Jane Austen Society of North America,

Southwest Region

On Saturday, February 24, 2024 JASNA Southwest invited current JASNA president Mary Mintz to speak on “Jane Austen in American Periodicals: The First One Hundred Years” at Los Angeles City College (LACC). The event was attended by 72 enthusiastic Southwest members who enjoyed a delicious continental breakfast while shopping at the White Elephant table and Emporium booths with friends. Afterward, our very own former JASNA president, Claire Bellanti warmly welcomed our honored guest. 

Mary Mintz, a lovely soft spoken woman with a charming southern accent delivered an engaging and at times lively discussion with an air of ease and enchanting informality to make one feel right at home. Her research focused on American periodicals between 1740 and 1940. Prior to the creation of a searchable digital library this area of study remained largely unexplored due to the enormity of the task. Aside from access to a major library with a large collection of periodicals one would have had to either physically search each periodical, without an index for guidance, or use the microfilm or microfiche collection. 

The first mention of Jane Austen in an American periodical was in The Museum of Literature, Science and Art (April 1834, vol 24, Issue 142, page 395.) Early criticism of Austen focused on “non-specific, emotional, and meaningless” content like “didacticism, morality and setting an exemplar of modesty and propriety” while also demanding more emotional intensity. Maurice Thompson’s particular critique of Austen’s novels as “tweedle-dee-diddle” elicited a lively response, including a few hisses, from the audience. Sarah Jane Lippincott, an advocate for women’s education, rebutted Thompson’s opinion and enaged in a “back and forth in print” with him in Austen’s defense.

It was William Dean Howells who in 1900 changed Austen criticism in American periodicals when he focused his “Heroines of Nineteenth- Century Fiction” series on Austen. Howells’ critical focus was on the novels themselves, examining them critically by discussing characters, plots, and themes. He was not concerned with propreity and morals. Mary Mintz presented a wonderful discussion full of insights into early American interest in Austen and her novels.  

The discussion was followed by “Jane Austen: Who Said it?”, a fun and challenging quiz put together for the event by Nancy Gallagher. Many of the quotes were featured in the discussion and a race to identify who said them all ensued. Afterward, opportunity basket winners were selected and a lovely day was had by all. 

April 20 - 21, 2024 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Saturday & Sunday at USC

LOS ANGELES TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS AT USC

JASNA Southwest will celebrate our 12th year of participation at the Los Angeles

Times Festival of Books on the campus of USC, taking part in the largest book

festival in the nation. In 2023 over 3,300 attendees visited our large booth over the

two-day weekend. We will once again offer Austen-related books and merchandise

for sale.

Please consider volunteering at our booth — it’s a wonderful opportunity to

engage with other Austen enthusiasts. We seek help in setting up the booth,

greeting visitors, handing out information ‘postcards’ and selling books and

merchandise. Each shift is only 2 hours long. Please feel free to enjoy the festival before and after your shift. It’s always a tremendously rewarding experience to participate as a

volunteer. Every year some of our volunteers dress in Regency attire which sparks

interest, so volunteers please feel free to do so if you wish.

Concerned about what to talk about with festival attendees? We will be holding a ZOOM session prior to the event to provide talking points and to share ideas. Bring your ideas and stories.

Don’t own any Regency attire? We got you! We can provide resources to help you start your wardrobe.

Please contact jasnasw.fob@gmail.com for further information.

Full-Day In-Person Regional Meeting at

The Japanese American National Museum

100 N. Central Avenue

Los Angeles, Ca 90012

Registration Coming March 2024!

Speakers

Dr. Inger S. B. Brodey

”Making Sense of Sensibility”

Inger Brodey will discuss how this pan-European aesthetic movement shaped Austen’s writings throughout her life. This talk will focus on Love and Friendship, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion.

Dr. Peter Graham

”Byron: A Man of Mobility”

Peter Graham will examine Lord Byron’s view of sensibility in exploring human feelings and behavior. This talk will draw on Byron’s life, letters, and poems, especially his mock epic masterpiece Don Juan to tease out some of the intertwined traits of Byronic mobilité.

Karen Tei Yamashita

”Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro and Jane Austen’s Sensibility”

Karen Tei Yamashita will present a short story/essay written for this subject and occasion.

JASNA Southwest has planned a full-day in-person meeting on May 4, 2024 on the theme of The Culture of Sensibility in which we will return to the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. The event will begin at 9:00am with a buffet continental breakfast, includes buffet lunch and concludes at 3:30pm.

