MAPK TBEHEast and West Meet in Twain

Elmira Star-Gazette

“From the last home of Mark Twain comes an idea too good to get lost

in the shuffle of politics...”

Opening/Background

Short overview of what we will be speaking about. Background of our relationship/projects and why it is

of interest that our efforts to promote Twain in 2008, 2009 & 2010 mimic the efforts of Brad Kelly’s in 1958, 1959 & 1960.

Opening/Background

First, we would like to thank Alex and the Boston University Editorial Institute for the opportunity to be with you here this afternoon. It truly is an honor.

Opening/Background

Heather and I have been working together since 2007 when I stopped over at MTL to have a look at their photo archives for a calendar project.

In 2008 we celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Twain’s arrival in Redding, his final residence, as well as the 100th Anniversary of the Library’s founding.

Opening/Background

I have been a Mark Twain Library patron since childhood, but 2007 was the first time I had seen the archives.

And as it turns out… one of the items that caught my eye was an article about Bradley Kelly’s quest to unite the USA & USSR via Mark Twain.

Bradley Kelly’s Project

“I am hopeful, that the down to earth American humor and satire of this great writer will help pierce the Iron Curtain. At least, it’s worth

a try.”

-Bradley Kelly

Opening/Background

Without this symposium, this information would likely remain unknown.

Heather and I were a tad “Twained out” after April 21st But seeing Alex’s post about the Twain/Tolstoy Symposium reminded me of Kelly’s project at the 50th Anniversary & the parallels between his efforts and ours were unbelievable.

Opening/Background

This presentation…at this symposium…at this time…truly was meant to be.

That said, I’ll get started.

Bradley Kelly’s Project

Kelly’s idea was to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Mark Twain’s passing by using him as an

Ambassador of Good Will to the Soviet Union.

“Here is a unique chance to show that there is some common ground between two ostensible enemies.”

Bradley Kelly’s Project

Kelly circulated Mark Twain themed issues of Redding’s local newspaper,

the Redding Times, all over the World.

The first newspaper sent was the June 19, 1958 issue which celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Twain’s arrival in Redding, Connecticut (06/18/1908)

Bradley Kelly’s Project

Yugoslavia was the first country to respond with a thank you note, but it was the letter that arrived from Russia that confirmed all he had

previously believed about the Russians’ interest in Mark Twain-

and added to his beliefs.

Bradley Kelly’s Project

“I fully agree with you that cultural communications between people of

different countries is one of the surest mediums of maintaining peace…Twain

is immensely popular among Soviet people. His works have been published & republished here in large editions…”

-A. KuznetsovVice Chairman, Committee for Cultural

Relations with Foreign Countries

The Kelly’s Travel Overseas

Correspondence between Kelly and Kuznetsov continued throughout 1959 & led to a special European trip for Kelly &

his wife. They traveled to Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, & the

Soviet Union. They were interviewed in every country they visited.

“All over Europe, all over Scandinavia, I found a love for Mark Twain as promoter of the little

man.” –Bradley Kelly

The Kelly’s Travel Overseas

The Kelly’s found that Mark Twain was by far the Russian’s favorite author, easy

topping Hemingway, Faulkner, and Jack London.

Russian scholars informed them that there was hardly a schoolboy that had not read: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

Twain First Published in 1872

Mark Twain’s story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” was translated into the Russian language in

1872 and “The Gilded Age” was published immediately after its release in America.

The first collection of Mark Twain’s productions was published in 1890 (11

volumes). The second edition was printed in 1910 and a complete collection was

released in 1911 (28 volumes).

Moscow’s Lenin State Library

The highlight of the Kelly’s trip was an afternoon in Moscow’s Lenin Library

where they found the catalog files on Mark Twain’s works to 8 inches thick…

At that time, books, pamphlets & articles on Twain covered hundreds of titles and over

11 million copies of his books had been translated into 25 Russian languages.

Moscow’s Lenin State Library

Kelly was amazed by the library’s size and the number of visitors:

“The library had close to 20 million books, is open 7 days a week from 9am to 11pm

and on average sees 7,000 visitors a day.”

While they were there an exchange of English volumes and Russian volumes was

made.

