Early December 2014 eNews


FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

Can't come visit? Check out our new Virtual Tours! A new one every Monday!

"When we think of friends, and call their faces out of the shadows, and their voices out of the echoes that faint along the corridors of memory, and do it without knowing why save that we love to do it, we content ourselves that that friendship is a Reality, and not a Fancy--that it is builded upon a rock, and not upon the sands that dissolve away with the ebbing tides and carry their monuments with them."

- Mark Twain in a letter to a friend

 

Dear Friends,

 

It is the season of gratitude and get-togethers. I speak for all at the Mark Twain House when I say we are grateful for the support and friendship you continue to show us. You are our friends - some we see often, some we hear from on occasion, and some we may never meet in person - but you are our friends, and we are thankful for you.

 

Most of the people who love Mark Twain will never get the opportunity to visit this amazing house. His fans reside in every corner of the globe, and his presence is still felt all these years after his death. In fact, in a special publication last week of the Smithsonian magazine, our very own Mark Twain led the list of pop icons in American culture. This is no surprise to us. People simply love him.

 

To say "thank you" to all of our friends far and wide, we are unveiling a new Virtual Tour every Monday through February. That way, even though you can't come visit as often as you like, we can have a virtual get-together. Sam Clemens could not have said it better - we do "content ourselves that...friendship is a Reality."

 

Thank you for your friendship, and enjoy this special time of the year when we savor old memories while making new ones.

 

Your friend, 

 

Cindy Lovell
Executive Director

 

THANKSGIVING, BLACK FRIDAY, CYBER MONDAY, AND THEN...  
GIVING TUESDAY ON DECEMBER 2

We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. Now, we have Giving Tuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. On Tuesday, December 2, charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.

Please consider a gift to the Mark Twain House & Museum on this Giving Tuesday.  We are working hard to keep the legacy and home of Mark Twain alive.  Your support can make a huge difference.
 

DECEMBER EVENTS

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

New England Premiere Screening of New Documentary Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey

Sunday, November 30, 2:00 p.m. at Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor Street, Hartford

For 60 years, Holbrook has been touring with his award-winning one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight!, in which he portrays the renowned American writer and satirist before sold-out crowds. Doling out Twain's priceless and still relevant morsels of wit and wisdom, Holbrook has performed the show in all 50 states, internationally, on television, Broadway and behind the Iron Curtain. Filmmaker Scott Teems takes us behind the scenes with Holbrook for an intimate peek at Twain's continuing influence on our culture and the dedicated actor who brings him to life.  Followed by a talk-back with the film's director and Mark Twain House Executive Director Cindy Lovell. Sponsored by The Saunders Foundation.


Admission is $11/$8 for members. For tickets, please visit Real Art Ways' website here.


Herstory Theater & The Mark Twain House & Museum present IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A Live Radio Play

Saturday, December 6 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. 

 

This event will take place at Asylum Hill Congregational Church, 814 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT.  George Bailey, Zuzu, Clarence the Angel, and grumpy old Mr. Potter are turning Hartford into Bedford Falls this year! Come relive the story of a man who gets to see what life would have been like if he had never been born. You can revisit this wonderful story--in a fun, live radio-show performance, complete with a sound effects artist! The play is written by Joe Landry and is directed by Virginia Wolf.

 

$10. Please call (860) 280-3130 for more information & ticketing or click here.
 

The Friends of The Mark Twain House & Museum 34th Annual Holiday House Tour

Sunday, December 7, 11:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m.

 

This is the Connecticut holiday tradition when people flock to the Mark Twain House, and to five distinctive area properties, for The Friends of The Mark Twain House & Museum Holiday House Tour. The tour will feature Mark Twain's 19-room home and The Hartford Club, where Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was a member; four other historic homes will be opened for viewing. Each will be decorated for the holidays and will feature live music and floral arrangements. The Twain mansion will be decorated for a 19th-century Christmas with the Samuel Clemens family. For more information, please visit the dedicated website for the Holiday House Tour.  Our sponsors include Viking Oil Company, Hooker & Holcombe, Inc., Aaron & Sandra Gersten,Pamela Dowling & James Healey, Jr., Sponsorship in memory of Brent Wells, and Sponsorship in memory of Fran Gordon, First President of the Friends.

