Hello, everyone! This year marked our third Elmira conference, but my 4th or 5th trip to Elmira. No matter how often one visits Elmira, there is always something new to learn or to see. This year’s conference was no exception! Here are just a few highlights.
--First, our heart-felt thanks to Barbara Snedecor, Christy Gray, and all the fine folks involved in the administration of this conference: I was only half-joking when, upon being handed our generous allotment of welcome-goodies at the check-in desk, I said something like, “OK, I’m done! See ya!” and feigned starting to walk back to our car. That power-packed stack of materials, alone, made the trip worthwhile and will be keeping this Twainiac busy for weeks. For instance--to cite just one example--am looking forward to comparing our 1977 edition of Jerome & Wisbey’s _Mark Twain in Elmira_ to the Second Edition, 2013, revised and updated by Barbara Snedecor (with assistance from Nina Skinner, Christy Gray, Ann Cady, Mark Woodhouse, Gary Scharnhorst, and others), that was included with our welcome packets. A quick comparison of the two Tables of Contents indicates some minor adjustments and at least one major change: three additional chapters! No
doubt many further treasures await, upon closer reading.
--The rest of that generous stack of gifts to each attendee: Two disks’ worth of Quarry Farm lectures (Edgar Branch! Jim Zwick! Michael Kiskis! Lou Budd! and many more!); a courtesy copy of Vol. 50, Nos. 1 & 2, of the _Mark Twain Journal_ featuring Kevin Mac Donnell’s article, “How Samuel Clemens Found ‘Mark Twain’ in Carson City” (he was also presenting a paper on the topic at this conference), the issue also featuring Tom Tenney and Bronx Stanfield; the companion catalogue for Victor Fischer’s “Mark Twain in the West” (an exhibition specially created for the 2013 Elmira conference); and other Twainy delights to make our joy complete.
--Hal Holbrook: Meeting him again, and thanking him for his work, brought me full-circle from a certain night in Boston, after a performance of “MTT!” in the late 1980s. The so-called “rough cut” of the Teems-Smith documentary was only rough, to my view, in the sense of the unflinching candor of Holbrook and his adult children when speaking of the interpersonal price paid for his dedication to the craft. Thought provoking and transformative.
--A nighttime pilgrimage to the octagonal study: Much gratitude to the perceptive administrative powers who kindly left the study doors open the night of the keynote address in nearby Cowles Hall, providing access well past the study’s customary 5 p.m. closing. The low light of a small, shaded desk-lamp illuminated the space as if by candlelight. The word that came to mind when gazing into that lambent space, and then quietly entering, was “grotto.”
--Thoughts of the late Howard Baetzhold: We purchased two volumes from the subset of the Howard Baetzhold collection being offered for sale to attendees. These books are of course meaningful because of the high regard for his scholarship, but also personally significant due to the friendly interactions with him that my husband and I enjoyed at past conferences.
--Thoughts of other familiar folks, both living and dead, from conferences past: During the course of the latest conference, at one point or another, wore my Mark Twain Forum t-shirt; my _Mark Twain Journal_ t-shirt; my co-branded Mark Twain-Hannibal t-shirt; my 2001 Elmira conference t-shirt; my new 2013 Elmira conference t-shirt...and had along with us a very special volume, meaningful on multiple levels, representing our 1997 Elmira attendance. So many memories and so many people associated with each of those items...the memories and people of the 2013 conference now joining them...and we look toward Hannibal 2015. The story continues!
M. L. Christmas
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On Mon, 8/5/13, Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Subject: Random thoughts on a Whirlwind conference . . . . Elmira 2013
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Monday, August 5, 2013, 9:18 AM
I invite all participants to record
here you initial thoughts about Elmira
2013... as a mean of processing our collective
experience. For me:
--Many thanks to Barb and all the staff for a great event.
--I'm blown away by the vigor and commitment of the Japanese
Twain
community. Many of them traveled up to 18 hours or
more to be in NY for
the show. My thanks for their diligence and
contributions to the fine
program. In addition: I felt like the memorial
for Prof. Nagawara (whom I
called the Henry Nash Smith of Twain studies in Japan and
mentor to many of
our colleagues) was one of the poignant highlights of our
gathering.
Nagawara-sensei's story is compelling: he miraculously
survived the
Hiroshima attack, in which many in his immediate family were
killed, and
yet went on to become an advocate and huge fan of one of our
great American
authors. What an amazing life!
--Sunset on the porch at Quarry Farm on Saturday =
priceless.
--Mainly, it's about seeing old friends; but that's just
me. (There were
some good papers, too!)
Cheers (and Otsukare-sama deshita!), --Hal B.
--
Prof. Harold K. Bush
Professor of English
3800 Lindell
Saint Louis University
St. Louis, MO 63108
314-977-3616 (w); 314-771-6795 (h)
<www.slu.edu/x23809.xml>
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