Posted by char
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Mark Twain
Mark Twain and I have become really great friends these past few weeks. That’s what happens when you write a paper on someone. I’ve always been enamored with the man who could rock the white suit like no one else. I think it started because my dad loved The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I think Twain’s stories of Missouri and Tom and Huck reminded him of himself in a way. While my love affair with Mark Twain and his writing may have started because I simply wanted to love something my dad loved, I quickly took a hold of it as my own. I read the abridged versions of Huck, Tom, and The Prince and the Pauper when I was 8ish and was obsessed with the Huckleberry Finn movie starring Elijah Wood as Huck. In 11th grade English, I read the complete Huckleberry Finn along with everyone else and was introduced to Twain’s short stories. This semester I read The Innocents Abroad, a book Twain wrote that was adapted from his time in Europe and the Holy Land as a traveling journalist. My summer dose of Twain: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
I am constantly amazed at how incredibly smart, funny and unconventional Twain was. He started in journalism as a printer’s apprentice at the age of 12. He worked at several newspapers all over the country, insisting on using the power of his pen to entertain his readers and expose wrong doing much to the dismay or delight of his editors. Twain’s insight into well, pretty much everything blows me away. His honesty and humor set him a part from other writers of his time and helped him shape American literature. I love his hesitancy to join the New York literary community despite early invitations. I appreciate his down to earth character and how he makes it look easy. It’s only in my dreams that I can imagine a world where my writing is as funny as his. It’s official–I’m smitten. Nobody tell my husband.
I leave you with a funny quote for the road: “I have been an author for 20 years and an ass for 55.” Mark Twain.
*image from here
Similar Posts
- a new hero
- summer reading list 2009
- Book Review: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
- the favorites
- Book Review: The Orchid Thief
2 comments • Join the conversation
If you’re up for more Twain you should check out http://twainia.com
Also, if you’re up for more writing, there’s a contest going on over there as well: http://twainia.com/contest/
Ash and I saw the musical “Big River” not too long ago, the musical based on Huck Finn. Boy was it good! You should see it sometime, if a production ever comes to town.
Join the conversation
Pour yourself a cup, and share your opinion.