 

Tickets: $30 in advance. Call (860) 280-3130 or click here. Tickets will be $35 on the day of the tour.

 


Mark Steyn in Conversation with Scott Simon

Monday, December 8, 7:00 p.m. at Immanuel Congregational Church, 10 Woodland Street, Hartford (just across the street from The Mark Twain House)

 

What happens when NPR meets FOX?  Find out when a Canadian Christmas caroling-conservative answers the tough questions from a beloved National Public Radio reporter. Mark Steyn is an international bestselling author, a Top 41 recording artist, a leading Canadian human rights activist, and frequent substitute for Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Scott Simon, one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters, hosts NPR's Weekend EditionThe event will be followed by a book sale and signing.  A discounted price for books by both authors is available by clicking on the ticketing link below.  The Author Lecture Series is sponsored by The Hartford. 

 

Tickets are  $75 for VIP (includes a reception with Mark Steyn and Scott Simon), $30 general, and $25 for MTH&M members. Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

 

The Trouble Begins at 5:30: Elisabeth Petry on 'Can Anything Beat White?' A Black Family's Letters

Wednesday, December 10, 5:00 p.m. reception; 5:30 p.m. talk

 

Author and journalist Elisabeth Petry discovered old letters and photos in a tin ice cream cone box that recounted the lives of her African American family in Hartford and Old Saybrook from Twain's era until the early 20th century. Her great-great grandfather was coachman to a prominent Hartford businessman and politician, and her great-grandmother collected the Clemens family's autographs -- and remembered seeing Clemens and his butler George Griffin, a family friend, walking down a Hartford street all dressed in white. Petry's book -- Can Anything Beat White? -- recounts her discoveries and her family's saga. The Trouble Begins lecture series is supported by Connecticut Explored magazine, Hot Tomato's restaurant and The Friends of the Mark Twain House & Museum. 

 

This is a free event.  Reservations are recommended.  Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 

 

Marlon James discusses A Brief History of Seven Killings

Friday, December 12, 7:00 p.m.

 

This event is presented in conjunction with the City of Hartford, Office of Marketing, Entertainment, & Cultural Affairs, and Real Art Ways. Author Marlon James will discuss his new novel, which has just been published to universal acclaim. The New York Times says:
"How to describe Marlon James's monumental new novel "A Brief History of Seven Killings"? It's like a Tarantino remake of "The Harder They Come" but with a soundtrack by Bob Marley and a script by Oliver Stone and William Faulkner, with maybe a little creative boost from some primo ganja. It's epic in every sense of that word: sweeping, mythic, over-the-top, colossal and dizzyingly complex. It's also raw, dense, violent, scalding, darkly comic, exhilarating and exhausting - a testament to Mr. James's vaulting ambition and prodigious talent." Followed by a book sale and signing.

 

This is a free event.  Reservations are recommended. Please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 


Christmas CLUE Tours!
Friday, December 12, Tours step off every 15 minutes beginning at 7 p.m. Reservations required. Tours are almost sold out!
 
Who killed that varmint Pap Finn? And why during the holidays? 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!

 

$22 for adults with discounts for children and members. Reservations required. For tickets, please call (860) 280-3130 or click here.

 
AND: We're excited to announce that Hal Holbrook will be performing his classic Mark Twain Tonight! as a benefit for the Mark Twain House on February 17th at 7:30 p.m. at The Bushnell in Hartford.  It'll be an unforgettable evening--it's Mr. Holbrook's 90th birthday, and he's been performing as Mark Twain for 60 years! Please call (860) 987-5900 or click here.

 

 

 

 
THANK YOU TO OUR NEW   
(October 23 through November 18)
 

Gail Agneta
Susan Bailey
Dr. Jack Barnette
Linda Bayer
Tinamarie Blinn
Lis Byington
Rebekah Cafrelli
Kristen Carlson
Jocelyn Chadwick & John Grassie
Jolene & Josh Dobbin
Debi Ellsworth
Barbara J. Frey & Ralph V. Katz
Michael & Cindy Gabor
Carole A. Gizzi
Linda Gordon
Fred Grilli
Margo Lynn Hablutzel
Gerald & Barbara Hess
Jaye Horowitz
George L. Kennedy
Judith Lee Kline
Fred Krowchenko
Donna Larcen

