We've got Blue Stars in our Eyes

Hi everybody,

As Memorial Day approaches, we've decided to become a Blue Star Museum: one of more than 1,000 museums nationwide offering free admission for active military personnel and their immediate families from Memorial Day, May 30, 2011, through Labor Day, September 5, 2011.

The free admission program is available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), a DD Form 1173 ID card, or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card, which includes active duty military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard), National Guard and Reserve members and up to five immediate family members. Immediate family members include the spouses and children of active duty military.

Spouses of military who are deployed are eligible for free admission with their children, up to a total of five visitors. To receive free admission, spouses should bring a DD Form 1173 ID Card or DD Form 1173-1 ID Card for active duty military family members.

Blue Star Museums is a partnership among Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts and the individual museums. For details on the program, including a list of participating museums, visit http://www.nea.gov/national/bluestarmuseums/index.html.

Enjoy Memorial Day with your loved ones, and come on by for a visit-- we'll be open.

- The Mark Twain House & Museum

Mark Twain vs. James Fenimore Cooper

Last year, when our friend Matt Taibbi from Rolling Stone came to visit, he mentioned that Twain’s essay “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses” was “the greatest literary takedown in history.” We had often read excerpts and heard mention of this essay, and we have decided that it’s time for this smackdown to revive itself into the twentieth century.

Each Wednesday in May, the public is invited to a good-old-fashioned literary faceoff. We’ll be taking Twain’s snark and putting it up against a modern-day defender of the victim. Unlike your usual prizefight, you can see the punches thrown for free. Just show up on Wednesdays at 5:00 for pre-game snacks and a ringside seat. The Trouble Begins at 5:30.

Does this man look tough enough to withstand the eloquent wrath of our Sam?

Round 1: Mark Twain vs. James Fenimore Cooper.

As a teaser, we’ve pulled a few choice moments from Twain’s novella-length rant against Cooper’s literary style and storytelling skills. There are so many hysterical passages to pick from, it was hard to decide, so we’re just going with the ones that tickled us the most. Let’s start with Sam’s opinion on Cooper’s plot devices:

Another stage-property that he pulled out of his box pretty frequently was the broken twig. He prized his broken twig above all the rest of his effects, and worked it the hardest. It is a restful chapter in any book of his when somebody doesn't step on a dry twig and alarm all the reds and whites for two hundred yards around. Every time a Cooper person is in peril, and absolute silence is worth four dollars a minute, he is sure to step on a dry twig. There may be a hundred other handier things to step on, but that wouldn't satisfy Cooper. Cooper requires him to turn out and find a dry twig; and if he can't do it, go and borrow one. In fact, the Leatherstocking Series ought to have been called the Broken Twig Series.

Or, my personal favorite, the idiocy of his Native American villains:

There still remained in the roost five Indians. The boat has passed under and is now out of their reach. Let me explain what the five did -- you would not be able to reason it out for yourself. No. 1 jumped for the boat, but fell in the water astern of it. Then No. 2 jumped for the boat, but fell in the water still further astern of it. Then No. 3 jumped for the boat, and fell a good way astern of it. Then No. 4 jumped for the boat, and fell in the water away astern. Then even No. 5 made a jump for the boat -- for he was Cooper Indian. In that matter of intellect, the difference between a Cooper Indian and the Indian that stands in front of the cigar-shop is not spacious.

The object of Twain's fury


And, lest you suspect that Twain is too nit-picky on tiny details, this is the stirring conclusion to the whole shebang:

It has no invention; it has no order, system, sequence, or result; it has no lifelikeness, no thrill, no stir, no seeming of reality; its characters are confusedly drawn, and by their acts and words they prove that they are not the sort of people the author claims that they are; its humor is pathetic; its pathos is funny; its conversations are -- oh! indescribable; its love-scenes odious; its English a crime against the language.

We can’t wait to see what James Fenimore Cooper scholar Dr. Wayne Franklin of the University of Connecticut has up his sleeve. He’ll have to have a good plan in order to get a few blows in.

Let the games begin!

TAKE A LITERARY PILGRIMAGE

As one of the premier destinations of American literature enthusiasts, the Mark Twain House & Museum is not only dedicated to promoting the legacy of Samuel Clemens, but the many other celebrated authors (and their homes) found in New York and New England. From the serenity of Thoreau’s Walden Pond to the quaint garden estate of Emily Dickinson, we offer readers, history buffs and writers a once-in-a-lifetime journey through America’s literary landmarks…all conveniently located between NYC and Boston.

Just a short 45 minute drive from NYC, travelers can begin their literary journey at the Walt Whitman Birthplace in West Hills, NY and over the course of six days (or less, for those who are ambitious), visit the birthplace of Mark Twain’s most famous characters, get inspired by Edith Wharton’s landscape design, and visit the gravesites of Thoreau, Hawthorne, Emerson and Alcott at Author’s Ridge at Sleepy Hollow.

Below, you will find the full itinerary of a New York/New England literary pilgrimage-- offering a unique, inspiring and educational summer vacation. If you should need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us or visit us online at www.marktwainhouse.org.

Literary Pilgrimage Itinerary
Day 1: New York & Environs

Whether you start or end your pilgrimage in New York, there are several literary stops within a short drive of Manhattan.

• Washington Irving's Sunnyside  Nestled on the banks of the sparkling Hudson River, visitors will find the immaculately restored home of the author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle.  Located in Tarrytown, NY, you can tour Sunnyside and spend time visiting the sites made famous by Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, including the Old Dutch Church and Sleepy Hollow burying ground.
• Walt Whitman Birthplace & Interpretive Center  Walt Whitman, “America’s Shakespeare” was born in West Hills, NY in 1819. The newly restored farmhouse is a New York State Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Interpretive Center exhibits: 130 Whitman portraits, original letters, manuscripts, artifacts, Whitman’s voice on tape, and schoolmaster’s desk. On the site you can find, guided tours, an audio-visual show, the museum shop and bookstore, and a picnic area.
• Edgar Allan Poe Cottage is the only house museum in New York City dedicated to a writer.  A small house located in the bustling Bronx, this historic property is undergoing renovations, so be sure to check their website before visiting.  At the nearby Valentine-Varian House, you can check out a special exhibition entitled Edgar Allan Poe - The New York Years which adds depth to your understanding of Poe's turbulent final years.

