Here are two of  Mark Twain's most emphatic testimonials about his writing
at Quarry Farm.  The first is from a letter written from Hartford to Mary
Mason Fairbanks on April 13, 1875:
      "For I can write 10 chapters in Elmira where I can write one here.
For when one is in the workaday world, there's a million interruptions and
interferences.  I can't succeed except by getting clear out of the world on
top of the mountain at Elmira."
      Then again on March 9, 1878, "...the only chance I get to work is the
3 months we spend at the farm in the summer."

  Also, the following is from the January 17,1885, issue of  The Critic, an
article entitled "Mark Twain at 'Nook Farm' (Hartford) and Elmira," by
Charles H. Clark:

      "Mr. Clemens divides his year into two parts, which are not exactly
for work and play respectively, but which differ very much in the nature of
their occupations . . . At Elmira, Mr. Clemens works hard.  He puts together
there whatever may have been in his thoughts and recorded in his note-books
during the rest of the year.  It is his time of completing work begun, and
of putting into definite shpae what have been suggestions and possibilities
. . .But while the life at Elmira is in the main seclusive and
systematically industrious, that at Hartford ... is full of variety and
entertainment.  His time is the less restricted, and he gives himself freely
to the enjoyment of social life."

          To continue this debate on the issue of where Mark Twain did his
best work, please join us at  Elmira College for,  A Conference, Elmira
2005: The Fifth International Conference on The State of Mark Twain Studies,
August 4-6, 2005.  For details go to www.elmira.edu, Quick Link to Mark
Twain Connection, 2005 conferenc.

      It will be great to see you all in August.

       Enjoy the summer,
       Gretchen Sharlow