Dear Forum Members, A number of questions are arising about Mark Twain's tendency to produce off-color writings as a private sideline to his public works. A book that Kevin B. McDonnell and I edited in 1983, MARK TWAIN'S RUBAIYAT, discusses this issue in some detail in its Introduction and also publishes, for the first time, the entire version of Twain's often-bawdy version of Omar Khayyam's poem. (In particular, Twain's burlesque repeatedly expresses the speaker's fear of impotence due to advancing age.) This would be another source for people to consult if they are interested in pursuing this general topic. Sincerely, Alan Gribben Auburn University Montgomery