With Annie Lighthart
Perhaps we shouldn’t find Jane Austen’s novels as fascinating as we do: people from another era sit quietly and talk. They politely drink tea. Characters take uneventful walks to neighboring towns. Yet the tensions, passions, and histories in that world of small gestures make the novels of Austen complex, astute, and, in a word, irresistible. This study group will look at four of Austen’s enduring novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion. We’ll consider the questions Austen’s work raises, especially her recurring and timely inquiry into whether the heart and mind stand a chance in a world dominated by status and money.
We’ll meet four Saturdays from 10:00 to 1:00: September 10th, October 8th, November 12th, and December 10th. Participants are asked to read one novel per session and join in a relaxed and friendly discussion. Since Austen’s characters valued good conversation over tea or a meal, we will too: please feel free to bring your lunch or pick up a cup of tea at the TaborSpace café.
Whether you are new to Austen’s work or a long-time fan, a reader looking to immerse herself in another world or a writer hoping to gain new insights from a past master, this study group welcomes you.
The group will meet in the ArtSpace room at TaborSpace (5441 SE Belmont) where there is ample parking and a bus that stops right outside the front door. https://taborspace.org.
The fee is $60; scholarship are available. The group is limited to 15. To register, send an email to [email protected], and a check made out to Soapstone, 622 SE 29th Avenue, Portland, OR 97214.
Annie Lighthart is a writer, teacher, and the author of the poetry collection Iron String. Her work has been read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer’s Almanac and chosen by Naomi Shihab Nye to be placed in Ireland’s Galway University Hospitals as part of their Poems for Patience project. She has taught at Boston College, with Portland’s Mountain Writers, and with community groups of all ages.