Mid-May 2014 Newsletter

Note from the Editor

 

In order to cut down on the number of emails that we send to you, we're making some changes we think you'll appreciate: more summary (newsletter) emails, and much fewer daily single-event emails.

 

Specifically, we'll no longer be sending out our (press) releases about individual events to our entire list. Instead, we'll be only sending you two or three eNewsletters (like this) each month--which contain a brief summary of all our events.  In addition, we'll be doing a very limited number of eBlasts with important, urgent news. We hope you'll enjoy a less "stuffed" inbox, while still receiving all the information you need about the exciting things going on at the Mark Twain House & Museum!  And of course, our website has everything you need to know too!

 

David Cash, Publicist and Publications Editor

[email protected]

 

 


MAY EVENTS

For more details on all our events, please visit our website.

 

 

How Mark Twain Became Mark Twain: A New Theory with Kevin Mac Donnell 

Monday, May 12, 5:30 p.m.

 

Twain scholar, bookseller and collector Kevin Mac Donnell, of Austin, Texas, has shaken up the world of Mark Twain Studies with a new theory on the famous pen name of Samuel L. Clemens -- finding "mark twain," a nautical term, used as a proper name two years before Twain adopted it. He'll tell the story of the Google search that revealed the peculiarities of the newspaper world in the Civil War era, which led him to a surprising new conclusion.

 

This is a free event, but reservations are suggested. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

 

The Trouble Begins at 5:30!  Mark Twain and Isabella Beecher Hooker with Susan Campbell

Wednesday, May 14, 5:00 p.m. reception; The Trouble Begins at 5:30 p.m.

 

Susan Campbell is the author of Tempest-Tossed: The Spirit of Isabella Beecher Hooker.  Campbell provides a fresh and personal view of Hooker, a fighter for women's rights, a powerful personality, spiritualist, and neighbor of Mark Twain, who was also for a time his landlord.  Learn why Olivia Clemens (Mark Twain's wife) forbade this energetic and dedicated woman, sister to Harriet Beecher Stowe, from entering the house - and why years later, Samuel Clemens was honored to be one of her pallbearers.  Followed by a book sale and signing.  Generously supported by First Niagara Foundationand Hot Tomato's Ristorante. 

 

This is a free event, but reservations are suggested. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 
 

Jennifer Pustz - Voices from the Back Stairs: Domestic Servants in 19th and 20th Century New England

Thursday, May 15, 5:30 p.m.

 

Although domestic servants made everyday life in grand homes possible, their identities and roles within the household have long been hidden. This lecture will illustrate the diversity of domestic service in New England over the ninetieth and twentieth centuries by focusing on three historic New England properties. Period domestic manuals, ephemera, and other general material will also bring the lives of servants and their relationships with their employers to the foreground. Jennifer Pustz is the museum historian at Historic New England. This talk is in conjunction with the museum's current exhibition At Your Serviceand is made possible by the Connecticut at Work initiative of Connecticut Humanities, in partnership with Hartford Public Library and Great Hartford Arts Council. 

 

This is a free event, but reservations are suggested. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

  

GET A CLUE Tours!

Saturday, May 17; Tours step off every 15 minutes beginning at 7:00 p.m.  

 

Who killed that varmint Pap Finn??? Play our live-action version of the classic game CLUE in the Mark Twain House. Was it Becky Thatcher with the revolver in the Conservatory? The Prince (or was it the Pauper?) with the knife in the library? This hour-long tour features SEA TEA IMPROV as Twain's beloved characters/suspects and all the murder, mayhem and merriment one would expect from Sam Clemens!  Featured on the Travel Channel show "Wackiest Tours!"

 

$22 with discounts available for members and children. Please call (860) 280-3130 for more information & ticketing. Or, click here for tickets.

  

 

BOOK/MARK - The Feud: The Hatfields and the McCoys, the True Story with author Dean H. King

Sunday, May 18, 2:30 p.m.

 

Nearly every American has heard of the Hatfields and the McCoys and their infamous feud, yet almost nobody knows the truth of this legendarily violent and influential clash in the heart of Appalachia. Contrary to popular belief, this wasn't just a matter of two hillbilly families taking potshots at each other: the Hatfields and McCoys were well-established landowners, who had intermarried and interacted for decades. But after the Civil War, things turned bloody. Filled with brutal murders, clannish loyalty, reckless affairs, mercenaries, and gun-slinging lawmen, The Feud is the riveting story of two frontier families struggling for survival within the narrow confines of a vast land. Dean King is an award-winning author of nine non-fiction books.  Followed by a book sale and signing.

 

This is a free event, but reservations are suggested. Call (860) 280-3130 or click 

 

  

Book Launch: 
Live These Words by Lucinda Seacrest McDowell

Tuesday, May 20, 7:00 p.m. 

 

Lucinda Secrest McDowell says that "Live These Words offers a daily balance between being with God and doing for God. Exploring 40 vibrant words such as fear not, shine, remember, hope, forgive, ask, and persevere."  Connecticut author McDowell suggests a practical action point after each engaging story, biblical lesson or inspiring profile. Simultaneously deep and winsome, it's an encouraging devotional for challenging times. Followed by a book sale and signing.

