Mark Twain’s study on the campus of Elmira College. Photo by Tracy Wuster.
Every four years, the Center for Mark Twain Studies in Elmira, New York sponsors a conference on Mark Twain–this year is the 7th International Conference on the State of Mark Twain Studies. Don’t let the formal name fool you. This is fun. I prefer to call it “Mark Twain Summer Camp.” There are sing-a-longs, fancy dinners (with fancy wines), and a good number of “camp buddies” to make. There are also great papers and presentations on Mark Twain, of course.
Most of us who attended the last conference would agree that it was among the best–if not the best–conference we have ever attended, and we are all eagerly looking forward to August in Elmira, especially if the humidity stays mostly away like last time.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Ober
The highlight of the last conference was the presence of Hal Holbrook, especially his storytelling on the site of Mark Twain’s study lit by the moon and cigars. I wrote about this event and posted the audio of his storytelling in a previous post.
Anyway, proposals for the conference are due in just about a week. If you have anything on Twain, do yourself a favor and work it up for this conference. The full call can be found here: Elmira2013CallforPapers