2008Message

The Barbara Pym Society in North America

2008 Conference
12-13 April at the Episcopal Divinity School (EDS)
Cambridge, Massachusetts

A message from Ellen about the conference

This meeting of the Barbara Pym Society in North America is very special. Not only is it our tenth annual conference, but also, after nine years at Harvard Law School, we have an excellent new venue – the Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) on Brattle Street in Cambridge, which is appropriately Pymish in appearance and ambience. We are fortunate that one of our members, Priscilla Burns, the Assistant Director of Development and Special Events at EDS, is helping us plan our conference. In addition, Claudia Deane, Nancy Macmillan, Ellen Pawlik, Donna Safreed and Tom Sopko are assisting me in organizing this year’s conference.

Conference fees and meal prices are higher than before, reflecting the true costs of the conference. We hope this will not present a hardship to anyone.

Parking will be available at EDS for a flat fee of $20 for Friday through Sunday. If you need parking, please so indicate on the registration form and we will contact you with directions. All parking is on the EDS campus and close to our meeting rooms.

Lunch is included in the conference fee, but dinners on Friday and Saturday are not, and must be prepaid (see registration form). Tim Burnett, our “excellent man” from London who has attended most of our North American conferences, will be our after-dinner speaker on Saturday evening. “Back by popular demand,” Tim will present his entertaining and informative talk on “Class in the Novels of Barbara Pym.”

Several of you have requested more time during the conference for sightseeing and/or shopping, so we have lengthened the lunch hour to give you more of a break. We hope to lead a brief walking tour of the Harvard Square area for those who are new to Cambridge.

Many of you have asked that we focus on one novel at some of our conferences. That will be our goal for next year’s meeting. This year, however, two themes emerge – marriage and foreigners in Pym novels. We suggest that you read or reread one or two of the following for the marriage program – Some Tame Gazelle, Crampton Hodnet, Excellent Women, Jane & Prudence. For the program by Eleonore Biber, No Fond Return of Love contains several “glamorous and not-so-glamorous foreigners.” For other sources in Eleonore’s presentation, go to Foreigners in Pym.

We’ve included a Book Swap in the program. Bring your extra copies of Barbara Pym novels as well as books by Pymish authors to exchange.

If you have questions or concerns about the conference, please e-mail me at ellen@ellenmiller.net.