America Amazed Russians Love Mark Twain Too

The findings of Kelly were a big surprise here in America. It was the first time an

American writer had been printed completely in two languages.

Even more surprising was the fact that the number of Russian printings exceeded

England and America’s totals combined!

America Amazed Russians Love Mark Twain Too

“It isn’t merely government policy that makes Twain a favorite in Russia, more than any other American writer, Twain hits the chords of the Russian people. The response to him is remarkable…”

Russian’s consider Mark Twain “a voice of the little man.”

Twain’s Satire & Commentary

Twain’s works are filled with satire and social commentary which became

increasingly more acidic in his later years and yet it is/was this side of the

great American author that is/was most endearing to the Russian people. They

believed that Twain’s jibes at the American society of his day apply to the United States of America in the 1960’s.

Twain’s Satire & Commentary

His social commentary still applies today…

“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I

repeat myself.”

-Mark Twain, a Biography

The Cold War

“Now that Statesmanship and Brinkmanship seem to be failing, it is time to try Twainmanship to ease the

tensions of the Cold War.”-Bradley Kelly

The next two slides show Kelly was right…

The Book Exchanges

The Book Exchange idea was well received, and was embraced by all the Mark Twain Memorials in the U.S. By December 1961 books had been exchanged between:

• Redding, Connecticut• Hartford, Connecticut• Elmira, New York• Hannibal, Missouri

People to People

Initially the Kelly’s paid their own expenses as the “unofficial

ambassadors” of Twain.

In 1961, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s organization “People to People” appointed them as members

and made their expenses tax deductible.

The Legacy

Bradley Kelly died in 1968 but his project did not. In fact, here today Heather and I are completing the circle he began…and I can not put into words how rewarding that is.

Book exchanges continued between the U.S.A. and Russia into the 1980’s. All-in-all

these book exchanges had an impact, morphing into a grassroots effort to

peaceful understanding between the two countries.

The Collection

8 titles in Russian and 2 in Ukrainian.Russian : The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & the Adventures of HuckleberryFinn (2 different copies); The Prince and the Pauper; A Connecticut Yankee;Mark Twain (Life of Famous People series - 2 copies, 1958, 1964); Lettersfrom the Earth; & Mark Twain (fictional literature).Ukrainian: Mark Twain (bio); & The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

The Legacy

What’s truly amazing with this project is that this year, the 100th anniversary of Twain’s

passing, Heather and her staff have cataloged this very special Russian

collection and made it available to the General Public.

Kelly had hoped that the book exchange would continue and grow and here today at this symposium we are attempting to make

more people aware of their existence.

The Legacy

To follow up on my story and give you some background on the Mark Twain Library, the Russian Book Collection,

Twain’s Time in Redding and the interesting Russian connection Twain’s daughter Clara had… I exit the spotlight

and yield to my fellow “Twainiac” Heather Morgan.

Mark Twain’s Library

When I became Director of the Mark Twain Library in 2002, it had only recently re-opened after an

extensive renovation. The old Cape-style building, paid for through the generosity of Mark Twain, his

daughter Jean Clemens, his friend Andrew Carnegie, and the townsfolk of Redding, remains an integral part of the building today, and is now used for programs, and to store our Mark Twain collection – the books he gave to set up the first town library in Redding; the books that contain

his penciled marginalia that still delights us today.

The Mystery of the Russian Books

When prowling around my new library building, I discovered many boxes still waiting to be

unpacked – most of them stored in the musty basement of the original old building. I

realized some had been there for many years, and one of my discoveries was a small

collection of books, by and about Mark Twain, that had been translated into Russian. I looked them over, intrigued, but with much else to do, I placed them in a cupboard, and almost forgot

them.

The Newspaper Clippings

About a year later, I came across a file of yellowing press cuttings that told the

delightful story of local resident, Bradley Kelly, and his travels that had led to a gift of books, in Russian, to the Mark Twain Library. On one of his visits to

Moscow Mr. Kelly took a message from the Mark Twain Library in Redding to the Director of the Leningrad library. It was simply, “Let’s exchange translations of

Mark Twain’s works.”

