Our two new American correspondents who contacted us through the JSA Home Page on the Internet have shown keen interest in us and display all the enthusiasm of the dedicated Johnsonian.
Genny writes: "I first read about Johnson in a book called Literary Mayhem, a hilarious account of literary feuds through the ages. Then on a whim, I picked up the Penguin abridged Boswell's Life and was absolutely intrigued, and read it quite a few times. After that, I desultorily picked up this and that on Johnson and soon had a bit of a collection. I'm always on the lookout for another book on Johnson and/or his circle. I also like reading Boswell himself..."
Recalling that Johnson's uncle was a boxer who "held the ring" for a year in Smithfield and that his nephew was not such a bad practitioner himself, Genny writes:
"I have a fascination for Johnson's physical life and manners as much as his writing, the tremendous humanity of the man and his ability to live with and to love every sort of person; to treat a common beggar or street walker with the same dignity as he would the King; and his vast circle of friends...To read about Johnson is to read about a crowded and busy age. He's a practical genius for any age."
Genny, who is keen to contact more Johnsonians, would especially welcome a response from any who also have an interest in 18 Century boxing. Genny can be contacted here.
Kathleen Kemmerer teaches English at the State University of Pennsylvania and also offers students courses by e-mail. She writes: "So far, most of my work has been disseminated in the form of papers at academic conferences which have received favorable notice from my colleagues. But in 1997, I will have a book coming out on Johnson called A neutral Being Between the Sexes: Samuel Johnson's Sexual Politics...
"the book argues that Johnson supports equality in education and social position for women and men although a great many people have gotten the wrong idea by reading Boswell's Life rather than Johnson's own writings.
I discuss Irene, The Rambler and Rasselas primarily, although there are references to the Sermons, Idler essays, the Annals, the Vinerian law lectures, letters and some of his translations and lives. ...
"I am very interested in what is being written on Johnson in Australia. Our bibliographies don't seem to include Australian sources probably because they would not be widely available in the US..."
Kathleen tells us she is a member of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and that in America, there are the Johnson Society of the Central Region, of which she is a member, and the Johnson Society of the North-west. Both are too distant for her to attend meetings.
Kathleen suggested that through the Internet, it might be possible to hold a virtual annual meeting of all the Johnsonians of the world, and this is something which we are taking up with her. We will certainly be trying to contact as many Johnsonian organisations as possible.
Secretary Bryan Reid has mailed to both Genny and Kathleen copies of previous newsletters and has invited both to become members of the JSA.
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