Day 2: Hartford, CT

• Mark Twain House & Museum   As you may know, this is home where Mark Twain lived during the time he created his most famous characters, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. From the infamous billiard room where Twain worked on his writing (and cigar smoking), to unique exhibits in our Museum Center, to educational programs and community events, Twain’s Hartford, CT home is a unique destination for readers and history buffs of all ages.
• Harriet Beecher Stowe House  The famous next door neighbor of Mark Twain and the author of the best-selling, anti-slavery book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe believed that her actions could make a difference and her words changed the world. The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center connects Stowe's issues to the contemporary face of race relations, class and gender issues, economic justice and education equality. The Harriet Beecher Stowe House, a charming Victorian Gothic Revival home (1871), and includes Victorian-style gardens, the Katharine Seymour Day House, a grand mansion adjacent to the Stowe House and the Stowe Visitor Center, with changing exhibitions and the museum store.
• Wallace Stevens Walk  About one-quarter mile away from Stowe and Twain's homes in Nook Farm, you can take a short literary pilgrimage by following the famous walk poet Wallace Stevens took from his job at The Hartford to his home on Westerly Terrace.  Guiding you along the way are 13 granite markers that sequentially offer Stevens' poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird."
• Noah Webster House  A short drive into West Hartford, the Noah Webster House offers visitors the opportunity to discover the man behind the creation of the first American dictionary and the "Blue Backed Speller."  Tour his childhood home and learn about life in 18th Century Connecticut. 

Day 3: Lenox and Pittsfield, MA

• The Mount Estate & Gardens,  The Mount is both a historic site and a center for culture inspired by the passions and achievements of Edith Wharton. Best known for such works as The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence, Wharton employed both humor and profound empathy to describe the lives of New York's upper class and the vanishing of their world in the early years of the 20th century. The gorgeous property includes three acres of formal gardens designed by Wharton, who was also an authority on European landscape design. The Mount is a stunning reflection of Wharton’s love of the literary arts, interior design and decoration, garden and landscape design, and the art of living.
• Herman Melville’s Arrowhead,  Arrowhead is a National Historic Landmark located in western Massachusetts.  Melville purchased this historic farmhouse in 1850. It remained the home of Herman’s large and chaotic family for more than 13 years.  Herman found refuge in the second-floor library where he wrote his most famous novel, Moby Dick.  In the end, he wrote four novels and many short stories in the historic farmhouse.

Day 4: Cummington, MA and Amherst, MA

• William Cullen Bryant Homestead   As you traverse Massachusetts' Pioneer Valley, there are two poetic stops well worth making.  The first, in the hamlet of Cummington, MA, is the summer homestead of poet William Cullen Bryant.  The editor of The Saturday Evening Post for 50 years, Bryant was a passionate environmentalist who celebrated the landscape of America through his words.
• Emily Dickinson Museum: The Homestead and the Evergreens  The Homestead, where poet Emily Dickinson was born and lived most of her life, and The Evergreens, home of the poet’s brother and his family, share three beautiful acres of the original Dickinson property in the center of Amherst, Massachusetts. The Museum offers guided tours of the houses as well as a self-guided audio tour of the outdoor grounds.  

Day 5: Concord, MA

• The Wayside: Home to Hawthorne and the Alcott Family  A Historic Landmark, The Wayside was the only home owned by Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, and Twice-Told Tales. Before Hawthorne bought it, the house belonged to the Alcott family, who named it "Hillside." Here, Louisa May Alcott and her sisters lived much of the childhood described in Little Women.
• Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House Just minutes from Wayside (circa 1690) is most noted for being home to the talented Alcott family, and is where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set her beloved classic novel, Little Women, in 1868. 
• "Authors Ridge at Sleepy Hollow"  Perched on the top-most glacial hill in the cemetery, Authors Ridge gathers together, among others, the graves of Henry Thoreau (1862), Nathaniel Hawthorne (1864), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1882), Louisa May Alcott (1888) and her father, Bronson Alcott (1888). 
• Ralph Waldo Emerson House  Open to the public, the Emerson House is still furnished with the families’ memorabilia and keepsakes. Emerson lived here most of his adult life, wrote his famous essays "The American Scholar" and "Self Reliance," and died here in 1882.
• Walden Pond  Situated on 400 acres, Walden Pond is a State Reservation and National Historic Site. Henry David Thoreau lived here from July 1845 to September 1847. His experience at Walden provided the material for the book Walden, which is credited with helping to inspire awareness and respect for the natural environment. Today, visitors can enjoy hiking, swimming and educational and guided tours.

Day 6: Boston, MA

• Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters  This National Historic Site in Cambridge, MA preserves the home of Henry W. Longfellow, one of the world’s foremost 19th century poets. The house also served as headquarters for General George Washington during the Siege of Boston, July 1775 - April 1776. In addition to its rich history, the site offers unique opportunities to explore 19th century literature and arts. Of course, a visit to Cambridge would be incomplete without visiting Harvard University, home to too many writers to mention.
• Boston by Foot  Take a walking tour of the homes and haunts of such great American writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Henry James, Charles Dickens, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

New England welcomes literary pilgrims of all stripes - intrepid readers, history buffs or writers in need of the inspiration you can find when you follow in the footsteps of legends.  For more information about writers' houses, visit http://writershouses.com/. 

NOOK FARM BOOK TALKS GET FOLKS READING AND TONGUES WAGGING

In late 2009, folks from The Mark Twain House & Museum started a conversation with our neighbors at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. The jumping off point of discussion: “Why don’t we start a monthly program that encourages people to read the works of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe?” As historic house museums, we preserve and restore the homes of these two legends. But as centers of education charged with promoting their legacies, we needed to get people reading…and talking.

