Greetings All:

As a Southerner whose maternal grandmother was born in St. Louis,
I've always had quite a bit of fun imagining exactly what Twain might
have sounded like. Certainly I've always enjoyed Mr.  Holbrook's
performances and cadences of the "Slow-Sam-speak" he employs.

However, one lovely thing that often escapes those looking closely
and linguistically for a definitive Mark Twain accent is the basic
and tranquil utility of just speaking slowly. It simply gives one
more time to think of what to say (especially in reply to someone
else) and more time to come up with a zinger. I think this natural
way of speaking tor Clemens, learned at his mother's knee or
elsewhere, served Mark Twain very well in life. Press accounts
certainly seem to support such an observation on my part, as he was
rarely recorded as having little to say that was not highly
entertaining, witty or possessed of other memorable qualities.

Dramatic pauses certainly serve comedy timing and are natural for a
slower Southern speech pattern. But I hope no one will overlook the
vast ground an agile mind, like Clemens, could cover in such a
seemingly short pause and with what effect the treasures gathered
from all that ground often displayed.

Cordially,
B. Adrian van der Wel, MFA-at-Large
San Francisco, California