Bradley Kelly

He believed that he could use Mark Twain as an “ambassador” of good will to the Soviet Union, “Let American and Russian libraries trade Mark Twain material" he said, “No matter how much we may differ in other areas, at least we can

show the Russians we agree with them on one subject – Mark Twain”. It was appropriate that the proposal should come from a resident of

the small Connecticut town where Mark Twain spent his last years.

The Russian Books

Now I had the answer to the mystery of the hidden books. I brought them out of hiding, dusted them

down, catalogued them, and finally they were returned to the library shelves. The cataloging

was a challenge as I know nothing of the Russian language, but with the help of a Russian friend, and some excellent work by a cataloger at our system headquarters, we managed very well. The online catalogue of the Mark Twain Library may be viewed by anyone and everyone who

visits our website, at www.marktwainlibrary.org

Redding & Mark Twain

It is little known that Mark Twain lived his last years, from 1908 to 1910, in the

little sleepy town of Redding, Connecticut. He built a splendid, Italian-style house on a hilltop overlooking the Saugatuck River, wanting, and needing, the peace of a country life, declaring,

“How beautiful it all is” upon his arrival.

Stormfield- Mark Twain’s final residence. Redding CT

Redding & Mark Twain

But he felt a little lonely; he missed his friends, and the gaiety of life in New York City. He was still grieving the loss of his dear wife, Livy, who had

died in 1904, he still missed his favorite daughter, Susy, and he

greatly missed the happy days of being a father to three adoring

daughters when they lived together in Hartford.

Redding & Mark Twain

But he loved his new home, which he named “Stormfield”, and he set about making friends among the farmers in Redding, and became a regular sight

walking the footpaths around his country estate, or trotting along the

roads in his carriage, greeting friends and neighbors.

Redding & Mark Twain

He invited many guests to his new home, from his old life and from his new. He was

the perfect host, and described himself as the “perfect man … a border ruffian

from the state of Missouri, and a Connecticut Yankee by adoption. In me, you have Missouri morals, Connecticut culture; this, gentlemen, is the perfect combination which makes the perfect

man”.

Helen Keller

Redding & Mark Twain

He took a keen interest in the community into which he had moved, and decided it

needed a library. He wanted it to be a library for the people, with no town government interference, a place

organized and administered by people in the town. It remains as such to this day.

He convinced residents to help him fundraise for a building, which they

whole-heartedly did.

Redding & Mark Twain

Mark Twain’s biggest, and most successful fundraiser, was a concert held at his house, where he played the part of master of ceremonies, with singer,

David Bispham, and Ossip Gabrilowitsch playing the piano. Clara, Mark Twain’s daughter, also sang that evening, and

later Ossip, who had know Clara almost ten years, proposed marriage, and was

accepted. They were married at Stormfield on October 6th 1909.

Clara’s Russian Connections

Gabrilowitsch was born in St. Petersburg in February 1878. He was a piano prodigy as

a child, and studied under Rimsky-Korsakoff at the St. Petersburg

Conservatory. It was when he was studying in Vienna in 1898 that he first

met Clara and the Clemens family. Mark Twain admired his son-in-law, and was

happy to welcome him into his family.

Clara’s Wedding

Clara’s Russian Connections

In 1918 Gabrilowitsch became Director of the new Symphony Orchestra in Detroit,

where he and Clara remained for the rest of his life. He died in September

1936, and is buried at the foot of Mark Twain in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira,

New York.

Clara’s Russian Connections

In May of 1944, Clara married again, to another Russian musician, Jacques

Samassoud, who, unfortunately, spent her inheritance from her father freely,

which finally resulted in the sale of many of Mark Twain’s manuscripts to

pay off debts.

Clara’s Russian Connections

In 1962, Clara wrote to Mr. Bradley Kelly in Redding that she thought “it a superb

idea to harmonize the Russians and Americans through their authors or any other possible means”, and offered her

“heartfelt sympathy” with his great plan.

Redding’s Role in the 50th & 100th Anniversary

It is interesting that 50 years after Mark Twain’s death, because a Redding

resident had a dream to help build a cultural exchange between the United States and Russia, that Mark Twain’s

library was able to play a major role. And that now, 100 years after his death, we

are gathered together to once again celebrate the life of this great American

author, and that of a great Russian author, Leo Tolstoy.

This presentation is over for now, I thank you all for watching!!

Someone please have a whiskey & a smoke for me.