Slices of Cake » Austen http://blogs.middlebury.edu/slices Just another blogs.middlebury.edu weblog Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:12:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Speaking to the Choir (the Jane Choir) http://blogs.middlebury.edu/slices/2009/03/07/speaking-to-the-choir-the-jane-choir/ http://blogs.middlebury.edu/slices/2009/03/07/speaking-to-the-choir-the-jane-choir/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:16:20 +0000 Mary Ellen Bertolini http://blogs.middlebury.edu/slices/?p=70 I had such fun speaking to Jasna-VT last Sunday about Jane Austen’s Persuasion! Janites Deb and Kelly have created an articulate and welcoming group that sponsors a variety of Jane-related talks and events throughout the year. One of my favorites has been the Birthday Tea complete with Regency Dancing by the Burlington Country Dancers.

The great joy I felt in speaking to this group came from the fact that the audience knew their Austen backwards and forwards– not only Persuasion, which was Sunday’s topic, but the whole Austen corpus as well.  I love to introduce Austen to my students, some of whom have only a fleeting film familiarity with her work before the course begins, but what a treat to share my thoughts with the Jane Austen Choir in Vermont!

Thank you, Janites in Vermont and everywhere.

]]> http://blogs.middlebury.edu/slices/2009/03/07/speaking-to-the-choir-the-jane-choir/feed/ 1 Time http://blogs.middlebury.edu/slices/2009/01/31/time/ http://blogs.middlebury.edu/slices/2009/01/31/time/#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:50:44 +0000 Mary Ellen Bertolini http://blogs.middlebury.edu/slices/?p=69 One of the wonderful things about working at Middlebury College is that every three Januarys, I have a month off from teaching. Don’t get me wrong. I love teaching, and my students bring me great joy, but a bit of time away from the classroom means time for longer projects, time to indulge in a sustained thought.  This January, I’m working on two projects: revision for an article about how I use writing workshops in my Writing to Heal course and preparation for a JASNA-VT talk on Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Certainly, immersing myself in the Peninsular War and the Convention of Cintra have helped me weather the snow, ice, and cold that has descended on northern New England this year.

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