Fellow Twainiacs -- The comparisons between Spalding Gray and Sam are a bit off kilter. I met Gray several times during the course of my peripatetic career, and we had wonderful exchanges. There is no question he was brilliant, ferociously articulate yet somehow not completely connected to his many parts and selves. Then again, most writers of any importance aren't. Also, Sam created and sustained a persona distinct from himself (anyone who wants backup on that should check out the Claymation film "The Adventures of Mark Twain," which may be the most dead-on account ever to address the Sam/Mark dichotomy. It was marketed as a kids' film and sank; any help in locating the video would be deeply appreciated), which Spalding did not. Sam was a reporter, an observer; what Spalding saw triggered stuff inside him. While not exactly a narcissist, he owes no debt to Sam. Yours in Twain, Kathy O'Connell Record-Journal Meriden, Conn. [log in to unmask]