Dear Kent,
Your book is not misunderstood by THIS reader. If it were nothing more than
fan mail I would have said, "Wait, I had plenty of that in Elmira." No, this
book is so much more. It reveals a broad cross section of America as seen
through the eyes of Twains reading public. He wrote for the masses. Some
praise him, some criticize him, some ask for help and advice, and some even
suggest to him what his next writing project should be. Many of the letters
are deeply moving while others are funny. Twain wrote for the masses, and
the masses wrote back.

You keep up the good work and you, too, might be one day be recognized as an
"Independent Mark Twain Scholar."

Your biggest fan in Minnesota,
Rick

Richard Talbot
"Independent Mark Twain Scholar"
1531 West Idaho Avenue
Falcon Heights, MN 55108-2118
(651) 646-6624
(651) 280 8734
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-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kent Rasmussen
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 3:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Dear Mark Twain

On Sunday, September 22, I'll be speaking about Dear Mark Twain: Letters =
from His Readers at Vroman's bookstore in Pasadena, Calif. My talk will =
begin shortly after 4:00 pm. Vroman's is located at 695 E. Colorado =
Boulevard, very near the well-known Pasadena Playhouse. For further =
information, see http://www.penusa.org/go-west-reading-series-2

It would be wonderful to see some of you there, but at the moment, I =
can't think of a single Forum member who lives near Pasadena. I live 50 =
miles from there myself. I didn't even want to drive to Pasadena to see =
Val Kilmer perform his "Citizen Twain" show. On the plus side, my show =
won't charge admission.

Incidentally, I'd love to hear from people who have read Dear Mark =
Twain. The book has been out for nearly six months now, and I get the =
impression that it is misperceived as little more than a collection of =
frivolous fan letters. This, despite the fact that the first page of its =
introduction states, "This volume is not a collection of `fan mail,' but =
rather a broadly representative cross section of the wide range of =
opinions, feelings, and subjects expressed in all the letters Clemens =
received from readers." Oh, well ... I'm sure I'm not the first author =
who feels his books are misunderstood.

Kent