I don't see any problem with applying literature to contemporary events;
the alternative would be to treat literature as brittle historical
artifacts, and even to deny its universal truths. But I do find most
discussions of "what would Twain have thought about [fill in the blank]"
to be pointless for the simple reason that we cannot know what he would
have thought. But we can speculate, and that speculation is sometimes
interesting for the simple reason that it often reveals more about the
speculator than it does about Twain. I'm a great fan of Twain, but not
so much a fan of all those who speculate. Some speculators are more
interesting than others. Some are amusing, some offensive, some
insightful, and some are absolutely clueless.
Let me suggest a thought experiment that might be useful. My idea for
this experiment comes from my own experience when I've acquired a book
from Twain's library that has not been recorded or described in detail
before. If the book has annotations or markings in the text by Twain, it
is a treat to read them for the first time, as if peeking over Twain's
shoulder as he read the book. His reactions can surprise, delight, or
disappoint. I never know what to expect.
But what if instead of opening the book in search of Twain's markings, I
set his copy aside and performed the following experiment? What if I got
another copy of the same book and read it through, marking along the way
the passages that I thought would catch Twain's eye, making marginal
comments that I thought he might make as he read it? After doing this, I
would then pick up Twain's copy and see whether I guessed his reactions
correctly. The odds are that my speculations would be almost entirely
wrong, with virtually no overlap.
So, pick out a book that Twain read, read it yourself, and mark in the
text what you think he would have thought about the book. This is akin
to speculating about what Twain would have thought about some current
event, but it has the advantage that you can later go back and
fact-check your speculations. I even have a reading list for you, all
books from Twain's library that will be described in detail in volumes 2
& 3 of Gribben's new edition. Some are annotated heavily, some not at
all, and some very lightly:
Cooper's Tales of a Grandfather
Hall's Travels in North America
Howells's The Landlord at Lion's Head
Browning's The Ring and the Book (I dare anyone to read this one)
Caesar's Commentaries
London's Call of the Wild
Wallace's Ben-Hur
Swift's Gulliver's Travels
Browne's Artemus Ward: His Travels
Franklin's Autobiography
Cervantes's Exemplary Novels
Dodgson's Alice in Wonderland
I won't deny that Twain obviously had thoughts about his readings that
are not reflected in his markings and annotations, and that he owned
more than one copy of some books. With that disclaimer in mind, start
reading now, and after the new edition of Gribben appears, report back
how accurately you guessed Twain's reactions.
Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
9307 Glenlake Drive
Austin TX 78730
512-345-4139
Member: ABAA, ILAB, BSA
You can browse our books at:
www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
------ Original Message ------
From: "Hal Bush" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 8/10/2020 9:40:19 AM
Subject: Re: [External] Re: If Alive Today, Would Mark Twain support
"Black Lives Matter"?
>Just to push back on this thread a bit: if Harriet Beecher Stowe were alive today, would she be a follower of Blackpink on Instagram??
>
>All kidding aside, these forays into "presentism" seem historically dishonest to me. I once even wrote a long essay about that in NEQ, called "Our MT?"; but the earlier argument I cribbed a lot from, in terms of MT and theory, was by Richard Hill, titled "Overreaching," and you can track that one down in the Critical editions version of HF, ed. by Gerald Graff. I used Richard's fine article for years; it's provocatively subtitled: "Critical Agendas and the Ending of AHF," and I don't imagine everyone will agree with some of what he suggests. But the conversations are often pretty decent.
>
>Here's my point: these "if he were alive today..." queries seem rather pointless to me--and possible dangerous, I guess. Beware of "overreaching," my friends. Anyway, I thought I would register my reservations, and see what happens next! (really I'm just procrastinating from doing the actual work that pays for my wifi...)
