Mark Twain's Hannibal: The Clemens Conference
August 11-13, 2011
Before he became "Mark Twain" in Virginia City, Nevada in 1863, Samuel Langhorne Clemens's literary path was firmly established. His storytelling began in his youth, and now the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum is proud to offer its first scholarly conference in the town where young Sam first expressed himself as a writer. Please join us for a distinguished sampling of research on our favorite author in the setting he immortalized. The Conference includes exploring the Mark Twain Cave, a relaxing dinner aboard the Mark Twain Riverboat, a visit out to the Mark Twain birthplace/museum in Florida, Missouri, a performance of "A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It" by master storyteller Gladys Coggswell, Jim Waddell's interpretation of "Mark Twain's Retreat: Personal Recollections of the Civil War," and a musical performance by bluegrass legend Carl Jackson, the Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician and producer who produced Mark Twain: Words & Music. (And don't worry... we have planned the Conference to include all of these Tom & Huck-style adventures so you won't have to play hooky from the Conference presentations.)
Hannibal-LaGrange University is the site for the Conference with presentations to begin each day at 9:00 a.m. Rooms are available at the University and nearby hotels and Bed & Breakfasts. Sneak a peek at the Boyhood Home on the Museum's webcam and imagine yourself sneaking out of the window for some adventures with Huck Finn.
Registration Form
Quick-Glance ScheduleDetailed Schedule with Presentation Descriptions
Keynote Presentations
Dr. Barbara Snedecor, Director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies, Elmira College
Open to the public - See details
Dr. Robert H. Hirst, Director of The Mark Twain Papers & Project, University of California at Berkeley
Dr. Robert H. Hirst, Director of The Mark Twain Papers & Project, University of California at Berkeley
Conference Co-Chairs/Planning
Dr. Bruce Michelson, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignDr. Tom Quirk, University of Missouri at Columbia
Pre-conference Events
Wednesday, August 10 - 2:00-5:00 - Special tour of Hannibal sites (no additional charge)Wednesday, August 10 - 7:00 - Wine reception in the Norman Rockwell Gallery at the Mark Twain Museum Gallery (no additional charge)
Post-conference Events
Sunday, August 14 - 9:00-12:00 - Special tour of Hannibal sites (no additional charge)Questions? Contact Henry Sweets or Cindy Lovell.
NOTE: Director Scott Teems (That Evening Sun) is filming a documentary about Hal Holbrook's 50+ years performing as Mark Twain (Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey). He and his staff will be filming here during the conference and plan to interview Twain scholars about Hal's influence, etc. Although Hal's attendance is not likely at this point, Teems and his crew will be here and will be seeking interviews with conference participants.
Post-conference Blog
If you want to read all about the conference, check out Cindy's blog and Shoichi Nasu's blog. Please send us your links to blogs and/or photos if you'd like to share here! See you in Elmira in 2013 and back here in Hannibal in 2015!
