JASNA North Carolina - For Jane Austen Lovers

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Exploring the Poetry of Phillis Wheatley

Meetings· Virtual Book Club

5 Mar

By Bill Gaither Members gathered on February 16, 2025, for a stimulating and sometimes impassioned discussion of the poetry of Phillis Wheatley, an American contemporary of Jane Austen and the first African-American author to publish a book of poetry. The discussion was ably led by regional coordinator Sara Tavela, who also provided an introduction to the life and poetry of Wheatley. This was a…
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Celebrating Jane Austen’s Birthday with Speaker Kuldip Kuwahara

6 Jan

By Elizabeth Jewell The annual festivities celebrating both the holiday season and, particularly, the 249th birthday of our beloved Jane were held at Gisele Rankin’s lovely home in Cary, with attendance both in person and by Zoom. This year, we were lucky to have the fascinating Dr. Kuldip Kuwahara present “Jane Austen and Happiness,” subtitled “Jane Austen and Frankenstein.” Dr….
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Discussing Beth Pattillo’s ‘Jane Austen Ruined My Life’ and Meeting the Author

Meetings· Uncategorized· Virtual Book Club

6 Dec

By: Linda Darden The JASNA NC Virtual Book Club returned in November, with a reading of Beth Pattillo’s 2008 novel Jane Austen Ruined My Life. JASNA members and guests participated in a discussion facilitated by club member Nancy Young before being joined by the author for a Q&A session. The story in this selection centers on the journey of English professor…
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The 2024 AGM Debriefing

6 Nov

The October 27th JASNA-NC Zoom debriefing on this year’s Annual General Meeting was small innumber, but great in enthusiasm. Those fortunate members who attended the meeting in Clevelandrocked to all things Jane. Listeners who did not attend enjoyed a sampler of the event’s highlights.Since the AGM’s 2024 focus was “Austen, Annotated,” Sara Tavela asked the group members to offertheir own…
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JASNA North Carolina

3 weeks ago

March 16, 2025 – Jane Austen on Wild Nature: An Exploration with Mary Jane CurryMary Jane Curry, JASNA-NC member, will lead us in discussing a few passages in Austen’s fiction that describe wild nature (the sky, wind, trees, waterways, and land) in order to understand how those passages provide a fuller understanding of her main characters. Mary Jane’s book shows that Austen’s treatment of nature is both structural and thematic, allowing us to read her novels as serious(realistic) pastorals.The DetailsWhat: “Jane Austen on Wild Nature: An Exploration” with Mary Jane CurryWhen: March 16, 2025 from 2:00-3:30 p.m.Where: In the comfort of your home via ZoomRSVP: This event is open to members and interested guests; it is FREE but registration is required. To register, please go to jasnanorthcarolina.org/events/march-16-2025-jane-austen-on-wild-nature-an-exploration-with-mary-j...About our speakerMary Jane Curry has been writing and speaking to general audiences as well as academics about nature and pastoral elements in Austen’s fiction since 1994. Her articles on Austen have appeared in Persuasions and proceedings of an International Conference on English Historic Linguistics. She contributed a chapter on the novel as a genre to The Text and Beyond: Essays in Literary Linguistics. ... See MoreSee Less

