Members Meeting - Nov 19 2011

In Their Words: Critics on Jane Austen

The November 19 meeting of JASNA Calgary began with interesting bits of news and updates from several members. Judith Umbach opened her update on the website with the announcement that JASNA Calgary can now be found on Twitter. @JasnaCalgary Several book reviews, links and other reading information have also been added to the website.

Elizabeth Marshall shared her recent trip to the JASNA AGM in Fortworth, Texas. Among several of her highlights was a talk given by Andrew Davies on his "sexed-up" version of Sense and Sensibility. The AGM film festival including a Spanish version of Sense and Sensibility entitled From Prada to Nada, and a modern adaptation called Scents and Sensibility.

After tea, we were delighted with In Their Words, a play in the form of a panel of critics on Jane Austen and her work. Among those present were Sir Walter Scott, Caroline Austen, Mary Bridges, and Charlotte Bronte. Our own Judith Umbach wrote this play after a recent visit to England where she was set on obtaining a British Library card. In order to do this, she needed to create a research question. Her question became "What were the contemporary reviews on Jane Austen." She used this research as the basis of her play.

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