With Nook Farm being the home of two of America’s most significant authors, as well as other literary figures like Charles Dudley Warner (co-writer of Twain’s first novel The Gilded Age, among others), William Gillette (who adapted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes into a successful stage play), and Richard Burton (literary critic for The Hartford Courant), we knew that launching an ongoing series of book talks was essential. This area of Hartford was a hotbed of literary conversation in the mid-to-late 1800s -- a tradition well worth reviving in the era of 140-character tweets, scrolling news feeds, and visual over-stimulation.

Our main concern was limiting ourselves solely to the writings of Twain and Stowe. First, they would be finite in number (although both authors wrote a prodigious amount). Second, we feared that once the “big titles” -- Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – were discussed, that attendance would drop precipitously. Finally, Stowe and Twain’s interests were incredibly wide and varied taking in social issues, religion, domestic concerns, humor, war, human trafficking, and more. Why not pursue books that would have interested them, as well?

As a result, we decided that we would take a broader view. Both museums agreed that we would pick an initial slate of ten books that would mix Stowe and Twain works with biographies, fiction and non-fiction that look at the Gilded Age, and modern books that would focus on issues relevant to their interests. The challenge would be how to whittle it down to only 10 books with so much ground to cover. Each museum would select 5 books and we would alternate throughout the year. The discussions would alternate between the two properties, as well. Of course, refreshments would be required to keep the participants lively! Thus began the Nook Farm Book Club.

We kicked off the series in February 2010 with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as that month marked the 125th anniversary of the controversial masterpiece book being published in the United States. Sixty-five book clubbers showed eager to talk about this landmark Twain novel. We met in the Mark Twain Museum Center classroom in a U-shaped arrangement of chairs. A first edition Huckleberry Finn and other items drawn from our collection made this first meeting quite different than a standard book club.

The second meeting drew an equally large and engaged crowd to the Katharine Seymour Day House at the Stowe Center to discuss Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The book was contextualized by Stowe Center Director Katherine Kane and then the talk was off and running. Precious little moderation was required as the participants were extremely eager to share their feelings about Stowe’s landmark abolitionist novel. And to think we were discussing it only yards away from where the great lady herself lived for over two decades.

Having gotten to the two most obvious choices within the first two meetings, we were then prepared to start heading in different directions. The third book selected was Promised Land: Thirteen Books that Changed America. Of course, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn made the list. Having just discussed the books, the conversation allowed us to put them into perspective alongside the other classics considered – from early landmarks Of Plymouth Plantation and The Federalist Papers up through How to Win Friends and Influence People and Dr. Spock’s The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care.

Illustration from "Pink & White Tyranny"

The rest of the year allowed participants to examine more obscure Twain (Tom Sawyer Abroad & Tom Sawyer, Detective), a biting society novel by Stowe (Pink & White Tyranny), a work that examines Stowe and Twain alongside their post-Civil War contemporaries artist Martin Johnson Heade and poet Emily Dickinson (A Summer of Hummingbirds), a biographical collage of Stowe (Stowe in Her Own Time), a dark novel examining Huck Finn’s adventures from his father Pap’s perspective (Finn, with author John Clinch participating via Skype), a powerful look at New Orleans post-Katrina (David Eggers’ Zeitoun), and a warm-hearted reading of Twain’s beloved The Diaries of Adam & Eve for the holidays.

At the end of 2010, Stowe and Twain staffs reconvened to examine the success of the first year and plot the second year. The first decision made was to switch from calling the meetings “Nook Farm Book Club” to “Nook Farm Book Talks.” The thought was that calling it a “book club” might preclude the attendance of people who have not actually read the books. By calling the meetings “book talks,” anyone with an interest can attend. For certain, the conversation will be more rewarding if one has read the book, but someone who has not read the book will be able to enjoy the chat and hopefully be inspired to read the book at a later date. The second change was trying to get guest authors and scholars when possible.

The first selection of 2011 was apt: A Skeptic’s Guide to Writers’ Houses by the skeptical scholar Anne Trubek. Anne traveled through a blizzard to be with us in January and led an engaging conversation about her travels visiting house museums dedicated to authors. This year we celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Harriet Beecher Stowe, so the next choice was also apt: the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Stowe by Trinity College professor Joan Hedrick. Again, the author was present and participated in a lively conversation about her research. The March selection was the hefty Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1, the recently released blockbuster. As Twain specified the book could not be published in full until after 100 years after his death, the author was not present, but was ably represented by Twain scholar and St. Joseph College professor Dr. Kerry Driscoll.  Participants have enjoyed the small changes and attendance has been terrific.

So what is coming up for the Nook Farm Book Talks and why did we pick them?  Mark your calendar and start reading!

April 7th at Stowe
HALF THE SKY: TURNING OPPRESSION INTO OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN WORLDWIDE by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn

This book, which focuses on gender oppression including rape, genital mutilation, and sexual slavery, is the groundbreaking selection for the first-ever Stowe Prize. Not merely a catalog of atrocities, the authors offer a path forward through empowerment, education and investment.

May 5th at Twain

THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY: MURDER, MAGIC AND MADNESS AT THE FAIR THAT CHANGED AMERICA by Erik Larson

This #1 national bestseller is a remarkable and page-turning distillation of a turning point in America’s history. The excesses of the Gilded Age reach a simultaneous high and low with the creation of the 1893 Columbian World Exposition in Chicago and the arrival of the nation’s most diabolical serial killer.

June 2nd at Stowe
THE MINISTER’S WOOING by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe's domestic comedy is a powerful examination of slavery, Protestant theology, and gender differences in early America. First published in 1859, and set in eighteenth-century Newport, Rhode Island, The Minister's Wooing is a historical novel that satirizes Calvinism, celebrating its intellectual and moral integrity while critiquing its rigid theology.

