Mark Twain Conference 2009
Day 1 Aug 6, 2009
Breakfast
Panel 1 9 to 10:15 am Mark Twain Biography
Alan
Gribben of Auburn at Montgomery Panel Chair
Gretchen E. Sharlow Elmira College Emerita
Lance
Heidig Independent Scholar; Cornell University
Mary
Boewe Independent Scholar; Fearrington, North Carolina
Panel 2 10:30 am - 11:45 am
Mark Twain Miscellaneous
Mark
Woodhouse
Elmira
College
Panel Chair
Susan Ikazaki
Independent Scholar; Kansas
City, Missouri
Allison
R.
Ensor
University
of Tennessee,
Knoxville
Emeritus
Mariko Takashima Independent
Scholar; Chiba,
Japan
12 noon - 1 p.m. Luncheon
Buffet
Campus
Center
panel
3 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm
Discussion Groups
Among the Literary Comedians -- MarkTwain
David
E.
E.
Sloane
University
of New Haven
Edward Piacentino
Janet McIntire
Panel 4 2:30 pm -
3:45 pm Mark Twain and Landscape
Lawrence
I.
Berkove U of Michigan,
Dearborn
Emeritus Panel Chair
Jeffrey
Alan
Melton
Auburn
University
at Montgomery
Thomas
Ruys
Smith
University
of East Anglia,
Norwich,
United Kingdom
Michael
Pratt
Elmira
College
Panel 5
4 pm - 5:15 pm
Mark Twain and Skin
Bruce Michelson U
of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign Panel Chair
Kerry
Driscoll
Saint Joseph
College
Sharon
D.
McCoy
University
of Georgia
Patrick
K.
Dooley
St.
Bonaventure
University
5 to 6:55 Wine Tasting and Mark
Twain in the Comics
7 pm - 8
pm Dinner
8 pm
Henry Nash Smith Award
8:30 pm -
9:30 pm Mark Twain’s Music Box
Day 2
Friday, August 7th, 2009
8 am -
8:45 am Breakfast Buffet
Panel 1 9 am - 10:15 am
The
Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson
Sharon
D.
McCoy
University
of Georgia
Panel Chair
Abraham Kupersmith
Borough of Manhattan
Community College
Emeritus
Benjamin
Bascom
Brigham
Young
University
Bezalel
Stern Independent Scholar
Lawrence
Howe
Roosevelt
University
Panel 2
10:30 am - 11:45 am
.
Mark Twain and Science
Holger
Kersten Universität
Magdeburg
Panel Chair
Gail Levitt
Independent Scholar; Mississauga,
Ontario
Ryo Waguri Kyoto
Koka Women’s University
K. Patrick
Ober
Wake
Forest
University
School
of Medicine
at
Winston-Salem,
North Carolina
12 noon - 1 pm Luncheon Buffet Campus
Center
Panel 3
1:15 pm - 2:15 pm
The Autobiography of Mark Twain:
Gibson Theatre,
Is a Comprehensive Edition Possible?
Robert
H.
Hirst
University
of California,
Berkeley
General Editor The Mark Twain Papers
Panel 4 2:30 pm - 3:45 pm Early
Mark Twain
James
E.
Caron
University
of Hawai‘i at Manoa Panel
Chair
Gary
Scharnhorst
University
of New Mexico
Matthew
Klauza
Auburn
University
Chad
Rohman
Dominican
University
Panel
5 4 pm - 5:15 pm
Mark Twain: Reading
and Teaching the 20th Century
Linda A. Morris U
of California-Davis Emeritus Panel Chair
Martin Zehr
Independent Scholar; Kansas
City, Missouri
Leslie
Worthington
Gainesville
State
College
Tsuyoshi Ishihara Waseda University,
Japan
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Halley’s
Comet Dinner
8 pm
Elmira
College Presidential Welcome
John S. Tuckey
Award
Keynote Address
MAKING HARMONY OUT OF DISHARMONY:
MARK TWAIN, JOSEPH TWICHELL AND
CHARLES IVES
Ordered
book Russell Banks
9 pm
“Under the Tent”
Champagne Dessert Reception and
Book Signing by Russell Banks
Day 3
Saturday, August 8th, 2009
8 am
- 8:45
Breakfast Buffet
Panel 1 9 am - 10:15 am Mark Twain and Contemporaries
Kerry Driscoll Saint
Joseph CollegePanel
Chair
Susanne
Weil
Centralia
College
John
Bird
Winthrop
University
Steve Courtney Independent
Scholar; Terryville,
Connecticut
Panel 2
10:30 am - 11:30 am Mark
Twain and Gender
Ann M. Ryan Le Moyne
College Panel
Chair
Linda
A.
