Although never accused of being the shy and retiring type, I was 
reluctant to join the Mark Twain Circle and attend an Elmira summit. It 
wasn't that I was intimidated by an academic group. Certainly nobody at 
no time had uttered a single word that could be taken as intimidating, 
off-putting or elitist. But my perception was that this was a group 
designed by academics for academics. There was no Forum at the time (the 
time being the early '90s), but, if there had been, my response would 
have been similar: "Why would they want me around? What have I got to 
offer?"
    Some of this perception was based on exposure to other academic 
groups devoted to literary figures. They tend to guard their territory 
ferociously and tenaciously, and they look suspiciously upon any new 
face, academic or not. Yup, I was carrying baggage, and it weighed me 
down some.
    The venerable Tom Tenney (all honor to his name) was the one who 
held the Twain door open and urged me to step inside (pushed me inside, 
actually). "You're precisely the kind of person we need," Tom's 
honey-combed tones assured. I joined the Circle. I became long-distance 
friends with many Twain scholars whose work I cherished. But despite the 
encouragement of growing number of Twainiacs, I still passed on 
attending the 1994 Elmira conference. My loss.
    I felt as if I'd earned the right to attend the 1997 conference 
because my first Twain book was published in 1996. Ah-ha, this is my 
ticket in. I have a credential. Do you know how incredibly stupid this 
was? OK, sure, most of you know. Tom had told me the only credential you 
needed to attend was an interest in Mark Twain, and I foolishly didn't 
take that on face value.
    So I attended the 1997 conference, and it was a magical time. I was 
swept up in a whirlwind of welcome. Professors and non-academics alike 
couldn't have been more friendly, supportive and sharing. I immediately 
felt like I belonged. And, strangely, more than that, I felt as if I'd 
always belonged. It's impossible to list the number of kindnesses
    This, without exception, has been my experience in the greater Twain 
world. I'm sure many of you who have researched Twain or written on 
Twain have had similar experiences. You ask for help, and it's 
immediately and generously offered from a staggering number of directions.
    Some of those directions can be traced back to a university, some to 
a center for Twain studies, some to non-academic Twain researchers. The 
common theme is generosity. If this be intimidation, make the most of it!
    By the 2001 conference (again being pushed by both academic and 
non-academic Twain friends), I was presenting a paper. And the first 
people to tell me they liked the presentation were those snooty 
academics Lou Budd, Vic Doyno and Shelley Fisher Fishkin. The nerve of 
these people, trying to intimidate a poor working writer like that. Can 
you believe the extent people will go to topple an Ivory Tower on you?
    So I've presented at the last two conferences, and I'll be honored 
to have a paper accepted for next year's conference. How did that 
happen? Well, it didn't happen because someone put an "academics only" 
sign outside the Twain gates.
     I've made this observation in the acknowledgments to my books and 
in previous postings, but I'm not just blowing happy smoke at the Twain 
community. I know through wonderful experience that this is how the vast 
majority of Twain enthusiasts are, whether they write the word professor 
before their names or not. If I asked each of you to cite examples of 
this eagerness to help and share, the responses would clog this forum 
for several days.
    That's why the late unpleasantries troubled me so deeply. They put a 
false face on the true nature of the Twain community.
     And it's not as if I don't have points of comparison. I have 
experience, good and bad, with other areas of literary research. I'm a 
card-carry (nice card, by the way) member in good standing of the 
Dickens Fellowship (I'm on the planning committee for the 2009 
International conference, which will be here in Cleveland, right before 
the Elmira conference, so make your plans -- it's a beautiful five-hour 
drive from the Cleve to Elmira). Also, when I was working on a book 
about Dashiell Hammett, those biographers and researchers couldn't have 
been more sharing and helpful. Just finished a book on Bram Stoker's 
"Dracula," and those academics truly drove a stake through the notion of 
academic elitism. Those are the ones that compare favorably with the 
Twain community. I will not mention the many harsher experiences in 
other realms.
    My point is (and I do have one) is that I've run into my share of 
Ivory Towers. I see remarkably little of that rarefied substance in the 
Twain world. Almost none. And the last time I checked, elitism and 
snobbishness were not attitudes exclusive to academia.
    I wholeheartedly agree that these attitudes do not fit the spirit of 
Twain, but they don't fit the spirit of Twain academics, either. So to 
my fellow non-academics, I would say, don't let the rare ungenerous 
spirit speak for the group. Gives these professor types a chance, and 
you'll be greatly rewarded for it.
     Twain said he had no prejudices because all he needed to know was 
that someone was a human being -- he couldn't be any worse. I have no 
prejudices on this Forum because all I need to know is that you're a 
Twain enthusiast -- it doesn't get much better.
    After that, if you have any doubts you belong here, remember the 
words of Tom Tenney (all honor to his name): "You're precisely the kind 
of person we need."