July 7th at Twain

JOSEPH HOPKINS TWICHELL: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MARK TWAIN’S CLOSEST FRIEND by Steve Courtney

The esteemed and dynamic leader of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church, Joseph Hopkins Twichell was the perfect and most unlikely best friend for the irascible Mark Twain. MTH&M staffer Steve Courtney will discuss his Connecticut Book Award-winning biography.

September 1st at Stowe

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by Stieg Larsson

The Swedish author Stieg Larsson tragically died before he saw his trilogy about the brutal adventures of a computer hacker and a dogged journalist turn into a worldwide publishing and movie sensation. This Nook Farm Book Talk focuses on the middle book of the trilogy and its unflinching look at human trafficking in the sex trade.

October 6th at Twain

THE TURN OF THE SCREW by Henry James

Twain and his contemporary Henry James are linked as two major figures in the 19th century movement of Literary Realism. October’s meeting takes on James’ spooky classic ghost story of two children who may be inviting evil into their forlorn estate.  See if you agree with Twain's assessment of a Henry James novel:  "Once you put it down, you simply can't pick it up." 

November 3rd at Stowe

THE LINCOLN & DOUGLASS SPEECHES

The Stowe Center considers the impact of two seminal figures of the Civil War Era: President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. We will examine the text of several significant speeches of these two famous orators and boundary-shattering abolitionists.

December 1st at Twain

THE TRAGEDY OF PUDD’NHEAD WILSON by Mark Twain

The year draws to a close with another little-read Twain classic. Roxy, a slave woman who is 1/16th black, switches her baby boy with the white son of her wealthy master. With only 1/32nd of black blood differentiating them, the two boys grow up in vastly different circumstances.  Pudd'nhead Wilson marks a darker turn in Twain's writing and presages his turbulent later works.  It also points the way to 2012 and a whole new year of book talks.

Nook Farm Book Talks are free and open to all. Meetings begin at 5 p.m. with a free reception featuring light snacks, wine and soft drinks. The discussion begins at 5:30 p.m. and runs an hour in duration. Book titles are generally available through the Twain and Stowe gift shops, but are also widely available in book stores, libraries and online.

Special thanks to the Connecticut Humanities Council for their support of the Nook Farm Book Talks series.

NORMAN ROCKWELL & MARK TWAIN: TWO OF A KIND

The Mark Twain House & Museum is thrilled to present American Storytellers: Norman Rockwell & Mark Twain, an expansive exhibition that features Norman Rockwell’s Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA.  The exhibition, opening March 11^th and running through September 6^th, also features dozens of Rockwell prints, original oils, sketches and illustrations from the collections of MassMutual Financial Group, The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, MO and the New Britain Museum of American Art.  MTH&M Director of Communications Jacques Lamarre reflects on how Twain and Rockwell loom large on the American conscience.

In 2003, we opened our new Mark Twain Museum Center.  One of the great assets of the new facility is the ability for us to showcase some of the thousands of items we have in our collection.  Most people are not aware of the treasure trove of books, letters, artifacts, furniture, art, and more that the museum has amassed over its 80+ years.  The building also affords us the opportunity to exhibit other work that can help us better tell the story of Twain.

Under two hours away in Stockbridge, MA, there is another museum that is also dedicated to highlighting the work, the life and the legacy of an American icon:  Norman Rockwell.  Although Rockwell was born in 1894 (during Twain’s lifetime) and grew up in New York City (where Twain spent many of his later years), the two men never met.  Rockwell’s first works as a professional illustrator were not published until 1912, two years after Twain’s death.  As such, they were of two different eras.  So why are Rockwell and Twain twinned in many ways in the public consciousness?

With books like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Life on the Mississippi, Twain explored many of the seemingly carefree idylls of the typical American boy’s life.  Rockwell illustrated the cover of Boy’s Life, the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America, for several years.  Twain’s books feature adventure, over-active imaginations and afternoons spent playing hooky with friends.  Rockwell’s illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post and his advertisements for the Mass Mutual Life Insurance show the enthusiastic energy of childhood and the importance of family.   Both Rockwell and Twain’s work are suffused with humor and contain many touching moments. 

Rockwell’s art and Twain’s words were and are, in essence, for the masses.  Twain stated, “My books are water: those of the great geniuses are wine.  Everybody drinks water.” (Mark Twain’s Notebook)  This somewhat self-deprecating remark could easily apply to Rockwell’s art, which was widely available via magazine covers.  Twain’s books were sold door-to-door by subscription.  Unlike the works of “great geniuses,” Twain and Rockwell’s work were readily available in everyone’s home. 

Although Rockwell worked in paint, he was not referred to as a painter the way a Da Vinci or a Rembrandt would be; he was labeled “an illustrator” (a term he embraced).  Twain, similarly, was seen less as a novelist and and is more frequently labeled “a humorist.”  It is easy to forget how both Twain and Rockwell could be provocative with their work.  Some critics have dismissed their work as lightweight, blithely ignoring the important statements they made on race (Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Rockwell’s Civil Rights-era The Problem We All Live With) and society (Twain’s writings on Imperialism and Rockwell’s iconic The Four Freedoms).

Both Rockwell and Twain have had the last laugh.  They are arguably more popular than ever: recent Rockwell exhibitions have smashed attendance records at museums across the country and Twain’s Autobiography has been firmly lodged on the New York Times Bestseller list since its release.  A critical reassessment of their oeuvres has forced scholars to rethink the weight of these two masters.    When it comes right down to it, it is no surprise that we often think of Rockwell and Twain together.  Rockwell was commissioned to create illustrations for the 1936 Heritage Press edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the 1940 Heritage Press edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Rockwell traveled to Hannibal to create his sketches, immersing himself in Twain’s world.  The artist stated, “These were classics. I read through the books, making notes of which scenes would make good pictures. Of course certain scenes—for instance, Tom whitewashing his Aunt Polly’s fence—were required.”  He went on to describe the world of Twain’s novels as, “complete and perfect to the last detail.”  We would guess that Twain would express the same sentiments toward Rockwell’s work.  We are delighted to celebrate the impact of these two icons that have become inextricably linked. 

