AUTHOR OF THE MONTH
Agree or not-to my mind one of the most
American Authors of all time is none other than Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known
by most as
****Mark
Twain****
This
American Master wrote the classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and its
prequel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Whereas Tom Sawyer’s story
was more of a children’s novel, Huck Finn and his exploits dealt with the
breadth and depth of what was occurring in the American experience at that
time. Name me another novel that deals with man’s inhumanity to man,
child abuse, religious tolerance-bigotry-excess, con artists, murder, and one
child’s belief that he must do what is morally right in the face of all
odds. If you have not reread Huck Finn since leaving junior high
(which is when most of us were first exposed to Twain), give it another
shot. You will see that the issues that face Huck and Jim in their
travels are often those same issues that face us today.
But Twain is not just a one-hit wonder. He wrote fiction, humor, non-fiction,
newspaper articles, satire, travel literature, science fiction/time travel,
political essays, self-help literature, autobiographical books, tall tales….The
list is practically endless and almost impossible to thoroughly list as Twain
was known to publish under many other pseudonyms-some which have yet to be
discovered and may have been overlooked. Amongst Twain’s stylings you
should be able to find something to grab your fancy. Other Twain choices
to consider:
The
Prince and the Pauper
The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain
The
Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
A Tramp Abroad
The
Diary of Adam and Eve
Joan of Arc
A
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Life on the Mississippi
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