New JA video

Someone posted the following in an online Jane Austen discussion, in response to a question I asked about an event I had heard about in which contemporary authors were going to express opinions about Jane Austen.

"I don't know if this is relevant or not but there's a video accompanying the Jane Austen exhibit at the Morgan in which authors share their experiences with Austen. It's accessible on the Morgan web-site."

I then replied:

Thanks! For others, here is the URL, I just watched it, and it is MANDATORY watching for any Janeite, really wonderfully done!

http://www.themorgan.org/video/austen.asp

I don't know if it was the same thing I read about, but it was great, so I am very glad I asked!

There are a few dozen profound comments in the 15 minutes of the film, but the three most significant comments for me were:

Cornel West: "She was preoccupied with freedom"

Colm Toibin: "She had a way of writing that would both conceal and reveal"

Colm Toibin: "If I had a dinner party for her, I would put Freud on one side and Jung on the other...and I would ...feed them quite a lot of alcohol. It would be very very interesting to know what Austen would make of Freud as she discovered slowly what Freud was actually proposing."

I would love to hear other Janeites's reactions to this video. It gave me goosebumps just watching and listening to it. Send the link to all your intelligent friends and family who have been resisting reading Jane Austen. IMMEDIATELY. Feel free to forward this email to whomever you wish.

Cheers,
ARNIE