upbringing and the world of New York City. Whether dressed as a queen bee doing the macarena or salvaging a fortune-cookie costume gone awry, Elna Baker keeps returning to the New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance to find her prince charming. But what happens when her prince turns out to be a non-Mormon atheist? Baker’s memoir is a galloping romp through one impossibly hilarious moment to another, all the while giving us new knowledge about the conflicts of being divided between two worlds. The Association for Mormon Letters is proud to award Elna Baker the 2009 Award for Humor.

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