Or, if not some mathematical algorithm, a check for any words that Twain never used in any of his other writings, as well as relatively uncommon words or phrases that he DID use, and which appear in this sketch also.
Has anybody compiled a list of Twain's "vocabulary" - every word he ever used?
- B. Clay Shannon
On Wednesday, February 13, 2019, 10:42:10 AM PST, Mary Eden <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I am no mathematician (very far from it!), but it seems to me that if math
can determine which Beatle wrote "In My Life," it could also determine if
"Texas Steer" was likely written by Twain.
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/11/637468053/a-songwriting-mystery-solved-math-proves-john-lennon-wrote-in-my-life
On Wed, Feb 13, 2019 at 1:27 PM Gregg Camfield <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Hate to be the curmudgeon, but this doesn't seem to me to be Twain's
> style. The relative infrequency of parataxis alone should be a clue, but
> this is a style common to newspaper filler of the day. And tacking Twain's
> name onto something to give it currency is still a common practice.
> G
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Martin Zehr
> Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 5:57 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Rediscovered Twain Sketch?
>
> Having read the sketch, I have to say it does sound to me like something
> Twain could have written, begging the question, when, prior to 1870, would
> Clemens have had the opportunity to encounter a Texas steer? Perhaps he
> transformed, or misremembered, the buffalo Bemis dealt with in Roughing
> It. There were no cattle drives that far north when Sam and Orion
> absquatulated west in 1861, the railroads only making them possible in
> 1869, and the closest Sam ever got to Leavenworth, literally, that is, was
> getting on the stagecoach with Orion in ’61, in St. Joseph, just across the
> river. Of course, he could have just created the sketch based on someone
> else’s reminiscences, or perhaps a few strays, vacationing in Virginia City
> or San Francisco, had caught his attention.
>
> Martin Zehr
>
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>
> From: Matthew Seybold
> Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2019 4:24 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Rediscovered Twain Sketch?
>
> Just posted regarding “The Texan Steer,” a sketch which originated in the
> BUFFALO EXPRESS and circulated with Twain’s byline in 1870.
>
>
> https://marktwainstudies.com/the-texan-steer-a-rediscovered-sketch-by-mark-twain/
>
> I’m obviously hedging my bets on whether or not it was actually written by
> him. But in many ways it reads like him. I haven’t found anything written
> about it anywhere. If anybody has, please alert me to it.
>
> Best,
>
> Matt S.
>
> ***************
> Matt Seybold
> Assistant Professor of American Literature & Mark Twain Studies Elmira
> College Editor, MarkTwainStudies.org MattSeybold.com
>
--
Mary Eden, MA English
LCMS English 8
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