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JASNA North Carolina

1 month ago

February 16, 2025 – Virtual Book Club: Phillis Wheatley’s WritingsJoin JASNA-NC for a discussion of our Austen contemporary selection, Phillis Wheatley’s writings. Wheatley is a transatlantic contemporary of Austen’s, and her experience as a black enslaved person ties in with Jane Austen and her family’s interest and participation in abolition. We’ll explore Wheatley’s poetry and contemplate connections between Austen’s writing and Wheatley’s. It’s sure to be a fascinating discussion!What to read -We will focus on these five poems for discussion:“On being brought from Africa to America““An Hymn to the Morning““To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth, His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for North-America, &c.““To S.M., a young African Painter, on seeing his Works““A Farewell to America. To Mrs. S.W.“The DetailsWhat: Virtual Book Club: Phillis Wheatley’s WritingsWhen: February 16, 2025 from 2:00-3:30 p.m.Where: In the comfort of your home via ZoomRSVP: This event is open to members and interested guests; it is FREE but registration is required. Register for Zoom at jasnanorthcarolina.org/events/february-16-2025-virtual-book-club-phyllis-wheatleys-writings/About the BookIn 1761, a young girl arrived in Boston on a ship of enslaved people, was sold to the Wheatley family, and given the name Phillis Wheatley. After studying English and classical literature, geography, the Bible, and Latin, Phillis published her first poem in 1767 at the age of 14, winning much public attention and considerable fame. When Boston publishers who doubted its authenticity rejected an initial collection of her poetry, Wheatley sailed to London in 1773 and found a publisher there for Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.This volume collects both Wheatley’s letters and her poetry: hymns, elegies, translations, philosophical poems, tales, and epyllions–including a poignant plea to the Earl of Dartmouth urging freedom for America and comparing the country’s condition to her own. With her contemplative elegies and her use of the poetic imagination to escape an unsatisfactory world, Wheatley anticipated the Romantic Movement of the following century. The appendices to this edition include poems of Wheatley’s contemporary African-American poets: Lucy Terry, Jupiter Harmon, and Francis Williams.About The Virtual Book ClubThe Virtual Book Club takes place quarterly with the typical following rotation: a contemporary of Austen, nonfiction work, an Austen selection, and a fanfiction work. Our members Mary Jane Curry, Nancy Martin Young, and Sara Tavela serve as our primary book club facilitators and help coordinate our book selections. ... See MoreSee Less

February 16, 2025 - Virtual Book Club: Phillis Wheatley's Writings - JASNA North Carolina

jasnanorthcarolina.org

Join JASNA-NC for a discussion of our Austen contemporary selection, Phillis Wheatley’s writings. Wheatley is a transatlantic contemporary of Austen’s, and her experience as a black enslaved perso...

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JASNA North Carolina

1 month ago

February 16, 2025 – Virtual Book Club: Phillis Wheatley’s WritingsJoin JASNA-NC for a discussion of our Austen contemporary selection, Phillis Wheatley’s writings. Wheatley is a transatlantic contemporary of Austen’s, and her experience as a black enslaved person ties in with Jane Austen and her family’s interest and participation in abolition. We’ll explore Wheatley’s poetry and contemplate connections between Austen’s writing and Wheatley’s. It’s sure to be a fascinating discussion!what to readWe will focus on these five poems for discussion:“On being brought from Africa to America““An Hymn to the Morning““To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth, His Majesty’s Principal Secretary fo State for North-America, &c.““To S.M., a young African Painter, on seeing his Works““A Farewell to America. To Mrs. S.W.“The DetailsWhat: Virtual Book Club: Phillis Wheatley’s WritingsWhen: February 16, 2025 from 2:00-3:30 p.m.Where: In the comfort of your home via ZoomRSVP: This event is open to members and interested guests; it is FREE but registration is required. Register from our web page: jasnanorthcarolina.org/events/february-16-2025-virtual-book-club-phyllis-wheatleys-writings/About the BookIn 1761, a young girl arrived in Boston on a ship of enslaved people, was sold to the Wheatley family, and given the name Phillis Wheatley. After studying English and classical literature, geography, the Bible, and Latin, Phillis published her first poem in 1767 at the age of 14, winning much public attention and considerable fame. When Boston publishers who doubted its authenticity rejected an initial collection of her poetry, Wheatley sailed to London in 1773 and found a publisher there for Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.This volume collects both Wheatley’s letters and her poetry: hymns, elegies, translations, philosophical poems, tales, and epyllions–including a poignant plea to the Earl of Dartmouth urging freedom for America and comparing the country’s condition to her own. With her contemplative elegies and her use of the poetic imagination to escape an unsatisfactory world, Wheatley anticipated the Romantic Movement of the following century. The appendices to this edition include poems of Wheatley’s contemporary African-American poets: Lucy Terry, Jupiter Harmon, and Francis Williams.About The Virtual Book ClubThe Virtual Book Club takes place quarterly with the typical following rotation: a contemporary of Austen, nonfiction work, an Austen selection, and a fanfiction work. Our members Mary Jane Curry, Nancy Martin Young, and Sara Tavela serve as our primary book club facilitators and help coordinate our book selections. ... See MoreSee Less

February 16, 2025 - Virtual Book Club: Phillis Wheatley's Writings - JASNA North Carolina

jasnanorthcarolina.org

Join JASNA-NC for a discussion of our Austen contemporary selection, Phillis Wheatley’s writings. Wheatley is a transatlantic contemporary of Austen’s, and her experience as a black enslaved perso...

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