  

This is a free event, but reservations are required. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 
 

  

Special Nook Farm Book Talk: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Wednesday, May 21, 5:00 p.m. reception / 5:30 p.m. discussion at The Mark Twain Museum Center

 

The Jungle is a 1906 book written by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair (1878-1968). Sinclair wrote the novel to portray the lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. The book depicts working class poverty, the absence of social programs, harsh and unpleasant living and working conditions, and a hopelessness among many workers. These elements are contrasted with the deeply rooted corruption of people in power. A review by the writer Jack London called it, "the Uncle Tom's Cabin of wage slavery."  The discussion will be led by David Garnes. David was head of acquisitions and a reference librarian at the University of Connecticut, Storrs for 21 years. This program is part of Connecticut at Work, a year-long conversation about the past, present and future of work life in Connecticut created by Connecticut Humanities. Copies of this book will be available for loan at this event, courtesy of Connecticut Humanities.  Nook Farm Book Talks are supported by First Niagara Foundation.

 

The event is free, but registration is encouraged at 860-522-9258, Ext. 317. 

 

 

BOOK/MARK: An Atheist in the FOXhole: A Liberal's Eight-Year Odyssey Inside the Heart of the Right-Wing Media, with author Joe Muto

Tuesday, May 27, 7:00 p.m.

 

The "Fox Mole"--whose dispatches for Gawker made headlines in Businessweek, The Hollywood Reporter, and even on The New York Times website--delivers a funny, opinionated memoir of his eight years at the Fox News Channel working as an associate producer for Bill O'Reilly. Imagine needing to hide your true beliefs just to keep a job you hated. Now imagine your job was producing the biggest show on the biggest cable news channel in America, and you'll get a sense of what life was like for Joe Muto.  Followed by a book sale and signing. 

 

 

This is a free event, but reservations are suggested. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

 

  


The Mark Twain House & Museum presents 
DAN BROWN  
(The Da Vinci Code, Inferno)

in conversation with John Dankosky 

at The Bushnell

 

 

      


On Saturday, June 7 at 8:00 p.m., the creator of The Da Vinci Code, Inferno and other adventures of the symbologist Robert Langdon, comes to The Bushnell as a fundraiser for The Mark Twain House & Museum. It's a rare on-stage appearance for Dan Brown, who will engage in conversation with WNPR radio personality John Dankosky, and a special opportunity for his many fans. 

 

Tickets range in price from $25 to $75.  There will be a limited number of $250 VIP tickets available that include a pre-event reception, a signed book, and a chance to meet Dan Brown; it also includes premium VIP orchestra seating locations at The Bushnell event.

 

The Bushnell box office is at (860) 987-5900, or click here to buy tickets online.



Poetry: A Writing Course with John Stanizzi

 

Wednesdays, May 21 through June 25, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

 

This class will explore classic and contemporary poetry for both enlightenment and inspiration. Through the readings and discussions, the course will attempt to illuminate and hence better comprehend a wide range of poems and poets, with the hope that these readings/discussions will then inspire attendees to write their own poems, which will also be presented, discussed and critiqued. Some of the writing will be "guided" and some will be "wide open." Attendees will all have a hand at reading and discussing some great poems, and also reading and discussing their own work.

 

John L. Stanizzi has delighted readers and listeners throughout New England and beyond the Northeast. He is the author of Ecstasy Among Ghosts, now in its fourth printing, Sleepwalking, Windows, and Dance Against the Wall

 

$265. Call: (860) 280-3130 for more information or click here to enroll.

 

 

May is "Leave a Legacy" Month!

       

"I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.'" -- Mark Twain, a Biography

 

THE LEGACY that Mark Twain left the world has impacted millions of individuals across generations, and is woven into our cultural fabric. Like Mark Twain, we can each leave a tribute for those after us. A wonderful way to intertwine your legacy with his is to make a planned gift to The Mark Twain House & Museum, ensuring that future generations will benefit from this influential literary beacon. Unlike gifts to our Annual Fund, which often support current operating expenses, planned gifts secure the legacy of Samuel Clemens and his home for years to come. Our friends who make a planned gift will be acknowledged as members of THE HALLEY'S COMET SOCIETY.

 

For more information on The Halley's Comet Society and planned giving at The Mark Twain House & Museum, or to notify us that you have included the organization in your future plans, please contact Tracy Wu Fastenberg by email or at (860) 280-3113.

 




JOIN The Mark Twain House & Museum!

 

Enjoy the special insider benefits of membership in The Mark Twain House & Museum. And there's the sheer joy of being part of the legacy of Mark Twain, whose wit and insight remain alive today in 2014 -- over 150 years after Sam Clemens took on his famous pen name and entered history.

 

Submit our easy-to-use, secure online membership form or simply call 860-280-3112.

 

Make a DONATION Today!

 

Your donation to The Mark Twain House & Museum has a major impact on our ability to preserve this beautiful home, provide crucial educational programs for thousands of schoolchildren, offer mind-stimulating and spine-tingling events for adults, and welcome thousands of visitors each year. 

 

 ...and make your donation count double: Find out if your employer has a Matching Gift program.

 

Donate online, call 860-280-3112, or send your donation to: The Mark Twain House & Museum, Development Department, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06105.

 

Join the FRIENDS!

 

The Friends of The Mark Twain House & Museum offer wonderful speaking events, social gatherings, and fun volunteer opportunities. Pony up $30 and you'll get it all, too!

 

It's the volunteer organization that has supported the museum for more than 50 years. To join, call Membership Co-Chairs Chuck Paydos, 860-242-4825, or Dee Peters, 860-233-4066.

 

 

 

The Mark Twain House & Museum has restored the author's Hartford, Connecticut, home, where the author and his family lived from 1874 to 1891. Twain wrote his most important works there, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In addition to providing tours of Twain's restored home, a National Historic Landmark, the institution offers activities and educational programs that illuminate Twain's literary legacy and provide information about his life and times. The house and museum at 351 Farmington Ave. are open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. For more information, call 860-247-0998 or visit us online. Programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are supported by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, and the Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign.

 

David Cash

Mark Twain House & Museum

 

 

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