Recipients of the Mark Twain Prize are not chosen because they or their humor replicates that of Mark Twain. It's not because they resemble Mark Twain (I'd rather go to bed with Tina Fey completely naked than with Mark Twain in his white suit)* It's not because they wear white suits or smoke cigars. It's a prize that recognizes that they are (famous) people who have influenced American humor in some important way. It does not mean they have influenced American humor as much as Mark Twain did or that Mark Twain even approve of what they do. The recipient must agree to accepting the prize and speaking at the ceremony, which could explain why some have not made the roster of recipients (and the producers of the show have the good grace not to reveal who those folks might be). I think the people who give the Mark Twain Prize have a statement somewhere that explains the criteria. I bet there's even a website! They could have called it the Josh Billings Prize or the Henny Youngman Prize, or even the Herman Melville Prize, but then it would not make much sense ("You can call me Ishmael, or you can call me Ishy, or you can call me Ish. . ."). Nobody today is Mark Twain and Twain would not find all modern humor humorous. Mark Twain changed the nature and direction of American humor and it would be setting the bar absurdly high to demand that the Mark Twain Prize be given each year to somebody who has done the same. Nobody has. I'm glad they call it the Mark Twain Prize. It reminds people of the debt American humor (and culture) owes to Mark Twain. Twain is our guy. All those Josh Billings, Henny Youngman, and Herman Melville people must fend for themselves and cope with their jealousy as best they can. Full disclosure: I supply the Twain-related gift that is given to the recipient each year at the dinner before the ceremony. I make little or no money from this, and usually just break even for my time and trouble. I have attended one of the ceremonies (the show you see on TV is an edited version, as you might expect). The Eddie Murphy ceremony airs this evening, and I'll be watching. *I'm stealing from Twain's famous remark, whispered in Howells's ear I think, about his preference for a sexy opera singer over General Grant in full uniform. 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 -----Original Message----- From: DMD1937 Sent: Monday, November 23, 2015 4:42 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Twain Prize I'm curious to know how list members view the Twain Prize. Most Americans couldn't tell you when New Mexico and Arizona became = states, let alone what motivated Twain's humor over many decades. DMD Denis M. Donovan, M.D., M.Ed., F.A.P.S. Director, EOCT Institute Medical Director, 1983 - 2006 The Children's Center for Developmental Psychiatry St. Petersburg, Florida P.O Box 47576 St. Petersburg, FL 33743-7576 Phone: 727-641-8905 [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] Please reply to: [log in to unmask] - - - =D0=92=D1=80=D0=B5=D0=BC=D0=B5=D0=BD=D0=B0 =D1=81=D0=BB=D0=BE=D0=B6=D0=BD=D1= =8B=D0=B5, =D0=B4=D1=83=D1=80=D0=B0=D0=BA=D0=BE=D0=B2 =D0=BC=D0=BD=D0=BE=D0= =B3=D0=BE. =E2=80=94 =D0=90=D0=BB=D0=B5=D0=BA=D1=81a=D0=BD=D0=B4=D1=80 = =D0=A0=D0=BE=D0=BC=D0=B0=D0=BD=D0=BE=D0=B2=D0=B8=D1=87 =D0=9B=D1=83=D1=80=D0= =B8=D1=8F These are complex times, many fools around. Alexandr Romanovich Luria in: Goldberg, Elkhonon (2001). The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the = Civilized Mind. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 16. Perhaps Goldberg should have listened to Luria . . .