> B.L. Howard writes:
> and the Native American Studies dept. here, and this comes up a lot.
Consenus
> among my Native friends and colleagues is that Twain was DEFINITELY a
racist,
> and a rather nasty one to boot. I have struggled with this as I thoroughly
> enjoy most of Twain's writing.

I'm interested in this type of reaction.  If an author is racist, how does
it
- or should it - affect our reaction to his works?  It seems to me that
literary quality doesn't evaporate if a work is racist.  Also, to merely
say a work or author is racist may obscure more than it clarifies.  Today's
racism might be quite different than yesterday's.


Bob Rogers
Minneapolis, MN