American Storytellers: Norman Rockwell & Mark Twain has been made possible by:

The City of Hartford Arts & Heritage Jobs Grant Program, Pedro Segarra, Mayor

The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation

The Saunders Foundation

United Technologies

The George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation, Bank of America & Alan S. Parker, Co-Trustees

The Greater Hartford Arts Council

The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism

Kindle, Nooks, Amazon, Big Box Bookstores, or Indies?

We know the paper books vs. e-reader (Kindles, Nooks, etc.) debate isn't a brand-new one. We at the Mark Twain House, however, are fascinated by this cultural shift, not only as an organization founded on a writer and publisher, but as a museum with a small bookstore within our walls. No matter what you think of Kindles and the like, their presence is having an unquestionable effect on the book industry.


If you are a book lover, you no doubt have noticed many announcements of stores small and large alike shutting down. Here's the latest we've heard.


The question at hand is: should we accept the descent of the paper book, and embrace the future of books-on-screen? Paper books likely will not disappear for centuries, or maybe ever, but it is possible that they might become more of a specialty item, harder to find, more expensive, for aficionados only. Or maybe, as large book chains struggle, this is the moment for independent bookstores to step back into the spotlight. Our museum bookstore sold an astounding number of copies of Twain's Autobiography, and despite the fact that Twain's works are in the public domain and on the internet, does a bang-up business selling the writer's works to visitors.


But let's take a moment, step back, and talk about the book itself. The internet has been churning out odes to the paper book (ironic!), many of which are worth sharing.


Here's an excerpt from Frenemy's: With real books, there are moments in a a doctor’s office. You watch a girl, maybe fifteen, pull out the Great Gatsby. You remember the moment you fell for it during the bare legged swing and lemonade sip of your sophomore summer. That month you soaked up the pain of love with the kind of awe and understanding that you will never be as brilliant as Fitzgerald. Or Vonnegut. You remember reading sentences from the great and the dead that throw you against a wall or rip your heart out, so you touch the pages and run your fingers down the ink in substitute. There are moments on the subway. A cute, tousled hair kind of guy pulls out a book you have never read. You watch his face, the movements of his mouth as he soaks it up and for a moment you love him. You take out your book, ruffle through your purse, find that paperback and let somebody fall in love with you as you struggle to read with one hand gripped on the crowded railing.


And here's Powell's Books Blog, which is a lively, wonderful conversation on literature. Powell's is a huge indie book store in Portland, Oregon, and if you haven't been there, try to make a pilgrimage sometime. This isn't an actual ode to books as much as it is a living breathing book-loving community.


And one from Julia's blog: I do not read while I am waiting to do other things. I do other things while I am waiting to read. As a child I used to lie on my parents’ bed to read picture books with my father; as he’d fall asleep the pages we’d already read together would flutter haphazardly in the wrong direction, and I didn’t have to turn to his face to know he had fallen asleep. 


How about you? Any favorite articles or blogs about books?


And how about favorite bookstores?  Mine's McNally Jackson in New York. And of course our own bookstore. Come visit!


-- The Mark Twain House

Autobiography: Food for Thought!

Last night, Dr. Kerry Driscoll led a riveting discussion on Mark Twain's latest literary sensation, the Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1.  Our museum center was packed with first-time Nook Farm Book Club members, as well as loyal returnees, and of course, the staffs of the Twain House and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. In our hour together, we meandered through so many rich topics that I thought I'd put them into discussion-question form for your own book reading pleasure. Enjoy! No spoilers!

1. Mark Twain, in his story "Sociable Jimmy," described a character as "an inexhaustable talker." The same could be said for Twain himself! How do you feel about his rambiling, casual (almost chatty) style?

2. Twain undertook the dictation of this book as an experiment-- to see if he could blow apart the traditional autobiographical structure. At the same time, cubism and other artistic experimentations were on rise. What do you think the relationship was between these artistic forms? Do you think this particular bold experiment was a success?

3. Twain doesn't seem too concerned with his reader's ability to follow along with the narrative. Who do you think he was writing this book for? Did you, as a reader, feel that you were being positively challenged, or cheated out of a traditional story?

4. Since Twain abandoned chronology, did you feel free to do the same? Did you read the book in a linear fashion or did you skip around?

5. There are some beautiful passages in this work- for example, the description of narrative moving along like a stream (on page 224 of the University of California Press version). Which passages did you find most interesting or moving?

6. Many people in our discussion group felt that Twain had a manic/depressive quality about him. While it is impossible to diagnose someone 100 years after his death-- what do you think? Does his memoir exhibit a range of attention or emotion that you found surprising or remarkable?

7. One of Twain's motivations for delaying the publication of this autobiography was to air his grievances against politicians and acquaintances he didn't much like. We were particularly impressed with the vitriolic takedown of the Countess Massiglia. Any favorite smackdowns? Is it fair to take down enemies 100 years in the future, or is all fair in love, war, and autobiography?

8. One of the most amazing things about this autobiography is the fact that it was entirely dictated. Mark Twain has accomplished a rare and remarkable feat- being both a great writer and a great speaker. How do you think his conversational tone has affected his writing style, and vice versa?

9. For historians and history lovers, this book is a treasure trove of information. Any details you found enlightening or just plan interesting? Did the book give you a sense of everyday life in that time period?

10. Finally-- this book still manages to be downright hilarious. Read aloud your favorite funny passages, and marvel in the genius of humor that lasts over 100 years.

-- Julia Pistell
Communications & Membership Associate

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The Writer

Let us guess that whenever we read a sentence & like it, we unconsciously store it away in our model-chamber; & it goes, with the myriad of its fellows, to the building, brick by brick, of the eventual edifice which we call our style.
- Letter to George Bainton, 15 Oct 1888; (first printed in The Art of Authorship: Literary Reminiscences, Methods of Work, and Advice to Young Beginners, Personally Contributed by Leading Authors of the Day. Compiled and Edited by George Bainton. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1890, pp. 85-88.)

