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Spring 'Trouble Begins' Lecture Series Continues May 11

Elmira, NY (05/06/2022) — The spring 2022 The Trouble Begins Lecture Series presented by the Center for Mark Twain Studies (CMTS) resumes at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 11 at Quarry Farm and will continue each Wednesday through May. The lectures are free and open to the public and recordings of the lectures will be posted to the CMTS website.

The second lecture, "A Yankee in Kennedy's Court: The Humorous American Story and the Mark Twain Prize" will be presented by Charline Jao, a graduate student in the Literatures in English Department at Cornell University.

Jao will focus her lecture on claims that the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor promotes unity while rewarding fearless observation. Jao will review the award and the process of giving the award, from making an announcement to inviting the recipient to the White House, through the lens of Mark Twain and his idea of the comedic persona.

Jao's graduate research focuses on 19th-century American literature, with a special interest in speculative work by women writers and print culture. She is currently working on a digital humanities project that catalogs poetry published in abolitionist periodicals.

The free Trouble Begins Lecture Series is open to the public. The spring lectures will be in the Barn at Quarry Farm and will continue on Wednesdays throughout May.

The 2022 Spring Trouble Begins Lecture Series Schedule:

  • Wed., May 11: "A Yankee in Kennedy's Court: The Humorous American Story and the Mark Twain Prize" by Charline Jao, Cornell University.
  • Wed., May 18: "A Copyright Ignored? Mark Twain, Mary Ann Cord, and the Meaning of Authorship" by Timothy J. McFarlin, Samford University - Cumberland School of Law.
  • Wed., May 25: '"Our One Really Effective Weapon': Mark Twain and Humor as a Social Tool" by Elizabeth Cantalamessa, University of Miami.

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

Harper’s Weekly illustration of Karl Gerhardt’s bust, the model used for the Mark Twain Prize.

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