Don’t miss the first Jane Austen Summer Program — held on UNC’s campus June 27-30, 2013!

Organized by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's Department of English and Comparative Literature in conjunction with the Program in the Humanities, this four-day summer program celebrates the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice.

Learning experiences include lecture formats and discussion groups daily. Discussions will focus on Pride and Prejudice in its historical context as well as its many afterlives in fiction and film.

Additional events include a Regency ball, the chance to partake in an English tea, a silent auction of Austen-related items, and the opportunity to view special exhibits tailored to the conference.

The Austen Summer Program is designed to appeal to established scholars, high school teachers, graduate students, and undergraduate students — anyone with a passion for all things Austen is welcome to attend!

TO REGISTER: register at our secure site at https://hhv.oasis.unc.edu/ or visit http://humanities.unc.edu/programs/jasp/ to learn more about the program.

Here are some in memoriam messages from JASNA members, sharing personal memories of Anna Quillan, a longtime JASNA member who recently passed away. If you would like to contribute more personal memories of Anna, please click the add comment link at the bottom of this post to share your thoughts.

~ Anna was the greatest. ~

~ I send my heart-felt condolences to the family. Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting Anna Quillan, the shared love of Jane Austen shows me that she is an exceptional person. ~

~ I was so sorry to hear of this sad news. I do remember Ana languishing on our sofa here at home as Lady Bertram when we had a dress as your favorite character. ~

~ Oh, such sad news. I will miss her sense of humor so very much... Such a loss to our group.
Our thoughts are with her family who must miss her a great deal. She was always such a delight to me.
I remember one of our conversations went something like this: 
Robin:  "So Anna, I heard you attended the AGM up in Vancouver... "
Anna:  "I did. I couldn't tell you a thing about it, but I know I went."
(You see, she knew her memory was slipping, and she just went along with how things 
were going to be as she got older. She seemed a little amused by it all!) ~

We just received the news that our long-time friend and life-time Janite, Anna Quillan, has passed away. Anna's family asked that information about the funeral service be forwarded to JASNA chapter members who may wish to attend. Because Anna was the chapter secretary for many years, many of you will remember her enthusiasm and wonderful sense of humor.

Anna's service will be this Friday, May 24, at 1:00 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (147 NW 19th Avenue, Portland). A church parking lot is across the street.  The link to Google Maps is here at http://goo.gl/maps/bIXKK.

The 2013 AGM's theme celebrates 200 years of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice . . . Timeless. The event will take place in Minneapolis, September 27-29, 2013. For more info, check out the AGM website here at http://www.jasna.org/agms/minneapolis/index.html.

Registration will begin at the end of May, and if you're signed up to receive JASNA emails, you will be sent another announcement at that time. You will be able to register online or by post.

Even though AGM registration has not yet begun, the conference hotel is accepting room reservations now. You may either call the Hilton Minneapolis or register online using a special reservation web page set up for JASNA. A link to the reservation site is posted on the AGM Hotel webpage at http://www.jasna.org/agms/minneapolis/hotel.html.

There is also a special email address just for 2013 AGM questions, jasna2013agm@gmail.com.

Sixty people attended our May 12, Mother’s Day Program at the Holy Names Heritage Center in Lake Oswego! Mothers and daughters, friends and family members, and several students from nearby universities filled the hall. The venue was vibrant with potted herbs, hand embroidered tablecloths, and Pride and Prejudice memorabilia decorating each table. Members provided a sumptuous potluck luncheon with entrees to please any palate. Vintage tea cups and a decadent dessert bar added to the festive atmosphere. 

Thanks to the generosity of JASNA National, our chapter was able to fly Dr. Lynda Hall up from Chapman University in Orange, California. Her presentation was intelligent and humorous -- the perfect recipe for an enjoyable afternoon. Dr. Hall spoke about marriages in Jane Austen’s time, focusing on Charlotte Lucas Collins and her willingness to sacrifice her intrinsic value for a marriage which provided her with economic security and little else. She was also kind enough to tell us about her week spent with screenwriter Andrew Davies, and to provide us with some interesting tidbits about Colin Firth. She was joined by her parents from the Oregon Coast, and was grateful to be able to spend Mother’s Day with her mother!

~ Kim Higgins, Regional Coordinator

JASNA is now on Facebook!

Please “Like” the page (suggest your members “Like” the page) to follow JASNA announcements and events, including:

• Details about AGM 2013
  
• Call for Papers – AGM 2014
  
• Announcements re: Regional Events
  
• What’s new on the JASNA.org website
  
• 91 followers in the last 24 hrs; get on board!
  

If you have a Facebook account, join up at the following URL:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Austen-Society-of-North-America/285332054855712

There's a recent, fascinating article about Jane Austen and game theory in the New York Times. In a new book, Jane Austen, Game Theorist, political science professor Michael Chwe argues that:

"Austen isn’t merely fodder for game-theoretical analysis, but an unacknowledged founder of the discipline itself: a kind of Empire-waisted version of the mathematician and cold war thinker John von Neumann, ruthlessly breaking down the stratagems of 18th-century social warfare."

Read more of the article by clicking here, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/books/michael-chwe-author-sees-jane-austen-as-game-theorist.html

Here's a link to the Huffington Post blog post and slideshow, "Pride and Prejudice and Kitties," written by the book's authors Debbie Guyol and Pamela Jane:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-jane-/pride-and-prejudice-and-k_b_3102990.html
 
Also, a reminder that Debbie will be presenting on PPK at Broadway Books in NE Portland on May 7 at 7:00 pm, for any interested eastsiders or others.