About seventy Pym admirers from all parts of the United States--and Canada, England and Austria--gathered at Harvard Law School on March 31-April 1 for the third annual conference of the Barbara Pym Society of North America. Despite horrific weather that delayed many and discouraged a few from attending, participants once again enjoyed the very special camaraderie and intellectual stimulation that typify these yearly meetings. Click here to see some of the Conference photos.

Again organized by Ellen Miller, this year's Conference featured a stellar array of speakers, headed by Professor Anne Pilgrim of York University, Canada, who set a high standard for the rest of the program with her presentation, "Constructing Quartet in Autumn." Having done exhaustive research into the Pym archives at the Bodleian Library, Professor Pilgrim documented Barbara Pym's approach to structuring and revising what most critics call her masterpiece. Of major interest were the biographies Pym constructed for Letty and Marcia, which she even called "curriculum vitae" and which helped to bring her characters to life.

Continuing the Quartet in Autumn theme, Professor Jan Fergus of Lehigh University conducted an interactive, dynamic session with the audience as her students. As she did with her real college students, Professor Fergus and the audience dissected the opening paragraph of QIA, sentence by sentence, which very quickly demonstrated how skillfully and economically and carefully Pym constructed her sentences. It was clear that this session could have continued for hours, with the eager participation of the audience.

After lunch, Frauke Lenckos, who teaches seminars on literature at the Newberry Library in Chicago, spoke on "Gentlewomen in the Novels of Barbara Pym." She gave a brief historical overview of the "gentlewoman" in life and in literature, comparing and contrasting Pym's heroines and illuminating the role of the spinster in Pym's time and in contemporary England.

Father Gabriel Myers brought us Desert Island Discs, the BBC radio program in which celebrity guests reveal their musical choices should they find themselves stranded on a desert island. Although the list of Barbara Pym's favorite music as told to the program's host is listed in A Lot to Ask, her comments have been previously unavailable. This Conference marked the first time the program was heard since it aired in the United Kingdom in 1978. The audience remained spellbound by Barbara's soft voice and poignant comments.

This year, we reintroduced the Book Swap, wherein participants bring extra copies of Pym books they wish to exchange. Although some non-Pym titles appeared among the nearly 60 books (their owners brought them because they were "Pym-like"), most were paperback Pyms. Frances McMeen ably handled the potentially chaotic details of the Book Swap and most participants came away with at least one or two additions to their bookshelves.

Following dinner, it has been traditional to play two BBC films--"Tea with Miss Pym" and "Miss Pym's Day Out." They were enjoyed equally by those who had never seen them and those who never tire of seeing them (especially fascinating is Henry Harvey playing himself!).

The next day, Sunday morning, we were privileged to hear Eleonore Biber, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Vienna, deliver her presentation, "A Strong Smell of Incense: Aspects of Ango-Catholicism in Pym's Novels." Her talk was especially enlightening to Americans to whom "going over to Rome" may be a mystery and who are unaware that, for example, different varieties of incense are available to churches. Eleonore Biber stressed the importance of the church in Barbara Pym's writings and briefly traced the ecclesiastical history that led to the establishment of the Church of England.

The final speaker was Professor Anthony Kaufman of the University of Illinois who chose Some Tame Gazelle as his topic. His provocative title, "Love Like Bedsocks: Some Tame Gazelle," forecast his witty and informative presentation in which he examined this extraordinary novel and Barbara Pym's feelings, as a young woman, of premature middle age, transience, and mortality. Professor Kaufman pointed out the ironic, comical, absurd, and poignant elements in STG that would be echoed in later Pym works.

A roundtable discussion with all six speakers and the audience was the lively and provocative conclusion to the Conference. The three Pym Conferences held in the United States thus far have been successful largely because of the extraordinary and instant friendships among Pym readers, the excellent speakers and the variety of their presentations, and the well-informed participants who have ample opportunities to share their views with each other and with the speakers. And . . . the meals are highly rated and even the coffee breaks with scones, fruit, and mini-croissants draw raves!

Next year . . . March 23-24, 2002--still at Harvard. See you there!

Pym home/2001 Conference Photos