ORANGE GLOW - Sky Watch Friday

ORANGE GLOW

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Sky Watch Friday

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When I saw this image in the west, I had to pull off the road to snap some photos before the sun dropped below the horizon. In the photo, the sunset almost looks like a fire is burning at the base of the trees.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

WHY DO I STUDY MARK TWAIN?

In my post MEETING MARK TWAIN about the 2009 Elmira Mark Twain Conference, I included a link to a video made by John Bird, a conference participant. Bird asked fellow Twain scholars, "Why do you work on Mark Twain?" or "Why do you study Mark Twain?"

The answers were varied. Bird could not possibly ask every participant because the video would have been hours long. I'm not sure what I would have said on the spur of the moment, but this is how I would answer after having time to think about the question:

I read several of Twain's novels in my teens, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, the Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee. I enjoyed the novels, but I wasn't yet a Twain enthusiast.

In college, I read some of Twain's social commentary, and that is when I fell in love with Mark Twain. I also read some of his writings that he directed not be published until 100 years after his death. He said that only dead men can tell the truth. Clara, the only daughter who survived him, decided to publish Letters from the Earth and other controversial writings in 1960, fifty years after her father's death.

Fellow Twain aficionado Richard Talbot put into words my exact sentiments: Twain "was singing a song that was already in my heart... I just wanted to hum along."

Twain once said, "Humor must not professedly teach and it must not professedly preach, but it must do both if it would live forever." He was able to cut through the rhetoric to tell the truth about war, race, imperialism, religion, government, and many other subjects. His thoughts have such a universal quality that they are as relevant today as they were when he wrote them.

Years ago, when I first read Twain's social commentaries, I was amazed that someone who died in 1910 could express exactly what was in my heart so eloquently and with such good humor.

His humor is what makes Twain so very enjoyable. In Following the Equator, he said, “Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of Humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven.” In The Mysterious Stranger, he wrote: “Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”

* * * * *

What makes Twain so fascinating is that a multitude of Twain's private papers, notebooks, writings, photographs, business documents, and letters had not been published until the later part of the 20th century. Most papers were donated by his daughter to the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley, which now houses the Mark Twain Papers and Project which publishes the papers (many online) and encourages Twain research. Previously-unknown letters and other writing surface occasionally. Thus, we are still learning from this complex man who was dead serious and hilariously funny, whose life was filled with both sorrow and joy, who came from the humblest of beginnings, became wealthy, went broke, ended up a wealthy man again, and became a world-renowned super star.

Twain could have been talking about himself when he said, "There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy."

(except for Twain & Talbot quotes, ©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

MEETING MARK TWAIN - Elmira, NY

The International Conference on Mark Twain Studies happens every four years at Elmira College. Hands down, the Elmira conferences have been the best-run conferences I've ever attended, all four times I've participated, beginning in 1997.
The sessions begin and end on time. The food is of gourmet quality served with wines from the nearby Finger Lakes region. The attendees are interesting, knowledgeable, fun-loving people with a common interest in Mark Twain.
During the 2009 conference, papers were presented by individuals from universities across the nation and as far away as Australia, including Canada, France, Japan, Germany, UK, Portugal, India, Fiji, and Israel. Several papers were presented by independent scholars, who have no university affiliation, just an abiding interest in all things Twain. Many attendees have written some of my favorite books about Sam Clemens / Mark Twain.

The first evening, we were treated to a wine-tasting and the viewing of an exhibit of Classics Illustrated (comic books) featuring Twain's works, followed by a champagne dinner and a performance of music popular in Twain's day.

On the second evening, the keynote speaker for the event was Russell Banks who spoke about his six degrees of separation from Mark Twain. Banks' wife, poet Chase Twichell, is a decendent of Mark Twain's friend, the Reverend Joe Twichell, who presided at Twain's wedding and funeral. Banks signed books afterward under a tent at the champagne reception where we were also served wonderful bite-sized desserts, from chocolate cheescake to fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate or white chocolate.

