Dear Forumeers:
 
Just a slightly belated note to those in the Conn/Mass/NY area -- 
 
1. On Monday night (May 10) at 7:30 p.m. the Mark Twain House & Museum is hosting a panel with Jerome Loving, Michael Shelden and Laura Skandera Trombley. It's the keynote event for the Hartford Public Library's Big Read program, the book chosen this year being The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The panel presentation is free and starts at 7:30 p.m.
 
Each of the three has an important biographical work out this year, respectively: "Mark Twain: The Adventures of Samuel L. Clemens"; "Mark Twain, Man in White: The Grand Adventure of His Final Years"; and "Mark Twain’s Other Woman: The Hidden History of His Final Years". Quite an evening. Moderator will be Matt Poland, the library director.  
 
2. On May 19 we are starting a regular spring and fall series of talks on Mark Twain called "The Trouble Begins at 5:30," and yes, I did consult with Barb Snedecor in Elmira before performing this act of shameless near-plagiarism. Unlike the wonderful Elmira series, this one is designed for an after-work crowd and draws largely on local talent. We start with the inimitable Kerry Driscoll and a general-audience version of her "Mark Twain's Music Box" essay, previously presented in Elmira. This glorious essay on Clemens' agonies over the choice of the playlist for his Swiss music box, and his and Livy's attitudes toward acquisition and possessions, is of course based on the full-length version in "Cosmopolitan Twain." The talks are free, and start at 5:30 p.m.
 
Future “Troubles” include:

MARK TWAIN AND GOD -- Susan Campbell, the popular, sharp-witted and always controversial Hartford Courant columnist, speaking on “God, Missouri, Fundamentalism and Mark Twain.” Campbell is a product of the tough, hardscrabble soil that spawned America’s greatest author, and is the author of "Dating Jesus." (Wednesday, May 26 at 5:30 p.m.)

MARK TWAIN’S WOMEN -- Patti Philippon, The Mark Twain House & Museum’s Beatrice Fox Auerbach Chief Curator, tells of “Mark Twain’s Women” — his powerful wife, Livy, and his daughters: the creative Susy, the jealous Clara and Jean, the sheltered one, who came into her own in her last years. (Wednesday, June 2, at 5:30 p.m.)

The spring series of “The Trouble Begins at 5:30” is sponsored by Kevin Mac Donnell of Mac Donnell Rare Books of Austin, Texas.
 
Full disclosure: I now flak for The Mark Twain House & Museum, but Kevin B. has okayed such promotional posts so long as I keep it to lecture-y subjects. More details can be had at www.marktwainhouse.org.
 
Best,
Steve

Steve Courtney
7 Union St.
Terryville, CT 06786
860-589-6412
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www.josephhopkinstwichell.com 		 	   		  
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