Presenter Biographies

Inger S. B. Brodey is an award-winning professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she teaches "Global Jane Austen" among other courses. She’s the founder and director of the annual Jane Austen Summer Program (JaneAustenSummer.org) and co-host of the Jane Austen and Co. web series (jaandco.org). As far as her JASNA involvement, she has served on the board of directors of JASNA, twice been a traveling lecturer, and twice been the JASNA North American Scholar lecturer at an AGM. In June 2024, she has a book coming out from Johns Hopkins University Press called Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness. You can read more about her at www.ingerbrodey.com

Peter Graham graduated from Davidson College and received his Master's and Doctorate from Duke University. His scholarly interests center on British literature and culture of the 19th-century with particular focus on Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and Charles Darwin.  Among the books he's written and edited are Jane Austen and Lyme Regis, Jane Austen & Charles Darwin: Naturalists and Novelists, Don Juan and Regency England, The Portable Darwin (with Duncan M. Porter), and Darwin's Sciences. He has been a JASNA Traveling Lecturer, has published essays in Persuasions and has presented at many AGMs and JASNA regional events. He is professor emeritus in the Department of English at Virginia Tech.

Karen Tei Yamashita is the author of eight books, including I Hotel, finalist for the National Book Award, Tropic of Orange, Letters to Memory, and most recently, Sansei and Sensibility. Recipient in 2021 of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation, she is professor emerita of literature and creative writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her Zoom presentation on her book Sansei and Sensibility is available on the JASNA Southwest YouTube channel. Her latest book Dark Soil: Fictions and Mythographies will be published in May 2024 by Coffee House Press.

JASNA is gearing up to celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in 2025 with special events and activities, and we’re starting early with a special offer for students!*

For the remainder of 2024 through 2025, we are excited to offer free one-year JASNA Student Memberships to the next generation of Austen fans and scholars. Don't miss this unique opportunity to join our community. Keep up to date with the latest on Jane Austen and her works and connect with others in your area and beyond who share your admiration for this beloved and influential author.

Membership Features

Student Memberships include digital versions of JASNA's publications and the following benefits:  

• A subscription to the digital edition of JASNA News, our quarterly newsletter.

• The digital edition of JASNA’s annual journal, Persuasions, a leading source for Austen studies.

• Membership in one or more of our 81 regional groups, where members gather locally or online to participate in meetings and special events and enjoy the company of like-minded individuals who share your love of Jane.

• A subscription to our monthly JASNA Update e-bulletin, with timely news about Jane Austen and JASNA's programs.

• Invitations to participate in member-only events and tours, including JASNA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), a three-day conference held each fall. Live-stream registration is also available for those who can’t attend in person.

• The ability to apply for JASNA's International Visitor Program grant.

In addition to these member-only benefits, we invite you to celebrate Jane Austen by following our

Austen Chat podcast, delving into Persuasions On-Line articles, or competing in the Essay Contest or Young Filmmakers Contest for cash scholarships and awards. 

Have Questions? Read our FAQs here!

She played and Sang:

Jane Austen and Music

By Gillian Dooley

Will be published in March 2024

Like her much-loved heroine Emma Woodhouse, Jane Austen 'played and sang'. Music occupied a central role in her life, and she made brilliant use of it in her books to illuminate characters’ personalities and highlight the contrasts between them.

*From the publisher

The Westhampton Free Library presents

the Jane Austen Book Club

Live! In Conversation Author Series 2024

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 7pm EST via Zoom. Live! In Conversation with: Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding (authors, Emma of 83rd Street)

Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 7pm EST via Zoom. Live! In Conversation with: Tirzah Price (best-selling author of The Jane Austen Murder Mystery Series)

Austen Chat: Jane Austen & Food: A Visit with Julienne Gehrer

Apple Podcasts

From roast mutton to white soup, pickled melon to Bath buns, Jane Austen and her characters enjoyed a variety of fascinating foods. To learn more about Georgian-era cuisine and culinary practices, we invited food historian Julienne Gehrer to the table to guide us on a gastronomical journey through Austen's world. Julienne, who has spoken and written on Jane Austen and food for more than a decade, provides glimpses into the daily life of our favorite author you won’t want to miss.

Reading group leaders, please send your next meeting updates to JASNA Southwest News. For any further reading group questions or assistance, or to suggest formation of a new group, please feel free to contact Nancy Gallagher.

Please send in a current image of your group to be featured in future newsletters.