So glad to hear how well the conference was . . . and so disappointed I couldn't make it. I was supposed to present my paper on Hannibal's influence on MT's new paradigm for the American folkloric hero, but I broke my pelvis 7 weeks ago. Am just now healing. Is there going to be any sort of published compilation of the papers presented? I would love to get something like that. On another note, I am presenting a similar paper to the one I was supposed to present in Hannibal at SCMLA in Nashville in October/November. Hope to see some of my fellow Twainiacs there! Carolyn Leutzinger Richey Tarleton State University Department of English and Languages [log in to unmask] 254-968-9511 ________________________________________ From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 9:48 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Hannibal Conference 2015 Colleagues; I'm a bit surprised (and disappointed a bit) that nobody has started a thread to share response to the conference. So I am taking the initiative. Hannibal was great, I really enjoyed it, the conference doubled in size since the last one. Kudos to Henry and his staff for a great series of events. For my talk on the forthcoming Twain-Twichell letters, (which is now going to be comprehensive and is being supported by Bob Hirst and his wonderful staff at MTP), there were almost 40 in the room and overall strong affirmation for the project. Unfortunately I had other obligations and missed many of the talks. Bruce Michelson dazzled us on changing media and representations of MT; but as much as I like Bruce and always feel rewarded by his insights, I must say it was the riverboat cruise that proved most memorable. Sorry Bruce! One other point: an amazing turnout by international scholars, in particular the 5 or 6 folks who flew in from Japan, and Hamada from Dubai/Syria. I also met a few brilliant young graduate students and even some undergraduates attended!! On a personal note, my wife Hiroko also attended and she was very complimentary of the Twain folks who all were friendly and reached out to make her feel the Twain love! I'd be interested in hearing any other reports, best wishes, --hb -- 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>