Last Thursday, your intrepid blogger boarded an Amtrak train from Hartford to Washington, DC, for an annual writers’ conference. I registered for the conference with the intention of gathering ideas for The Mark Twain House & Museum’s own burgeoning writing program, and gather ideas I did!

The AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Conference is, I believe, the largest conference of its kind in the world. Each year a flurry of writers, editors, agents, literary magazines, small presses, big presses, MFA programs, and world-famous authors descend on a fantastic American city and swap knowledge. For example, I went to panels on The Future of Literary Criticism and How to Start a Successful Literary Center, and sat around at lunch tables with the director of a writing program in California as well as a poet who edits a great literary journal. Jhumpa Lahiri and Junot Diaz read from their latest works, and it took me four hours to properly peruse the new books fair. Through it all I rained down Mark Twain House brochures and spoke about our man Sam to all kinds of people who love writing.

It was, at moments, strange to be representing an author one hundred years dead at the same moment that a twenty-two-year-old writing hopeful tentatively picked up a pamphlet from another table. Not a single other writer’s house was there (although the website Writers’ Houses was, as well as the first stages of the American Writers Museum), and yet I felt that we were certainly a part of the action. Writers babbled about their love of Huck Finn and their passionate responses to the censorship controversy earlier this month. Small presses peppered me with questions about the autobiography.

One of our long-term goals here at the Twain House is to carry Twain’s legacy into the future by encouraging those around us to write as he did: write well, write often, write passionately. To that end we have begun offering writing workshops as well as an avalanche of speakers and lecturers that carry on Twain’s writing legacy today. We’ve started a separate blog, too, that you should follow just so you can check in with the work that’s being produced here. You can also sign up for a class yourself (spots still open!) and please stay tuned for announcements on writers’ getaway weekends and other unique programs.

We love Twain for his masterful use of words, and for his commitment to putting his thoughts down on paper. Feel connected to this great American author, this great humorist, this great cultural observer. Write something today.

-- Julia Pistell
Communications & Membership Associate

EXILES FROM EDEN

For Samuel Clemens, the years he lived in Hartford were the happiest of his life.  His time here was not always an idyll, but he built a breathtaking home that symbolized his success and filled it with a loving wife and three cherished daughters.  The years he was in residence saw the creation of his greatest works.  Tragedy, of course, visited him from time to time with the death of his son Langdon and his failed business investments, but overall his time in Hartford was fairly Edenic. 

In 1891, due to mounting debts, the Clemens Family left the house. The family departed for Europe to begin a lecture tour that was to last one year.  As their European sojourn stretched to four years, the family returned for a respite in Elmira.  In 1895, commencing a round-the-world lecture tour that would ultimate culminate in the book Following the Equator, Sam, his wife Livy and their middle daughter Clara set sail for Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia and India. Daughters Susy and Jean stayed with family in upstate New York with the intention of rejoining their family in England at the conclusion of the tour.  As is well known, on a visit to Hartford, Susy contracted bacterial meningitis and died in the house in 1896, just as Livy and Clara were crossing across the Atlantic to be by her side.  The loss of Susy was a crushing blow and the family never again lived in the Hartford home.  In a sense, they were cast from their Eden.

In 1893, during the family’s itinerant wanderings, Twain undertook writing a light burlesque of the Book of Genesis’s creation story.  Extracts from Adam’s Diary is a non-religious take on the first man’s time in and out of the Garden of Eden.  A humorous and cranky look at how Adam adjusts to life with Eve, the short tome is comprised of diary entries that detail their quotidian existence.  From the outset, Adam is not pleased with his mate:

“Monday – This new creature with the long hair is a good deal in the way.  It is always hanging around and following me about.  I don’t like this; I am not used to company.”

Over the ensuing days and weeks, Eve troubles him greatly by naming the animals, moving into his hut, and putting fish in his bed.  One would think he would not be excited about her interactions with a certain serpent, but Adam actually finds relief in her new friend:

“She has taken up with a snake now.  The other animals are glad, for she was always experimenting with them and bothering them; and I am glad, because the snake talks, and this enables me to get a rest.”

Of course, after the famous apple-eating incident, all hell breaks loose and they are expelled from the Garden.  Worse, Eve starts having babies which mystify and befuddle poor Adam. 

Twain submitted Extracts from Adam’s Diary for publication in the Niagara Book, a souvenir promoting the 1893 Buffalo World’s Fair.  He tweaked his copy to include Buffalo-area references, thereby locating the Niagara Falls in Eden.  The book would later be published as an illustrated, stand-alone piece in 1904.

After the publication of Extracts from Adam’s Diary, Sam lost his beloved daughter Susy and his wife Livy’s health began to deteriorate.  In 1902, the family moved to Florence, Italy in an effort to rejuvenate Livy in a warmer climate.  She struggled through the ensuing two years and died in 1904.  Predictably, the loss of his wife was a desolation for Sam.  In 1905, he channeled his grief into a surprising sequel to Adam’s diary.

Eve’s Diary was created as a companion piece to the earlier Extracts from Adam’s Diary, but it is a much more mature, heartfelt piece of writing.  Whereas Adam’s scribblings evidence greater humor, Eve’s reflections on life in Eden are much more emotional.  Where Adam is grouchy and wants to be left alone, Eve is wide-eyed with wonder, brimming with love and curiosity.  Adam is content with things being as they are, peppered with the occasional adventure (like hunting and fishing trips or a ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel).  Eve needs to understand things, name them, conduct experiments and engage in conversation, especially with the man that shuns her at almost every turn.

In time, begrudgingly at first, Adam grows in affection for Eve.  He even seems to forgive her the lapse in judgment that precipitates their exile from Eden.  In fact, the Fall itself (Eve’s temptation and subsequent passing of the apple to Adam) doesn’t even merit a mention in Eve’s Diary.   It  is as if Twain couldn’t bear to lay that at Eve’s feet.  She writes:

“When I look back, the Garden is a dream to me.  It was beautiful, surpassingly beautiful, enchantingly beautiful; and now it is lost, and I shall not see it anymore.”