 

 

Joel Linebarger
Stephen Maguire
William B. Martin
Renato Mascardo
Joseph P. Morin
Doris L. Nabel
Marlene O'Neill & David Nagel
William & Valerie Osbourne
Daria M. Plummer
Patricia Ponko
Jessie Rack
David Saaf
Loran & Linda Schumacher
Ronald Sisco
Richard & Patricia Thivierge
Harry Truitt
Ellen Ward
Miggie Warms
Richard Weingart
Jordan White
Carol Yingling
Katherine Young
 

  
THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS (October 23 through Nov. 18)
 
INDIVIDUAL 


Judith E. Askey
Thomas Barnes
Robert D. & Donna S. Batch
Nancy R. Bestor
Linda Biancalani
David R. Bradley
Patti & Richard Broad
Margaret F. Buck
Inga Buhrmann
Carol L. Canino
Frank S. & Mary Anne Chew
Thomas B. & Diane Copeland
Sam H. Creswell
Arthur W. Frank, Jr.
Joel & Susan Freedman
Michael Friedman
Dr. Alan D. Gribben
Terry & Margaret Hoover
Alice Jena
John G. & Violetta P. Kava
John W. Kennedy, Jr.
Judith Lee Kline
John J. & Sara D. Koziol
Jacques C. Lamarre
Prof. Emerita Sarah B. Landau
Norman & Cindy Landry
Mr. & Mrs. William H. Loos
Adam & Jessica Lovell
Richard A. Lowenstein
Donald McGilvray
Bruce F. & Theresa H. Michelson
Miriam Miller
Barbara A. Moore
Richard E. Musgrave
Andrew Obelnicki & Kathleen Kelliher
Jeffrey & Donna Oller
David & Laura Pels
Robert Perkin
Dr. Arthur O. Phinney, Jr.
James L. Pomeranz
Michael J. Riley
Jeanne Rovaldi-Manning
Glenn & Audrey Scanlan
Scott Schooley & Giuliana Musilli
Miriam Seltzer
Joanne Starace
Jennifer & Philip Tombaugh
Robert J. & Elizabeth A. von Dohlen
Jane C. Waters
Jean & Stanley Wedding
Diane White
Raymond J. & Sarah W. Winter
Ann Vibert Wuelfing
 

INSTITUTIONAL 


The Mark Twain Foundation

 

The Saunders Foundation


Tsunami Tsolutions
 

 

  

IN HONOR OF DOUGLAS BOAINS 

 

Elizabeth Cope


 


 

 

  
 
 Make the most of your donation, be sure to ask your employer about matching gifts.

 
Editing Bootcamp with Steve Courtney: A Writing Workshop, Saturday, December 13, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm, $40

The editor is the writer's silent partner, whose work is crucial to getting the message out. Steve Courtney, author and editor of both non-fiction books and magazine pieces, will pass along the basics of the several different kinds of editing that make a narrative clearer and sharper -- and then spruce up details of style to ensure a professional touch to a writer's work. The editor's task can be a delicate one, requiring a mixture of diplomacy and toughness. Toughness is required, above all, to convince writers to delete their own most-loved passages, to "murder your darlings" as Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch advised in 1914.
 
For full class and workshop descriptions, please visit our website. Note that there are discounts for members.

 

 

To register or for more information, please email Julia Pistell, Director of Writing Programs, at [email protected].

  

 
MARK TWAIN STORE 
FEATURED ITEM OF THE MONTH

Mark Twain Signature Felt Bag

 

Mark Twain House & Museum grey felt bag lined in plum. Mark Twain's signature embroidered on front and 'The Mark Twain House & Museum Hartford, CT' embroidered on the reverse. Made by Port Authority exclusively for The Mark Twain House & Museum Store. 19x15x5 inches

 

$24.95  

Visit our store or click here to buy online.

 

 

FREE SHIPPING OFFER FROM THE MARK TWAIN STORE

 

To get a jump on your holiday shopping: from December 1 to 8, you can get free shipping on any order of $75 or more!

 

Visit the store in person or online!



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 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 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, and the Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign.

 

David Cash, Publicist and Publications Editor

The Mark Twain House & Museum

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