>
>
>
>Dr. Hal Bush
>
>Professor of English &
>
>Director of the Undergraduate Program
>
>Saint Louis University
>
>[log in to unmask]
>
>314-977-3616
>
>http://halbush.com
>
>author website: halbush.com
>
>________________________________
>From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Matthew Seybold <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 9:18 AM
>To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: [External] Re: If Alive Today, Would Mark Twain support "Black Lives Matter"?
>
>I'm writing an essay about Twain's public fight against racialized police
>violence in 1860s San Francisco. I made a very short video version for our
>Teachers Institute earlier this Summer: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/5gVlDbX2pcs__;!!K543PA!bDpoj1k0qp3CZzWMmjs_6marPOgESJEUZu5cX23M5FCxMr2NqeRP3aUe7arMRg$
>
>I must also recommend Larry Howe's recent, related essay: "Black Lives
>Matter at Quarry Farm."
>https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://marktwainstudies.com/black-lives-matter-at-quarry-farm/__;!!K543PA!bDpoj1k0qp3CZzWMmjs_6marPOgESJEUZu5cX23M5FCxMr2NqeRP3VkFhkpk3g$
>
>As Twain says, "Let us abolish policemen who carry revolvers and clubs, and
>put in a squad of poets armed to the teeth with poems on Spring and love."
>
>- MS
>
>On Mon, Aug 10, 2020 at 9:17 AM Clay Shannon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> If Alive Today, Would Mark Twain support "Black Lives Matter"?
>> I believe that he doubtless would.
>> By exposing the way some white folks thought at the time (mid-1800s) and
>> place (Mississippi River valley), Mark Twain made the point in "Adventures
>> of Huckleberry Finn" that Black Lives Matter.
>> You might even say that is the whole theme of the book. For one example of
>> that, note this passage from Chapter 33 where Twain, in a tongue-in-cheek
>> way, underscores the illogical thinking of some white people of the time
>> and place:
>> “Now I can have a good look at you; and, laws-a-me, I’ve been hungry for
>> it a many and a many a time, all these long years, and it’s come at last!
>> We been expecting you a couple of days and more. What kep’ you?—boat get
>> aground?”
>> “Yes’m—she—”
>> “Don’t say yes’m—say Aunt Sally. Where’d she get aground?”
>> I didn’t rightly know what to say, because I didn’t know whether the boat
>> would be coming up the river or down. But I go a good deal on instinct;
>> and my instinct said she would be coming up—from down towards Orleans. That
>> didn’t help me much, though; for I didn’t know the names of bars down that
>> way. I see I’d got to invent a bar, or forget the name of the one we got
>> aground on—or—Now I struck an idea, and fetched it out:
>> “It warn’t the grounding—that didn’t keep us back but a little. We blowed
>> out a cylinder-head.”
>> “Good gracious! anybody hurt?”
>> “No’m. Killed a nigger.”
>> “Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt. Two years ago
>> last Christmas your uncle Silas was coming up from Newrleans on the old
>> Lally Rook, and she blowed out a cylinder-head and crippled a man. And I
>> think he died afterwards. He was a Baptist. Your uncle Silas knowed a
>> family in Baton Rouge that knowed his people very well. Yes, I remember
>> now, he did die. Mortification set in, and they had to amputate him. But
>> it didn’t save him. Yes, it was mortification—that was it. He turned blue
>> all over, and died in the hope of a glorious resurrection. They say he was
>> a sight to look at.
>>
>>
>> - B. Clay Shannon
>>
>
>
>--
>Matt Seybold
>Assistant Professor of American Literature & Mark Twain Studies
>Elmira College
>Editor, https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://MarkTwainStudies.org__;!!K543PA!bDpoj1k0qp3CZzWMmjs_6marPOgESJEUZu5cX23M5FCxMr2NqeRP3VnOFIzS0A$
>https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://MattSeybold.com__;!!K543PA!bDpoj1k0qp3CZzWMmjs_6marPOgESJEUZu5cX23M5FCxMr2NqeRP3VkV6uzSzw$
>
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