I have primarily subscribed to this list because I am currently student-
teaching in an 11th grade American literature class.  I am required
to teach _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ to a largely uninterested
audience and I was hoping to pick up some tips on how to make it
interesting and accessible.  Unfortunately, my unit is almost up but I
would be interested in hearing any suggestions for my next go-round, if
there indeed is one.
The students seem most troubled with first, the dialect, and second,
     the "n-word "(as they prefer to call it).  Can anyone suggest
references or activities I could use to overcome these problems?

One note on the GQ cover--while the cover itself may be an
interesting comment on our president-elect and vice-president-elect,
I was disturbed by the misleading caricature facing the
article itself.  It depicts Huck and Tom sailing down the river on the
raft; even my students know that the two on the raft were Huck and Jim.
An honest mistake?  Who knows?
Cheers and many thanks for any suggestions,

Deidre Holmes