Dear Byron Society Members, As the new academic and program year begins, I am excited to write to the Byron Society of America members via our newly reconfigured website to provide an update on all that has been happening with the Society during recent months. The BSA website has just launched with its own url, www.byronsociety.org, and many new features. This is the first step in a phased revamping of the site that will ultimately render it highly interactive. As you can see from this communication, we now have an email blast capability that will facilitate member services as well as communication among the membership. You will, for example, be able to renew your membership for 2007, order back issues of the Byron Journal, order books from the Byron Society Collection book sale, support programs, and give gift memberships online. If you have news of interest to the Society, you can email membernews@byronsociety.org and your information will be posted, circulated, and ultimately archived to the site. Eight new books discounts are currently available online with instructions on ordering. And, a link to the International Byron Society site, www.internationalbyronsociety.org, provides current information on the annual international conferences, among other resources. In an effort to make the Society’s programs more accessible to members in different parts of the country, this year’s Marchand Lecture will be held in Chicago on October 18 at DePaul University where board member Jonathan Gross serves as Director of the DePaul Humanities Center. John Clubbe, Joint President of the International Byron Society and Vice President of the Byron Society of America, will deliver the seventh annual Marchand Lecture titled “Byron, Beethoven, Napoleon, and the Ideals of the French Revolution.” Further details can be seen at www.byronsociety.org/bsa/lectures.html. MLA will also be held in Chicago this year, with Jonathan Gross chairing the Society’s Saturday, December 29 program on “Byron and America.” Details about this program can be found at www.byronsociety.org/bsa/mla.html. News of other upcoming events will be regularly circulated and posted to the site. In fact, if you know of any programs or events that you would like to bring to the attention of Society members, simply email events@byronsociety.org. And there is more good news! The board of the Byron Society of America has just established an annual prize for an outstanding essay on Lord Byron published in the previous year by a scholar with a North American residence and academic affiliation. The award, which includes an honorarium and complimentary membership in the Society, will be presented for the first time this year at the Marchand Lecture at DePaul University. Subsequently, an announcement will follow through the Society’s website. Since 1994, we have been most fortunate to have board member Charles E. Robinson serving as the Society’s Executive Director. During these years, Charlie has almost single-handedly overseen the Society’s day-to-day operations on behalf of the board — a substantial undertaking indeed. In recent months, Charlie has expressed his desire to “retire” as Executive Director, while still remaining an active member of the board. Charlie’s service to the Society has been extraordinary. During his tenure, the BSA witnessed the development of the Marchand Lecture, the 27th International Byron Conference held in Boston, New York, and the University of Delaware, the growth and cataloguing of the Byron Society Collection, our first visiting scholar from Russia, and the development of the travel grant fund for young scholars. We are indebted to Charlie for his dedicated and tireless efforts on behalf of the BSA and are equally as grateful that we will continue to benefit from his energy and experience through his board service in the future. During this transition, the board has considered how best to organize the Society for growth in the years ahead. First, the board expressed a desire to divide the work formerly handled by the Executive Director among newly developed committees for programs and finances. At present, these committees are served by board members, however we will, in the near future, look to the membership for ideas and for volunteers. In an important second step, the board has created a new position—Director of Membership and Academic Services—to develop and support the Society’s membership with information, programs, and services. Longtime Byron Society member Robin Hammerman has been appointed to this position. Robin received her Ph.D. from Drew University, where she wrote her dissertation on “Coleridge, Byron, and the Romantic Statesman.” Presently, she is a Visiting Lecturer of Humanities at Stevens Institute of Technology, teaching courses on “Analysis of Literary Forms,” “Language of Ideas,” and “Survey of Dramatic Literature.” She is the editor of Womanhood in Anglophone Literary Culture: Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Perspectives, forthcoming in November 2007 from Cambridge Scholars Press, and she is currently preparing her paper on “Byron’s Catherine in Don Juan” for publication. Earlier this year, Robin was elected to the Board of Directors of the College English Association. She has served CEA in various capacities, including as Chairperson for Nineteenth-Century British Literature (2006-07) and for Women’s Connection (2005-06). For some months now, Robin has been working with Charlie to transition the membership records and databases and to establish new methods of distribution to members by the University of Liverpool Press for the 2006 and beyond Byron Journal. She has also secured the book discounts that you see on the website. Robin will be the main point of contact on membership, member/academic services, and general queries and questions. You will be hearing from her shortly, as she is preparing the 2007 membership renewal with further updates on the Byron Journal. We are pleased that Robin has undertaken this new role and important role for the Society and know you will enjoy getting to know her better in the upcoming months. Robin can be reached via email at robinhammerman@byronsociety.org. Another important addition to the Society’s roster is our web designer Bart Hook. Bart designed both the original BSA and BSC sites and enjoyed the work so much that he has agreed to continue on—even while his professional career is growing by leaps and bounds. He is currently employed as the Senior Designer for The Archer Group in Wilmington, Delaware. Since 2000, he has also owned and operated 320studios, a small interactive design studio through which the BSA sites are being developed. Over the past decade, Bart has been commissioned by a number of corporations such as Pfizer, Warner Brothers, Gore, DuPont, and Chase. In the past two years, his work has received nine design awards, including golds at both the Horizon Interactive and Philly Gold award shows. His portfolio includes websites, corporate identities, motion graphics, and email campaigns. Bart’s enthusiasm for the Society is great and we’re excited that he will be working with us to develop a strong web presence. The Society has now reestablished itself, at least for the present, in New York—and we have a new mailing address:
For those of you who prefer communication by regular mail, I’ll be sending a hard copy of this letter on the Society’s letterhead shortly. In the coming weeks, you can expect more news about the search for the Byron Society Collection’s new home, word about regional events, and website updates to note. Our members are the lifeblood of the Byron Society. We look forward to your participation in the life of the Society and always welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Best wishes for a good fall, Marsha Manns |