One of the highlights of the event was the appearance of Hal Holbrook who has played Mark Twain longer than Samuel Clemens played Mark Twain. Holbrook performed his Mark Twain act for the first time in 1947. In March 1967, CBS broadcast his "Mark Twain Tonight" program. Many Twain scholars trace their interest in Twain to viewing that performance.

Richard Talbot said, "I walked up to Hal Holbrook and stuck out my hand. He took it in his and didn't let go. He said, 'What brings you here?'
"I said, 'When I was seventeen I saw you on TV, and I thought then that Mark Twain was a pretty funny fellow. After I'd grown I read him and found that he was singing a song that was already in my heart. From that day to this I've just wanted to hum along. And you sir, you were the first link in a very long chain...so I thank you.'
"He loosened his grip but only slightly. He had heard what I said. He didn't say a word. He just stared at me with those pale blue eyes. They suddenly grew red and tears formed on the rims. He placed his other hand across my forearm, swallowed hard and gave me a nod." (Richard Talbot sent this in an email message to members of the Mark Twain Forum after the conference.)

At age 84, Holbrook still travels to perform "Mark Twain Tonight" throughout the country. I caught his performances in Pittsburgh in the 1970's and again in May of 2007.

Holbrook said, "I think I would end up in a mental institution if I couldn't do this Mark Twain show. I get so angry about what's going on in the world, I can barely contain myself. And this show gives you the freedom to go out on stage and say exactly what you're feeling ---exactly what needs to be said [in Mark Twain's words.] It's tremendously cathartic." (from the abstract of Mark Dawidziak's presentation, "Mark Twain Tonight!, Today and Tomorrow: The Impact and Importance of Hal Holbrook's One-Man Show.")

After Dawidziak's presentation, Holbrook added, "We all know one thing. We need somebody to tell us the truth. Not twist it. Not make it their own territory. But to tell us the truth." (Thanks to K. Patrick Ober who transcribed this from the recording he made of Holbrook's remarks on his iPhone.)

The final night of the conference, we enjoyed a picnic at Quarry Farm, Twain's sister-in-law's home, where she built an octagonal study for Twain on a knoll above the farm house. (The study now rests on the Elmira campus.) Twain penned many of his greatest writings there while his family spent summers on the farm which rests high on a hill overlooking Elmira.

The picnic consisted of barbecued shrimp, chicken, and ribs, Portuguese rolls, various salads, baked beans, gingerbread, ice cream, wine, beer, or soft drinks, consumed under large tents behind the house. An Elmira student entertained us with piano jazz. On the front porch, various participants played guitar, banjo, violin and recorder for a sing-along. Before we returned to the Elmira campus, conference participants held their traditional ceremonial cigar smoke on the spot where Twain's study once stood. (See below for a link to comments made by Hal Holbrook.)

Each night, before retiring, participants held lively conversations at the Corn Pone Pub with a sing-along on the adjoining portico.

Although the conference was wonderful, I do have several complaints. There was too much food and it was way too delicious. My waistline is complaining about that. And now that the conference is over, I must wait four long years to attend the next one. Otherwise, the conference was sheer perfection.

* * * * *

John Bird walked up to many conference participants and asked the question, "Why do you work on Mark Twain?" The resulting video can be seen HERE. Read my own answer to this question HERE.

At the study sight where conference participants had their traditional cigar smoke, Hal Holbrook made impromptu comments about meeting Clara Clemens (Twain's daughter) and Isabel Lyon (his secretary) when Clara was elderly and in poor health. Find a fascinating audio recording of his comments HERE.

More impromtu remarks by Holbrook after a conference presentation can be found HERE along with some photos. 

I was thrilled to have both Hal Holbrook and Russell Banks sign my conference program.

