With respect to Kevin's question about Mississippi literature, anyone interested should consult Thomas Ruys Smith's _River of Dreams: Imagining the Mississippi Before Mark Twain_ (LSU Press). Tom's research is impeccable. --LH Larry Howe Professor of English Chair, Department of Literature and Languages Roosevelt University Fulbright Distinguished Chair in American Studies, Syddansk Universitet--Odense, 2014-15 ________________________________________ From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Kevin Mac Donnell <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2015 9:27 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Connection between Twain and Lincoln I agree with Larry Howe=E2=80=99s fine posting I decided to go ahead and = send this private message to the list after reading his comment. Being a = private message to a colleague it=E2=80=99s a little sharper in tone = than a public message, but what the heck. The only change I might make = is to suggest that some might prefer a different beverage than DP. =20 Kevin @ Mac Donnell Rare Books 9307 Glenlake Drive Austin TX 78730 512-345-4139 Member: ABAA, ILAB ************************* You may browse our books at: www.macdonnellrarebooks.com I was tempted to post something about it to the MTF but they=E2=80=99ve = heard enough from me this week. The first edition of Howells=E2=80=99 Lincoln bio was 170pp. and got a = small circulation, although the edition size is unknown. The expanded = edition was over 400pp. and was widely circulated (cf BAL). Extracts may = have appeared in newspapers; in fact I=E2=80=99d be more surprised if = they didn=E2=80=99t, but that=E2=80=99s easy enough to verify. Whether = Lincoln=E2=80=99s raft story appeared in either, or both, or neither of = those editions I have no idea. I=E2=80=99m doubtful Twain ever read the = thing, but if an extract with the raft story from Howells=E2=80=99 = Lincoln bio (or the other one) appeared in a newspaper where Twain was = likely to have seen it, then one could speculate. But comparing this to = Twain=E2=80=99s likelihood of seeing Vanity Fair in Virginia City is = comparing apples and oranges. Just because such an extract from = Howells=E2=80=99 Lincoln bio appeared in a city where Twain might have = seen it does not make it likely that he did; he had no compelling reason = to read every issue of every paper in every city he visited at that time = in his life. But in Virginia City he was a reporter and one of his major = chores was to scour over magazines and newspapers from the exchange = system (he used a knife instead of scissors according to a witness) and = there is strong evidence that exchange files of that magazine were at = his disposal as well as being sold from a news-stand in Virginia City. = In the end I think it may depend on how closely the Lincoln raft story = parallels the HF raft story. I think the more interesting question is = what =E2=80=9CMississippi raft literature=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93for lack of = a better name=E2=80=94 had appeared before HF and how it was received = and which ones Twain might have seen. If the studies of Twain=E2=80=99s = humor in the context of southwestern humor are valid, then a study of = =E2=80=9CMississippi raft literature=E2=80=9D would be equally valid = =E2=80=93the evidence is no better or worse. No Davy Crockett = autobiographies or almanacs, or Sut Lovingood books survive from = Twain=E2=80=99s library, and I own the only annotated Artemus Ward book = from Twain=E2=80=99s library (which doesn=E2=80=99t exactly confirm the = claims of various scholars since it=E2=80=99s an 1870 edition), but = nobody questions those influences on his writings. My reaction to all of = this is that instead of refusing to read others=E2=80=99 research or = taking uninformed potshots at the work of others, it would be more = useful if some Twainians buckled down and started investigating the = field of =E2=80=9CMississippi raft literature=E2=80=9D and see what they = find. Like the research you and I do, they could spend hours and even = days and find nothing, or they might discover something that contributes = to what we know about Twain. It=E2=80=99s all right in front of them = =E2=80=93all they need to do is pour a Dr Pepper, keep a pad of post-it = notes at the ready, and start typing. =20