Here's something that will be of special interest to people interested in the mythologizing of Mark Twain. On May 7, the Hartford Courant's Northeast Magazine (Sunday magazine) started an 18-month series called "Twain's World" that will be exploring various aspects of the cultural history of the city. It is a major undertaking, and is designed to restore interest and pride in the city and to increase tourism and reverse decades of urban decline. "By the year 2000, it was clear that reports of the city's death had been greatly exaggerated.... And all this because the city found something it already had. It found its future in its rich past" (from the cover of the May 7 special issue). The Mark Twain Memorial is helping with the series. Besides the print version in Northeast Magazine, the series is being featured in the Friday newscasts of the local CBS affiliate and all of the stories are being posted on the World Wide Web at http://www.atlantic.com/ctguide/news/courant/twain.htm (Yes, just .htm -- if that address doesn't work later, try adding the "l" -- small L -- at the end of the URL to make it .html.) The first cover story explains the urban renewal rationale of the series and addresses potential complaints about centering the series on Twain. On May 14, a short article was printed about Harriet Beecher Stowe. On May 28, another cover story will be run on "Citizen Twain" about "the character of life" at the Mark Twain House. Among the promotions is a city-wide "Hartford Hunt" with clues at various local historical sites and "Twain's World: The Button" sent free to people who send them a self-addressed stamped envelop. In the May 7 issue, the Greater Hartford Convention and Visitor's Bureau also ran an ad headlined, "Bring it Home to Hartford: Twain's World, Home to Many American Legends." The series will probably include a lot of good introductory information about Twain and other Nook Farm residents. I'm looking forward to seeing how it unfolds. Jim Zwick