(Except for excerpts from others which are noted in the text, ©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

I'M OFF TO VISIT MARK TWAIN

I will leaving this morning to attend a Mark Twain conference and make a few stops on the way home. I will have "guest" internet access at Elmira College, but I'll be so busy, I probably will not have time to check my blog or respond to comments or comment on posts for about a week.

If I have time, I might write about the Twain conference. If not, I will do so upon my return.

BULLHEADED - Short Fiction

This short story is in response to

RAVEN’S SATURDAY

WORDZZLE CHALLENGE

Click on the yellow link to join in or read other entries.

How it works: Raven supplies two sets of words (or phrases) to use in a piece of writing. One can choose the ten- or five-word challenge ---or combine both into a fifteen word mega-challenge.

Mega Challenge: fair warning, hormones, journalism, philanthropist, burgeoning, running the bulls, saturation, tossed in the towel, whine, indelicate details, hard labor, lurid, quick fix, sizable contributions, trumpet

(Words from the challenge are in bold face in the story.)

Art Rivers, one of the world’s great philanthropists, had made sizable contributions to the Running the Bulls Amputees (RBA) a group that provided prothetic limbs to those who had lost arms or legs in the idiotic attempt to outrun a herd of bulls through the streets of Pamplona, Spain.
When a reporter asked why he would support boneheads who had put themselves in danger by ignoring fair warnings that injury was not only possible but probable, Mr. Rivers told of the time he had planned to run with the bulls himself. Early that morning, after he tripped over an area rug in his relatively-safe hotel room, he lost his balance and rammed his groin into the corner of a dresser which resulted in.... well, Rivers decided not to go into the indelicate details of his injury. However, he related some of his life’s story.
When Rivers was a young man getting his feet wet in journalism, he was expected to cover the bull run with a first-hand account. After being injured, he tossed in the towel. Without a story, he was fired.
Art didn’t whine about his injury. He sued. After years of scraping by as a freelance writer while the court case dragged on, he used his settlement from the international hotel chain to start his own weekly, specializing in true crime.
He loved running his own company but Rivers sometimes felt like he had been sentenced to years of hard labor. With only a few employees, he worked eighteen hour days, seven days a week. Soon, his burgeoning business was earning money. Before long, he was a wealthy man.
After ten years of long days and little sleep, his wife Julie pleaded with him to take time off from work. She said he was like a crazed bull dog. When he got his teeth in something, he wouldn’t let go, even if it was to his own detriment. When he continued working long hours, she left him.
Six months later, depressed, lonely, overworked, and drinking too much, Art had reached his own saturation point. His doctor prescribed less work. The quick fix was to turn over the running of his business to his assistant. After ten months of sobriety and a lonely-but-enlightening round-the-world cruise, Rivers was ready for his next move.
He had spent years writing and editing articles about true crime. On his cruise, Art turned to writing lurid crime fiction. On the ship, he worked only six hours each day, five days a week, to complete his first novel “Sexual Relations.” The plot revolved around a hormone-crazed teen who sexually assaulted and murdered his aunt. Art had taken the details of a half dozen true crime stories and woven them together into a page turner that reached number three on the best seller list. Rivers was trumpeted as the next Raymond Chandler.
By the time agreements were signed for foreign distribution, paper back editions, and film rights, his second novel, “Gun Shy,” was in its final stages. He was already a millionaire from his publishing company. Now he had earned millions more from his first novel and had won an Edgar Award for his work. But he was a lonely man.
Art called Julie. He offered to hire her to administrate his philanthropic projects, something he knew she would find rewarding. To his relief, she accepted.
The following summer, Rivers invited Julie to join him for a cruise to Spain. This time he had no intention of running with the bulls. He wanted to soak up the atmosphere for his third novel, “A Line of Bull,” about a private detective who had lost a leg during the bull run.
Aboard ship, Art planned to ask Julie to marry him again.

I will be at the Twain conference next weekend, so I will be skipping Wordzzle on August 8th. I'll be back in two weeks.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)