Mississippi State University Contact: Maridith Geuder662) 325-3442[email protected]
Mississippi Quarterly to feature never-published Twain preface
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The handwritten preface for an 1873 Mark Twain novel that gave its name to an era of corruption and greed will be printed for the first time in a Mississippi State University scholarly journal.
Written at the time of publication by Samuel Clemens--known to the world as Mark Twain--the short introductory essay was part of a copy of "The Gilded Age" presented by the author to a neighbor and close friend in Hartford, Conn. Clemens' first fictional work, the novel was co-authored with Charles Dudley Warner, editor of the Hartford Courant and another popular 19th century writer.
A facsimile edition of the preface will appear with an accompanying article next month in the fall edition of the Mississippi Quarterly, Mississippi State's journal of Southern culture.
The preface was discovered in papers donated to Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Clemens' childhood home was Hannibal, Mo.
"This handwritten preface reveals some of the thought processes that took place during the writing of the preface," said Carl Pracht of Southwest Missouri's Kent Library and author of the forthcoming Mississippi Quarterly article.
Most of the Mark Twain papers are housed at the University of California, Berkeley, said MSU English professor Robert L. Phillips, editor of the journal.
"Because Clemens was so attached to his writings, he often had trouble getting them into order for publishing," Phillips said. "While a great deal of unpublished work is included in the Berkeley papers, this piece had escaped notice."
Phillips said that, while the letter is interesting as a curiosity, its strikeouts and changes also tell a great deal about Clemens' attitude toward his work. "It will be of interest to scholars," he added.
Established at Mississippi State in 1948, the Mississippi Quarterly has a long history of publishing previously unpublished works. It was the first to print a number of pieces by Mississippi Nobel laureate William Faulkner, including the novel "Elmer" and a preface to "The Sound and the Fury."
In addition to the "The Gilded Age" preface, the publication also will include articles about Mississippi Pulitzer Prize-winner Eudora Welty and other women writers in the South.
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For more information about the Mississippi Quarterly, telephone (662) 325-3069.
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