Persuasions #9, 1987                                                                                                                                            Pages 5-6

 

President’s Letter

 

“… In another week I shall be at home – & then, my having been at Godmersham will seem like a Dream …  But in the meantime for Elegance & Ease & Luxury … I shall eat Ice & drink French wine, & be above vulgar Economy.  Luckily the pleasures of Friendship, of unreserved Conversation, of similarity of Taste & Opinions, will make good amends …”

 

“… the pleasures of Friendship …  When you join JASNA you connect with a ready made network of friends bound together by a common cord, a love of Jane Austen.

Would-be members write us, “I have taught Jane Austen’s novels for twenty years,” or “I have read Pride and Prejudice every summer for thirty-seven years,” or “I have championed Fanny Price since I was 17 in 1945.”    May I join the Society?

Yes! Yes, you may join!  A love of Jane Austen is the principal qualification most of us offer when we join.  The network of so many others who feel the way we do about Jane Austen’s novels is more than just a plus, it’s one of the chief benefits of belonging to JASNA.  In fact, the JASNA connection has united whole circles of new friends in states and towns and cities, in neighbourhoods, on blocks and in buildings, making friends of strangers.

All to enjoy the new-found pleasures “… of unreserved Conversation …” about JA’s novels and letters and life.  And to have the fun and comfort of quoting freely and at length and being understood, whether the context is the letters or the novels or a new biography.

All can enjoy.  Bookkeepers, lawyers, housewives, academics, social workers, scholars join the unreserved, and write of the “marvellous blending of seriousness, enthusiasm, and fun” they find at our meetings, whether local or international, and the “fascinating, lively people” whose “knowledge isn’t fluff – it’s solid and discerning.” More than one scholar-academic has celebrated the contributions made to Jane Austen scholarship by non-academics.

We get some of our best anecdotes from our professor-colleagues.  One had a startling revelation at the end of his recent JA seminar.  He wrote, “One senior told me that she broke her engagement because Jane Austen taught her what to look for in a man and her fiancé didn’t measure up!”  Whether she’s waiting for a Mr. Knightley or a Mr. Darcy, who can say, but we can say it is a decision Janeites understand!

“… of similarity of Taste & Opinions …”  Of taste in novels and opinions of the world’s most entertaining novelist – on these points JASNA members agree.

Now is the time to claim your “pleasures of Friendship,” “unreserved Conversation” and “similarity of Taste & Opinions.”  Now is the time to renew your interest in the Society and in your Region.  Now is the time to renew your JASNA membership.

Your JASNA dues are a bargain, bringing you Persuasions, two issues of JASNA news, “Quips & Quotes,” an invitation to the annual conference, notices of new books about Jane Austen, and a lively network of Jane Austen friends!

Be “above vulgar Economy.”  Join “the best” company, “… the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation …”

 

Lorraine Hanaway

 

 


Signed souvenir program of the Court Dance Company performance
.

 

 

 

Memorabilia

 

Two desirable items from the registration package (itself a veritable Christmas stocking for the Janeite) are available for separate purchase: “Lost in the Post: Letters Missing from Lady Susan” (additional letters composed by ingenious JASNA members), “Four Pieces from Jane Austen’s Juvenilia.”  Price $2.50 each (US funds only, please), from J. David Grey, 400 West 43rd Street (Apt. 44-M), New York, NY 10009.

 

 

 

Study Jane Austen in Bath, England

March 30 to April 3, 1989

 

Details from Dr. Rowena Fowler, Department of Extra-Mural Studies, The University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 IHR, England.

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