Morris
University
of California-Davis
Emeritus
Takuya
Kubo
Kanazawa
University
12 noon - 1 pm Luncheon
Buffet Campus Center
Panel 3 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm Virtual
Tour of Stormfield
Kevin Mac Donnell Mac
Donnell Rare Books, Austin,
Texas
Panel 4
2:30 pm - 3:45 pm Mark Twain and Contemporary Authors
Tom Quirk University
of Missouri-Columbia Panel
Chair
Tracy
Wuster
University
of Texas,
Austin
John
R.
Pascal
Seton
Hall
Preparatory School
Cameron
Nickels
James
Madison
University
Emeritus
Jennifer
Hughes
Young
Harris
College
Kent Rasmussen arkent@ROADRUNNER.COM
Thu, August 20,
2009 8:46 pm
I'd like to add a heartfelt "amen" to all the praise heaped on the
recent conference. It was my fourth in Elmira, and it was certainly one
of the best. "Magical" is not too strong a word to describe it.
During the conference, I used the video function on my little digital
still camera to record brief segments of several sessions. With the
permission of the people appearing in these segments, I have posted them
on YouTube. (I should add that I got the idea for doing this from John
Bird's wonderful "Why do you work on Mark Twain?" video.)
Here's a very brief excerpt from Alex Effgen's terrific paper on Mark
Twain as an icon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D4mLTPMCu5SU
For those of you who missed out on his session, Alex showed about 45 or
50 pictures of Mark Twain while delivering 20 minutes of nonstop, solid,
and incisive commentary. A bravura performance!
The final paper in that Saturday afternoon session was Mark Dawidziak's
presentation on the impact of Hal Holbrook's MARK TWAIN TONIGHT! show on
public awareness of Mark Twain generally and on Mark Twain scholarship
in particular. Another bravura performance. These four brief excerpts
from his paper will make you want to see the entire presentation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dza9vvI7ia4w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DPAwH-TsB5qs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D3yW2LunVaZQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DUB9zys6zu4w
(Incidentally, if you watch the fourth segment closely, you might guess
why I turned on my camera at that moment.)
Finally, the pi=E8ce de r=E9sistance of what was already an amazing
session: In a move clearly inspired by Woody Allen's film ANNIE HALL
(think "Marshall McLuhan"), Mark brought with him Hal himself. After he
finished his presentation, Hal stood up and spoke for almost four
minutes. I recorded virtually all his words:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DsIvqdPC_rYU
To those of you who missed the conference, mark your calendars for
August 2013. You won't want to make that mistake again.
Kent
"John Bird" birdj1@PEOPLEPC.COM
Fri, August 21,
2009 8:44 am
Kent's link to YouTube has some problems, I think, and since Kent is on
digest, he won't know it for a few days, perhaps. Here's a good link to the
Hal Holbrook comments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIvqdPC_rYU
I am so glad Kent filmed this moment--I had to leave to get to the final
session. "I am a student--you are the teachers." Wow.
If you want to see the other clips, you can find them from this place, or
search under "Arkent43."
John Bird
"Alex Effgen"
<abeffgen@BU.EDU>
Fri, August 21, 2009 12:05 pm
There may be other ways to get there, but removing the "3D" from each
YouTube address Kent sent will get you where you need to go.
So if you now click on these revised links you will see:
The snippet of my paper...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mLTPMCu5SU
Mark Dawidziak's links...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za9vvI7ia4w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAwH-TsB5qs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yW2LunVaZQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB9zys6zu4w
And as you've seen from Prof. Bird's post, the words of the immortal
Hal Holbrook...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIvqdPC_rYU
Mark, Mr. Holbrook should use you as his opening act all the time. It
gets the crowd going, sure nuff.
-Alex
4 pm - 5:15 pm Closing
Roundtable
Michael
J.
Kiskis
Elmira
College Moderator
John
Bird
Winthrop
University
Louis J. Budd Duke
University Emeritus
Alan
Gribben
Auburn
University
at Montgomery
Robert
H.