But, she does not mourn the loss of the Garden because she has found love:

“The Garden is lost, but I have found him, and am content.  He loves me as well as he can; I love him with all the strength of my passionate nature, and this, I think, is proper to my youth and sex.  If I ask myself why I love him, I find I do not know, and do not really much care to know…”

It is clear that Twain sees Eve as the superior being – her love is unconditional; Adam’s love is qualified.  Ultimately, after forty years living together, Eve hopes for them to die together.  Her wish goes unfulfilled and the final entry of Eve’s Diary is written by her bereft husband at her grave.  One cannot help but feel that the loss of the Clemens’ home in Hartford wasn’t really the expulsion from the Garden; the greatest loss is losing the ones you love and that the true Garden lies within the border of our hearts.  To quote Adam’s eulogy for Eve:

“Wheresoever she was, there was Eden.”

The two diaries have been integrated into one text and will be performed on Saturday, February 12^th at 8 p.m. by acclaimed actors Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker.  Tickets for this special Valentine’s Weekend event are $50 ($40 for Museum Members) and can be ordered by calling (860) 280-3130.  Admission includes a romantic champagne and chocolate reception and book signing with Eikenberry and Tucker.

INVITING THE FOX INTO THE HEN HOUSE

On Friday, January 14^th at 5:30 p.m., The Mark Twain House & Museum joins The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in presenting author Anne Trubek lecturing on her new book.  Presenting authors in conversation is central to our mission.  Seems like a no-brainer, right?  We’re museums dedicated to writers.  Well, in a move that the Hartford Courant calls “counterintuitive programming,” this is no ordinary lecture offering.  In fact, to borrow a great quote from our friends at the Stowe Center, we might be inviting “the fox into the hen house.”  Why is Anne Trubek the fox in this scenario?  Because her book is highly critical of who we are and what we do.

In 2010, Trubek released her much-discussed book A Skeptic’s Guide to Writers’ Houses.  The book is equal parts travel writing, literary history and memoir.  It is also a jeremiad of sorts about house museums dedicated to celebrated writers.  Maybe jeremiad is too extreme a term.  Her book is, at a minimum, a critical look at why and how we preserve the homes of certain writers for public consumption.  In so doing, Trubek feels like the writer’s home becomes a fictional construct – oftentimes made to look as if the writer just stepped away or composed of furnishings not native to the house or history re-written to reflect the writer’s work instead of their lives.  She chronicles her journey to the homes of beloved writers like Mark Twain, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as authors who have fallen into obscurity like Tom Wolfe (no, not that Tom Wolfe) and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

In essence she is asking the question, “What do we hope to get out of a visit to a writer’s house?”  Her thesis:  If you want to know a writer, you read their work.  That seems fairly obvious.  Undoubtedly a reader would get a lot closer to the heart of Mark Twain by reading Life on the Mississippi or his newly-released autobiography than they would by visiting The Mark Twain House.  In Trubek’s estimation, guests to a writer’s house are at the interpretive mercy of curators, overly-enthusiastic or ill-informed tour guides, cash-strapped budgets, urban blight and well-stocked gift shops.  As a result, the effort to get a better appreciation of a writer is often muddied or misguided.  Worse, there are folks who go to historic house with no knowledge or appreciation for the former occupant (eg. Tourists who flock to Hemingway’s Key West retreat to see the cats).

As an employee of the museum, I found reading A Skeptic’s Guide to Writers’ Houses a frustrating and immensely rewarding experience.  We pride ourselves on trying to put together a visitor experience that leaves the guest with a greater knowledge, appreciation and admiration for Mark Twain.  I like to think we do that and I am sure the same goes for our compatriots over at the Stowe Center.  But as I read the book, I saw the validity of many of Trubek’s opinions.  Do we falsify history when we have a piano in the house that is almost exactly like the one the Clemens owned?  Have we implicitly re-written Twain’s history to reflect the characters in his stories?  Do we shortchange audiences by making the Clemens Family’s time in Hartford seem overly happy?  Are we doing Twain a disservice by selling magnets, busts and mugs with his likeness on them?  What story are we telling?  These are all legitimate questions that Trubek challenges us to answer honestly. 

Sometimes on our days off, employees of The Mark Twain House & Museum will go visit other writers’ houses (yes, we’re nerds like that).  Often, these employees will come back and say what the other house did right or what the other house did wrong.  Of course, these opinions are subjective.  Writers’ homes, like their books or poems, are fixed things, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t equally open to a variety of interpretations and readings. 

As the custodians of Twain’s Hartford home and legacy, we are charged with interpreting Twain for a variety of contemporary audiences:  book lovers, school kids, architecture aficionados, tourists looking for something to visit on the way from Boston to New York, hardcore Twainiacs, history buffs, and more.  We cannot be everything to everyone, but we can do our best to honor Twain honestly.  And, sometimes, it is nice to let foxes like Anne Trubek into the hen house to keep us on our toes.

- Jacques Lamarre, Director of Communications

The Mark Twain House & Museum Responds to the new "Huck Finn" Controversy

The recent announcement of the NewSouth Books’ upcoming release of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn – a new edition of the Mark Twain classics that double-yokes the two seminal novels into one text while eliminating the controversial “n”-word and the use of the term “Injun” – has created a firestorm of attention. The novels, which Twain worked on during his time in Hartford, continue to provoke controversy, passion and discussion.

The Mark Twain House & Museum currently has an exhibition entitled Yours Truly, Huck Finn that considers the creation of this enduring classic. The exhibition features first editions, original illustrations, publication history, pop culture representations, and a section on the book being censored and banned. Yours Truly, Huck Finn, which was originally scheduled to close this weekend, has been extended through Sunday, January 16 to allow guests to learn more about the book.

