Peter Salwen's Mark Twain Page

Welcome to one of the Web's longest-running Mark Twain pages. Though it seems, alas, to be perpetually under construction, you can find links here (see foot of this page) to many of the Web's best Mark Twain resources at the foot of the page. Try them!

This site was created to offer some little-known sidelights to anyone who shares my affection for and interest in America's most beloved author, Mark Twain. It includes articles, notices, a quotation collection (contributions freely invited), and links to the best Twain sites.

I got into Twain fairly young. When I was eight or nine my mother, a journalist, came home from an auction with a carton of Twain's collected works. Like many of you, I suspect, I opened his books, jumped in, and never really got out again. I also suspect that, as Twain warned, early exposure to his work has probably impaired my morals, but it has certainly sharpened my sense of humor. Fair trade.

My interest in Mark Twain's life and work has led to several projects that seem to have given pleasure to many folks over the years, including --

• A four-person musical program, "Better Than It Sounds" -- The Musical Mark Twain, that has been performed by invitation at the Algonquin Hotel in New York, the Mark Twain Library in Redding, Connecticut, and elsewhere. The next presentation will be in the historic Great Hall at Cooper Union on April 25, 2001 (see link below);

• A longish article, "Mark Twain, Belle of New York," highlighting Twain's many links with New York City; and

• An annual Mark Twain's New York walking tour of Twain-related landmarks in lower Manhattan,

I served for several years on the governing board of the late lamented Mark Twain Association of New York, which expired in 1998, not long after celebrating its seventy-second birthday, and I am currently attempting to reincarnate the idea through the recently formed Mark Twain Circle of New York. For information on any of these, use the links below, or use the e-mail form to contact us.

Happy hunting!

Mark Twain Resources on the Internet:

"Better Than It Sounds" -- The Musical Mark Twain

The About.com guide to Mark Twain, maintained by Jim Zwick, is the online source for current views and insights on Twain and his work -- particularly his late, anti-imperialist essays.
The Mark Twain Papers and Project at the Bancroft Library (University of California at Berkeley) is a real national treasure: an extraordinary editorial and publishing program that is preparing a comprehensive scholarly edition of all Mark Twain's private papers and published works. Visit their site for links to all kinds of Twain-related treasures.
TwainWeb is the Website for the Mark Twain Forum, an indispensible online mailing list for anyone who wants to learn more of Twain's life and writings
The Mark Twain Circle of New York Homepage
Mark Twain's New York (an annual birthday walking tour)
The Quotable Mark Twain (some of his best sayings)
"Mark Twain -- Belle of New York" (article by Peter Salwen)
Mark Twain in Cyberspace (a guide to the best Twain-related Web sites)
The Mark Twain Association of New York Home Page
Mark Twain and Walt Whitman
Is Huck Finn Racist?

Any thoughts or comments on this page? Your ideas and suggestions are always welcome. Just use this preformatted, "quote-capable" e-mail response form.

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