Hirst
University
of California,
Berkeley
Tom Quirk University
of Missouri-Columbia
Gary
Scharnhorst
University
of New Mexico
Besides all the other worthwhile aspects of the 2009 State of Mark Twain
Studies Conference, I'd like to call everyone's attention to four richly
deserved recognitions that occurred during the conference:
--The Mark Twain Circle Certificate of Merit was presented to Shelley
Fisher Fishkin in honor of her immense scholarly contributions to Mark
Twain Studies, including (but not limited to) her authored books
"Lighting Out for the Territory" and "Was Huck Black?", her edited book
"A Historical Guide to Mark Twain," and most impressively of all (in my
opinion), the 29-volume Oxford Mark Twain. Shelley is also a former
president of the Mark Twain Circle.
--The Mark Twain Circle's Thomas A. Tenney Service Award was presented
to John Bird in honor of his superb work as the founding editor of The
Mark Twain Annual. John is also a former executive coordinator of the
Mark Twain Circle and is the author of "Mark Twain and Metaphor." In
his presentation of the award, Circle President Bruce Michelson failed
to mention that John is (along with Mark Dawidziak and a few other
cigar-smoking stalwarts) one of the keepers of the flame--both literally
and metaphorically--of the much-praised octagonal-study-site smoking and
singing ceremony that occurs at each Elmira conference, but I'm sure
Bruce will be glad that I'm filling that void here.
--The Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies presented the Henry
Nash Smith Award to Horst Kruse, commemorating Horst's excellent
scholarly work as carrying on the high standards in Twain studies that
Henry Nash Smith represented in an earlier time. Horst is especially
noted for his 1981 classic of Twain scholarship, "Mark Twain and 'Life
on the Mississippi.'"
--The Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies presented the John S.
Tuckey Award to Tom Quirk, whose contributions to Mark Twain studies
include his books "Coming to Grips with Huckleberry Finn," "Mark Twain:
A Study of the Short Fiction," "Mark Twain and Human Nature," and "Mark
Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Documentary Volume," as well
as his current, highly successful general editorship of the University
of Missouri Press's Mark Twain and His Circle Series. Tom is a former
president of the Mark Twain Circle.
Major congratulations to all four. We're very fortunate to have them as
colleagues. --Jim Leonard
Thu, August 13,
2009 3:49 pm
6 pm -
6:45 pm Board buses to Quarry Farm on
East Hill
7 pm - 9
pm At Home: Quarry
Farm Picnic
Thanks to Tracy Wuster
for the following URL
The videos are
mostly pitch black, but if you pause it at just the right
moments, you can see
Mr. Holbrook and listeners in brief moments of camera
flashes. Let me know if there are any technical
problems; it is my first
experiment in blogging.
Best,
Tracy Wuster
American
Studies, UT Austin
American Studies Assc.--Humor Studies Caucus
http://quarryfarm2009.blogspot.com/
thanks
to Richard:
"Richard Henzel
http://www.richardhenzel.com" richard@RICHARDHENZEL.COM
Mon, August 17,
2009 11:15 am
Hi all,
I did some work on the two audio files that were posted, to reduce the
noise and bring out Hal's voice a little better. It's strictly audio,
but if you had trouble making out all of Hal's words, this might be a
little better. I couldn't improve upon Tracy's slide show, however, so
this is audio only.
http://richardhenzel.com/HolbrookAfterDawidziak2009.mp3
http://richardhenzel.com/HolbrookAtStudy090808.mp3
Persevere.
Richard
Sunday, August 9th, 2009
8 am - 9
am Breakfast
Buffet
John Bird’s utube
video of people
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sQCclY-iUY
List of people in it:
Bruce Michelson
Patti Philippon
Barb Taylor
Gretchen Sharlow
Jeff Melton
Joe Csicsila
Tom Quirk
Chad Rohman
Lou Budd
Kerry Driscoll
Sharon McCoy
Alan Gribben
Cameron Nickels
Joe Alvarez
Ann Ryan
David L. Smith
Hal Bush
Michael Kiskis (w/ Ann Ryan)
Jan McIntire-Strasburg
Judith Yaross Lee (w/Joe Csicsila)
Jim Caron
Gregg Camfield
Shelley Fisher Fishkin
Hal Holbrook