Mark Twain House & Museum Executive Director Jeffrey Nichols states, “Although we admire Dr. Alan Gribben’s scholarship and share his desire to have the books be widely accessible in schools, we encourage readers to experience Mark Twain’s original text whenever possible. Our education department actively works with schools across the country to contextualize the troubling race relations and use of the ‘n’-word during Twain’s lifetime. We invite teachers to contact us if they would like assistance on how to integrate the text into their curriculum in a socially and historically responsible way. We invite the public to visit our current Yours Truly, Huck Finn exhibition to explore why the novel has endured for over 125 years and the house where Twain lived while he created this masterpiece.”

Yours Truly, Huck Finn is sponsored by The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation with additional support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and the Greater Hartford Arts Council.

LOOKING BACK/MOVING FORWARD

2010 was a remarkable year for Mark Twain in general and The Mark Twain House & Museum in particular. Time recently catalogued the “Comebacks of the Year” and included in the list was Twain. Of course, this is funny to folks here at the museum because Twain never truly went away (a necessary ingredient for a comeback). Our Centennial Celebration – the observance of Twain’s death plus his 175^th birthday and the 125^th anniversary of the U.S. publication of his masterwork Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – only served as a reminder of this giant among men who still walks, speaks and breathes (if a little raspishly after all those cigars) among us.

Two years ago, The Mark Twain House & Museum appeared to be down for the count. Financial difficulties put the future of this National Historic Landmark in doubt. Thanks to generous supporters, a rallying cry from Twain-lovers across the globe, and the dedicated stewardship of a hard-working staff and board, the rough waters were leveled and the ship was righted. But smooth sailing, as any scholar of Twain will tell you, is not what Samuel Clemens was about. His chosen pen name indicates the point at which dangerous passages become safe waters and vice versa. We had to dive into our Centennial Celebration and make a splash.

In order to change the course of The Mark Twain House & Museum, we turned to Sam himself and created a multi-faceted celebration of his life, his times, his interests, his foibles, his family and, of course, his legendary work. Thanks to our generous friends at The Hartford Financial Services Group, our Centennial Sponsor, we were able to hit the ground running in January and haven’t looked back, until now, in the waning weeks of 2010. Some highlights…

• A performance of Mark Twain Tonight! by the indefatigable Hal Holbrook
• A far-ranging collaboration with Hartford Stage, Hartford Public Library and Connecticut Public Broadcasting to celebrate Twain and his classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• The blockbuster success of Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 plus a symposium on Twain at St. Joseph College
• A brand new website that adds more resources for folks looking to know more about Twain and his home in Hartford
  
• Authors in conversation including Twain biographers Laura Skandera Trombley, Jerome Loving, Michael Shelden and food historian Andrew Beahrs discussing Twain’s Feast
• A Centennial Séance that exposed the bunk and chills of Spiritualism (plus a breathtaking Mark Twain House cake created by the Ace of Cakes)
• Four fascinating exhibitions that explored Twain’s legacy, his house’s architecture, and his seminal works
• Thousands of children visiting the house and museum for the first time to learn about Twain
• The launch of the Nook Farm Book Club with the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
• A delightful Spring and Fall series of free lectures examining Sam and his obsessions, The Trouble Begins at 5:30
• Expanding education programs with Capital Prep and Bulkeley High School
• The debut of Writing at The Mark Twain House classes with Lary Bloom, Suzanne Levine and Susan Campbell
• Fun and eclectic programs like our Tapping into Twain Oktoberfest, Sam’s Summer Social & Moustache Party, Steampunk Tea Party and Party on the Mississippi.
• Lectures and programs with national figures such as Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi, Tiffany & Co. Design Director Emeritus John Loring, Irish punk rock author Larry Kirwan and Montblanc North America CEO Jan-Patrick Schmitz.
• Family-friendly events like Tom Sawyer Day, Saturdays with Sam and Stowe & Twain’s Old Fashioned Christmas
• Popular outreach lecture programs held at libraries and organizations throughout the state by Education Program Manager Craig Hotchkiss
• Sold-out Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours that probed the darker elements of Twain’s home and history
• Lively performances by the Ebony Hillbillies, Hartford Opera Theatre, Sea Tea Improv, Varla Jean Merman, HartBeat Ensemble, and dozens of others.
• A celebration of fellow Connecticut icon P.T. Barnum for the circus impresario’s Bicentennial with a special exhibition plus lecture and family programs
• …and so much more!

In all, we had over 50 unique events plus mini-exhibitions, collaborations and speaking engagements. And the world sat up and took notice. We’ve had press coverage ranging from local features, regional write-ups and national attention from USA Today, The New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, Wall Street Journal, Ghost Hunters Academy, among others. We also were profiled by international journalists including the BBC, German Public Radio, Portuguese and Russian magazines, a Japanese newspaper, Australian radio, and an Israeli internet reporter, to name but a few. Special thanks goes to Vault Communications, our amazing PR firm, and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for their support of our expanded marketing efforts.

The result of all of this activity and attention? We have experienced a 13% increase in house tour visitation this year and a 16% increase in revenue. In August 2010, we had our highest attendance for a month ever. Program attendance alone has soared over 60% higher than previous years. We’ve grown our membership base and the Mark Twain Museum Store has exceeded its sales goals (thanks due, in no small part, to our new Store Manager Laura Van Dine and the arrival of a certain autobiography).

Another result of all of this activity? We’re exhausted. And planning how to top ourselves. We’ve already announced special programs for early 2011 including a lecture by author Anne Trubek (A Skeptic’s Guide to Writers’ Houses), a visit from humorist Roy Blount, Jr., an evening of R-Rated Twain, and a celebrity reading of Twain’s Diaries of Adam & Eve with Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker. We hope that you plan to join us again and again as we look ahead to where Mark Twain will take us. Subscribe to our email newsletter, become a member, follow us on Twitter and/or become a fan on Facebook to keep up-to-date on everything we have in the works. Please know that at the close of our Centennial Celebration that we plan on continuing our efforts to celebrate the man who has given us so much joy.

Thank you to our board, staff, donors, members, visitors, fans and friends for making this an unforgettably awesome year. See you in 2011!

- Jacques Lamarre

Director of Communications