So many favorite moments and memories!……Two late-night jams of bluegrass, folk and rock on the verandah of the student union, with the  pouring rain outside drowned out by the strains of mandolin and  guitar played by John Bird, Ben Click,  Mark Hoffman, & Hal Bush….Singing along with them and with Paula Harrington,  Sharon McCoy, Mark Dawidziak,  Ronald Jenn, and others  (after Ronald came up with the inspired idea of getting the lyrics we forgot on our iPhones)…Collecting a stack of terrific books that will keep me busy all year….Hearing so many illuminating papers….Being prompted to  ponder things I’d never thought about like “Was Huck Quaker?” (Kevin MacDonnell) and what Mark Twain can teach medical students (Patrick Ober) …. Realizing (after hearing papers by Gregg Camfield, Holger Kersten, Tracy Wuster, Jennifer Hughes,  Jeff Melton, Jim Caron, & Jeff Williams that I know a lot less about what humor and satire do  and how they do it than I thought I did, and realizing that I need to try to figure things out afresh…..The astonishing experience of hearing Matt Seybold read a paragraph from my very first book from the podium Friday evening….The shock of receiving the John Tuckey Award…Great 4-hour conversations with Dave Sloane on the drive from CT to Elmira and back …..Reconnecting with former students Tsuyoshi Ishihara and Tracy Wuster….Having a wonderful mini-seminar  on ‘Global Huck’ with Ronald Jenn and Amel Fraisse….Meeting young scholars  like Courtney Bates, Christine Dixon, and Atushi Sugimura who make me confident that Mark Twain Studies have a bright future…Seeing old friends Kent Rasmussen and Linda Morris get the recognition they deserve….Learning about how Jocelyn Chadwick is transforming the NCTE….Getting a packet of some great student papers on Twain from John Pascal….Singing spirituals in the woods at the site of the octagonal study at Quarry Farm (while holding an unlit cigar—I’d inhaled that first year and regretted it since)….Oh yes: and being reminded over and over—through extraordinary conversations over four wonderful days with more people than I can possibly remember—why I love studying Mark Twain and why I got into this profession in the first place!

THANK YOU to Matt Seybold and Joe Lemak!  And to co-chairs Kerry Driscoll and Ann Ryan — and to the other organizers (Nathaniel Bell, Jim Caron, Joe Csicsila, Ben Griffin, Larry Howe, Bruce Michelson, Chad Rohman and Henry Wonham — everyone else who made the conference so special!
Warmly,
Shelley



On Aug 7, 2017, at 10:14 AM, Click, Ben <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:

I'll third Hal and second Joe!  Again this is the most rewarding conference
I attend for all the reasons we always list:  quality people and thinking,
and genuine good will. Thank you to all involved.

Cheers,

Ben

On Sun, Aug 6, 2017 at 1:22 PM, Joseph Csicsila <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:

I'd second Hal's sentiments and add big thanks to Ann and Kerry for the
mont=
hs of grinding work as conference co-directors that went into helping put
to=
gether such a great three days.=20

Congratulations, too, to the five honorees for 2017: Barb, Shelly, Kent,
Lau=
ra, and Linda.=20
=20
Safe travels everyone!

Joe Csicsila

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 6, 2017, at 7:13 AM, Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
=20
Well, my friends, it was a blast.  OK, I'll bite: here is the official
place to post your favorite moments and memories.  I'd love to hear
anyone's thoughts on the experience, so please hit "reply" & add on...
=20
--Elmira College and the Center are in great hands:  Joe & Matt and staff
did spectacularly and I am so grateful having them at the helm.  Well
done:  many people remarked on their enthusiasm and vision going forward.
--Much stirring talk about humor, satire, wit, jokes, and/or some
variatio=
n
of that subject area, over several sessions:  turns out Jim Caron is
quite=

the humorist!  Except he may not like being called that...  and everyone
I=

consulted agrees that it should have been real whiskey, not iced tea,
they=

were sipping...
--Japan wins again for most represented nation outside the USA!!
Otsukare=

sama deshita!!  One scholar, a Syrian national, was unable to join us due
to the travel ban -- which we learned from a tearful Matt Seybold.  Matt
was not the only person moved to tears over the weekend by the way ...
--Great turnout and good weather -- and as usual, it was the PEOPLE
involved that made being at Elmira 2017 very special and memorable.
=20
gratefully, --Hal B.
=20
=20
=20
=20
--=20
Prof. Harold K. Bush
Professor of English
3800 Lindell
Saint Louis University
St. Louis, MO  63108
314-977-3616 (w); 314-771-6795 (h)
<www.slu.edu/x23809.xml<http://www.slu.edu/x23809.xml>>
=20
www.halbush.com<http://www.halbush.com>




--
Ben Click
Professor, English
Director, Writing & Speaking Center
Director, Twain Lecture Series on
American Humor and Culture
(240) 895-4253
St. Mary's College of Maryland