Fall 'Trouble Begins' Lecture Continues October 24
Elmira, NY (10/22/2018) — The fall portion of the 2018-2019 The Trouble Begins Lecture Series, presented by the Center for Mark Twain Studies, continues Wednesday, October 24 in the Barn at Quarry Farm. The lecture begins at 7:00 p.m., and is free and open to the public.
The lecture, "Writing from Roots in 'America's Hometown': Flood, a Novel," will be presented by Melissa Scholes Young of American University. Literature and life often claim you can't go home again, but what happens if you have to? In this book talk and author reading, Melissa Scholes Young will chronicle how Mark Twain's own exodus from Hannibal parallels Laura Brooks', the protagonist of her debut novel, Flood, who like the Mississippi River, once ran in the wrong direction in order to recalibrate. She'll share her historical research and creative writing process as well as explore why Twain's origin in rural America is more relevant than ever.
"Filled with pithy dialogue and cultural references, Scholes Young's writing ties Laura's journey of self-discovery squarely to Hannibal and its famous young troublemakers. As Laura reckons with her past, Scholes Young reckons with Twain's influence on the region. This debut is a wonderful story of home, hope, and the ties that bind us to family." - Publishers Weekly
Scholes Young is an associate professor in the Department of Literature at American University in Washington, D.C. and a Bread Loaf Bakeless Camargo Fellow. Her writing has appeared in the Atlantic, Washington Post, Narrative, Ploughshares, and Poets & Writers. She's a contributing editor for Fiction Writers Review and editor of the anthology Grace in Darkness. Her debut novel, Flood, set in Hannibal, Missouri, the hometown she shares with Mark Twain, was the winner in Literary Fiction for the 2017 Best Book Award.
About The Trouble Begins Lecture Series
In 1984, the Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies initiated a lecture series, The Trouble Begins at Eight lecture series. The title came from the handbill advertising Mark Twain's October 2, 1866 lecture presented at Maguire's Academy of Music in San Francisco. The first lectures were presented in 1985. By invitation, Mark Twain scholars present lectures in the fall and spring of each year, in the Barn at Quarry Farm or at Peterson Chapel in Cowles Hall on Elmira College's campus. All lectures are free and open to the public.
Media Attachments
The fall portion of the 2018-2019 The Trouble Begins Lecture Series, presented by the Center for Mark Twain Studies, continues Wednesday, October 24 in the Barn at Quarry Farm. The lecture, “Writing from Roots in ‘America’s Hometown’: Flood, a Novel,” will be presented by Melissa Scholes Young of American University.