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Dear JASNA Members, We will take a brief vote at the May 12th program and meeting (invitation to follow) to approve changes to our bylaws. I am required to send you the proposed changes at least 30 days prior to voting. I have attached a bylaws document for you to review (see below). The proposed additions (to board position duties) are highlighted in green, and the deletions ate highlighted in red. We will also be adding a second treasurer to the executive board. Members not attending the May meeting will not be involved in this decision. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me (see Contacts page for email). Kim Higgins, Regional Coordinator  Searchable title on Amazon.com For our January 13 meeting, let's pretend we're putting together the ultimate condensed version of Jane's letters. We don't need to include all the stuff about Mrs. H. visiting and the cost of muslin or meat; we do want witty comments on balls, marriages, children, literature (including JA's own), etc. There are also references to family dramas and deaths. We can use entire letters if warranted, but in most cases snippets will be enough. Let's see what we can create!
Feel free to read all the letters and select the bits from each you think merit a place in JANE'S GREATEST HITS, but we've gone through them for you and picked out the ones we find the most entertaining or interesting or productive of excellent quotes. The numbers refer to the Deirdre Le Faye collection of Jane Austen's Letters (3rd edition, 1997). 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24, 27, 34, 36, 41, 45, 50, 59, 60, 61, 62, 66, 68D, 68(A), 71, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 85, 86, 89, 90, 94, 103, 104, 107, 108, 109, 113, 114, 118, 129, 132(D), 138(D), 146, 148, 151, 153, 155, 158. Happy New Year and Happy Reading! Debbie Guyol and Bill Boyd  It is almost time for our January regular meeting! We will commence discussion on January 13th at 1pm at the home of Alexandra Guerra. Our discussion leaders will be Deb Guyol and Bill Boyd. The topic will be Jane Austen's letters ... more soon with details about the topic. Please let Alex know if you are able to attend.
See you next Sunday! For texts of Jane Austen's letters (Brabourne edition), please visit http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/brablets.html. For the reading group discussion schedule and more events this year, please see our 2013 Events page.
 Hello all you JASNA OR/SW Washington Fans!
Our next JASNA meeting will be Sunday, September 9th at 1pm, and it will be at Alexandra Guerra's home in Tigard (see our 2012 Events page). Our topic is "Sex, Money and Power or The Top Three Deadly Sins in the Regency!" Susan Schwartz and Janet Rohrbaugh will be our discussion leaders. Please RSVP (see our Contacts page). Below are the details to RSVP with Alex as well as some discussion questions to ponder before our meeting. "There is, undoubtedly, more liberality and candour on these points than previously." ~Mansfield Park We will break out into four smaller discussion groups. Here are some possible questions for you to consider in each topic: 1. (Sex) Do you think there is sex in Jane Austen? Of what kind? How does gender influence sexual behavior? How does Jane Austen distinguish between licentious behavior and appropriate love? 2. (Money) What is Austen saying about the inter-relationship between love and money? How does money influence the lovers in each of the novels? How does the lack of money change the behavior of characters in the novels? Is there a meaningful difference between inherited wealth vs. naval prize money vs. money made in trade in the novels? 3. (Power) In what ways do men and women have and use different kinds of power? How is power related to gender and relationships? In what ways are wealth and power inter-related? 4. (Regency) Was the Regency an era of sexual freedom? Were the relationships between men and women changing during the Regency? What was happening to the social structure and economics during the Regency? Were there changes in the political power structure in the Regency? What do we see in Jane Austen's own family and her novels reflecting the changes in society? After the breakout sessions we will set up a panel of four representatives (one from each group) to summerize their group's discussion and answer other questions. Here is a bibliography of sources for this discussion:
 There's still time to RSVP for the upcoming July reading group meeting this Sunday, July 8 @ 1pm.
Some last-minute reminders:
Also, we will be showcasing our new website at the meeting! The first annual JASNA New Member Meeting was held this Sunday, April 15th, at the home of Marva Wiebe. Twelve members were welcomed to this event. Our new members are an erudite bunch, and each came to appreciate Austen's works at a different time in her life. We enjoyed a lively discussion, as well as sharing our backgrounds, travel plans, and recommending Austen-related novels new on the market. Marva served a sumptuous tea, and shared with us her new treasure, a rosewood tea caddy over two hundred years old!
The purpose of the meeting was to welcome the new members, hear their stories, and to have a low-key discussion about Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice. The new members generated discussion topics, asked questions, and shared insights about Austen's most popular novel. Using the original title of the novel, First Impressions, we were able to focus on more than just Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and to discuss our first impressions of a variety of characters, and how those impressions changed. One wonders if Jane Austen was as quick to judge people and situations in her early years as Elizabeth Bennet, and who the people were who taught her that things aren't always what they seem. Kim Higgins |
