By Betty Parker Ellis
The COVID-19 Pandemic that became a shared global experience will remain in my view a defining moment for having forever changed all of our lives. Although it brought tragic outcomes to many around the world, I am very thankful that when I did get sick with the coronavirus in fall of 2020 it was a mild case. Then, I welcomed the vaccines and booster shots as they later became available. Nevertheless, starting on March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization proclaimed it a global pandemic and the US economy began its shutdown that was, as I like to describe it, the start of when I sat on my couch for the next two years.
JAne from the couch: the zoom oasis
Having operated my own public relations and training company from my home over the last 24 years, my work came to an abrupt halt, and so I started acting like a retired person. I cannot remember the first time I heard about Zoom, but that was the one silver lining to the pandemic that changed my world forever.
The best change that Zoom brought was greater access to my favorite hobby – enjoying “All Things Jane Austen”!! I remember being swept away in January 2008 while enjoying Masterpiece Theatre’s The Complete Jane Austen season. From that point on, I was hooked and began to read all of her novels for the first time and then watched or rewatched every adaptation ever made (that I could find). By way of the Republic of Pemberley website, I also discovered and joined JASNA by 2010. With a great love of literature and history, it gave me great pleasure to say (and always with glee) that “I am a card-carrying member of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA).”
Living in Greenville, SC, I also realized that if I were to attend any JASNA meetings, I was about a 3.5-hr. one-way drive to any of the nearest meeting locations whether in NC, GA, or SC. Life circumstances changed in 2013 where I was commuting to Charleston, SC, on a regular basis, so I planned my trips to coincide with the JASNA-SC meeting dates. This was where I was first introduced to the joy of listening to Austen scholars speak and became hooked even more on learning all the nuances of Regency Period living that further brought all of the six novels more to life. (A big shout-out here goes to Deborah Barnum who was a frequent speaker for JASNA-SC.)
Although work and family caregiving needs kept me from attending any JASNA Annual General Meeting events before the pandemic, I was happy to have JASNA-SC, JASNA.org and mailings, Pemberley.com, numerous blogs, and various social media outlets to enjoy along with an expanding selection of books as well as new movie adaptations. I even made a day trip to Milledgeville, Ga, in June 2018 to join in with the JASNA-GA members who offered very gracious hospitality during their delightful Box Hill Picnic event at Flannery O’Connor’s home Andalusia. How could it get better?
When the pandemic hit and the shutdown began, JASNA adapted accordingly and suddenly most regions shifted to Zoom meetings. Thankfully, JASNA-NC had already identified Zoom as a practical way to reach its membership across a wide state. Since in-person meetings were not possible, I started attending the NC Zoom meetings and became a regular. Then I discovered that other regions’ meetings were available to attend if you just asked for the Zoom link (and sometimes made a small donation). I soon found that my Janeite World literally expanded all across the country and around the world! I was making many new Janeite friends although from a “Brady Bunch” style headshot perspective!
Instead of filling up my iPhone calendar with in-person activities, I was using it to keep track of all of my Zoom events. Then meetings were joined by weekend festivals and then on to longer symposiums as well as to my first two digital JASNA AGMs. In addition, the Jane Austen House Museum and Chawton House started to host frequent Zoom events. What I discovered was that I could find something to do that was Jane Austen related just about every day of every week! In the middle of a global pandemic with a very frightening death toll, I had found a wonderful and very safe Janeite oasis without ever leaving my couch.
JASP and Jane Austen & Co.: janeite heaven
Another big discovery was the Jane Austen & Co Zoom lectures along with the Jane Austen Summer Program (JASP) at UNC-Chapel Hill. Oh my goodness was I ever in Janeite “heaven” and awaited each announcement of their next event with bated breath!! I had first planned to attend the JASP that had to be cancelled in 2020 but joined in with the virtual 2021 JASP. Then this year, I had the absolute pleasure of starting up the next phase of my Austen Adventures – meeting everyone in person!!! Not only did I meet Inger Brody, Anne Fertig, and Jared Powell, but I also met JASNA-NC fellow members Gisele Rankin, Sue Scott, Connie Eble, and Linda Darden.
How can it get even better? Well, January of this year I decided to stop acting like a retired person and actually become one. Now all of the enthusiasm I used to apply to my clients, I can now give to my ever-growing Janeite bucket list!!
In addition to upgrading my JASNA membership to Life Member, I am happy to claim NC, GA, and SC as my three JASNA affiliate regions – I call them my Austen Trifecta! Meanwhile, my couch still awaits to keep up with everyone via Zoom as virtual meetings continue to be offered, but my Prius remains at the ready for when I can make the drive to an in-person meeting. The one assurance we all have in our Janeite World is that there are many more Austen Adventures still ahead!
Fun links
Attending JASP 2022 in person felt like drinking the best champagne from a firehose! To get a small but wonderful taste of it, click on this link: https://www.janeaustensummer.org/jasp-2022
Here, you can view the gallery from JASP 2022 (including one of me at an hors d’oeuvres table): https://www.janeaustensummer.org/jasp-2022-photo-gallery
An inspiration and resource for the “Jane Austen & Shakespeare” theme came from this website created by Professor Janine Barchas: https://whatjanesaw.org/
If you’ve missed any of the Jane Austen & Co Zoom lectures, they are available here: https://www.janeaustenandco.org/
In addition to our JASNA-NC communications, a good habit to form is to monitor our own JASNA.org website for regional meetings and other Austen related events: https://jasna.org/conferences-events/