Barb, I know you weren't going to Elmira, but I'm sorry just the same
Barb, I know you weren't going to Elmira, but I'm sorry just the same. I would have loved to discuss mutually interesting topics with you face-to-face, now that I think I've gotten to know you a bit since our only meeting, at Elmira in 2005.
Kevin's disclosure of his "discovery" regarding the adoption of "Mark Twain" as his pen-name was the most important piece of real news to come out at the conference. I hope that he pushes this, getting it into mainstream publications, now that he has established his ownership, if not copyright, over his discovery. Some presentations are interesting, even fascinating, and some were important, but Kevin's discovery is fascinating and important, now, as far as I'm concerned, the default explanation for Twain's name choice, the explanation that has to be addressed by anyone with an alternative thesis. It obviously fits the data better than any prior explanation, including Twain's, by far. Maybe you can twist Kevin's arm and have him write a short piece on the subject to insert in the Forum archives, putting Forum readers on notice of this very significant discovery and enhancing the probability that it gets out to a wider public and eventually
displaces the unfounded theories which have been unchallenged for years.
As this was my 3rd Elmira, I'm starting to get to know more Twain people, and some of them are starting to get to know me. While talking with Horst Kruse, who I met in 2009, I referred to him again, by habit, as "Professor Kruse." He pointedly stopped me and asserted, "You are Martin, and I am Horst." I was very touched to feel accepted by a member of the Twain scholarship establishment who I've long admired. Jocelyn Chadwick came up to me after my presentation and was very complimentary, another incident I won't soon forget. All in all, it was a great feeling to be able to have discussions with quite a few Twainiacs and realize that they somehow know who you are. Some form of acceptance for the "independent scholar."
Personally, this was a great Elmira for other reasons. Ann Ryan casually informed me that the text of "The Treaty With China," along with my introductory remarks, will appear in the next issue of the Mark Twain Annual, the first time since 1868 that it will appear in a hard-copy format. I think that I managed to impress the audience for my presentation of the importance of "The Treaty," and Vic Fischer and Bob Hirst will be considering "The Treaty," at my urging, as a candidate for the UCal Jumping Frog editions. Also, you may have seen my piece, "Mark Twain and the Cloak of Culture," based on "John Chinaman in New York," in a recent edition of the Mark Twain Journal. Finally, my book-length project regarding Twain and "The Treaty With China" may actually be finished next year. I'm petitioning Barb Snedecor for a stint at Quarry Farm to allow me a chunk of uninterrupted time to finish the manuscript, assuming I haven't done so beforehand.
The Hal Holbrook film, to be released in the indefinite future, is a minor masterpiece, in my opinion, with its focus on his lifelong Twain career, and leaving out nothing, including the personal price he's paid in sacrifice to the role. He was in the audience and, of course, the recipient of the love and adoration of all of us.
Anyway, just wanted to say hi and let you know you were missed, even though I knew already you wouldn't be there. Hope that there is an opportunity for our paths to cross again. Also, I'm still interested in reviewing if something comes up. Saw Kupersmith at Elmira and, surprise, he had nothing to say to me. Saw, and listened to Alan Gribben, but didn't get a chance to talk with him, as he left early. His audience was not the most receptive, but, at least, he had a chance to put forth his perspective. He had e-mailed me after my review and I think he thought it was fair, so at least he knows how I feel about the whole matter.
as ever,
Martin
________________________________
From: Barbara Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Friday, August 2, 2013 11:58 AM
Subject: Re: TWAIN AND SEANCES
For an indepth article on this topic, see Alan Gribben's "'When Other
Amusements Fail": Mark Twain and the Occult'. Collected in THE HAUNTED
DUSK: AMERICAN SUPERNATURAL FICTION, 1820-1920. Edited by Howard Kerr,
John W. Crowley, and Charles L. Crow (University of Georgia Press,
1983).
Barb
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