The Emerson Society Board has approved offering a Life Membership to the Thoreau Society auction.

Founded on 29 December 1989 at an inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C., The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society, Inc. is dedicated to fostering scholarship on and appreciation of the life and writings of one of America's greatest authors. The Society, which has about 200 members in eleven countries, publishes a newsletter, Emerson Society Papers (ESP), each fall and spring. ESP features brief scholarly articles, book reviews, notes and queries, an annual Emerson bibliography, abstracts of conference papers, and, in the regular column "Prospects," announcements about conferences and meetings; updates on editions, publications, and research; and news of Emerson scholars. Since 1990, the Emerson Society annually has presented two panels in May at the American Literature Association conference. It also holds panels in July at the Thoreau Society's Annual Gathering in Concord. Besides receiving ESP, members are eligible to serve as book reviewers and conference panelists. Other benefits include a discount on subscriptions to ESQ: A Journal of the American Renaissance, flyers offering discounts on new books about Emerson and his circle, the ability to subscribe to the society's Listserv on the Internet, and opportunities to purchase official Emerson Society shirts. To join the Ralph Waldo Emerson Society, send a check for $10 (U.S. dollars only) payable to "The Emerson Society" to Robert D. Habich, Emerson Society Secretary/Treasurer, Dept. of English, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306.