How to Tell a Story. "The humorous story is strictly a work of art--high and delicate art-- and only an artist can tell it; but no art is necessary in telling the comic and the witty story; anybody can do it. The art of telling a humorous story--understand, I mean by word of mouth, not print--was created in America, and has remained at home." That Itchy Chick | You Should Have Seen The Old Man [more inside]
posted by Mike Buechel on Oct 11, 2009 - 17 comments

Mark Twain & Mary Baker Eddy, a film by Val Kilmer.
posted by hermitosis on Jul 22, 2009 - 15 comments

Over 2000 classic short stories from American Literature as well as an option to sign up for a short story of the day rss feed. Among the authors on offer are Kate Chopin, Saki, O. Henry, Louisa May Alcott, Ambrose Bierce, H. P. Lovecraft, Jack London, James Joyce, Willa Cather, Guy de Maupassant, Charles Dickens, Herman Hesse, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Franz Kafka, Honoré de Balzac, Edith Warton, P. G. Wodehouse, Virginia Woolf, Langston Hughes, Leo Tolstoy, Aldous Huxley, Roald Dahl, Henry James, Katherine Mansfield and I could keep going for a while. The point is, there's over 2000 short stories in there.
posted by Kattullus on Feb 17, 2008 - 31 comments

The Adventures of Mark Twain. Some of you may remember this strange film from 1985 , this clip in particular.
posted by nola on Sep 30, 2007 - 45 comments

"The Blessings-of-Civilization Trust, wisely and cautiously administered, is a Daisy. There is more money in it, more territory, more sovereignty, and other kinds of emolument, than there is in any other game that is played. But Christendom has been playing it badly of late years, and must certainly suffer by it, in my opinion. She has been so eager to get every stake that appeared on the green cloth, that the People who Sit in Darkness have noticed it – they have noticed it, and have begun to show alarm. They have become suspicious of the Blessings of Civilization."
posted by homunculus on Jun 13, 2007 - 13 comments

The War Prayer -- Mark Twain's post-humously published anti-war classic, brought to life.
posted by empath on May 28, 2007 - 17 comments

After breakfast we elected a man by the name of Walker, from Detroit, for supper. "Cannibalism in the Cars," by Mark Twain.
posted by Astro Zombie on Aug 18, 2006 - 15 comments

"The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them." - Mark Twain
posted by mischief on Nov 16, 2005 - 33 comments

"He was young and handsome, his mother's hope". Yes, the scourge of Onanism has long plagued our young people, causing them no end of misery, woe, and high ISP fees.

One champion of choice, our good friend Mark Twain, delivered a stirring lecture to the Stomach Club in Paris, 1879, to defend our right to love ourselves. Bless his crusty old heart.
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies on Jun 16, 2005 - 36 comments

Sometimes science has to take a back seat to art. Mark Twain's contribution to the fart joke was '1601 Conversation As it was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors', a heart-warming tale of Elizabethan intrigue and fart queens.
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies on Mar 1, 2005 - 5 comments

Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism by Mark Twain
posted by Pretty_Generic on Nov 7, 2004 - 10 comments

Mark Twain on evolution: It now seems plain to me that that theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one...the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals. And, on war: Statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception. Alphabetized Mark Twain quotes.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly on Jul 24, 2003 - 16 comments

Mark Twain on War and Imperialism. A collection of Twain's satirical writings on imperialism and the Philippine-American War, including his famous "To the Person Sitting in Darkness" and "The War Prayer" (the later was previously discussed here.)
posted by homunculus on Feb 16, 2003 - 8 comments

What Mark Twain Didn't Say
posted by archimago on Oct 16, 2002 - 30 comments

Mark Twain: A Film Directed by Ken Burns started on PBS tonite, on my local station. I know we have discussed Mark Twain's writting before, but I found this as I was looking for other sources about Twain. What do you think? Was he racist or was he trying to expose racist thinking? Or just weaving a good story?
posted by bjgeiger on Jan 14, 2002 - 15 comments

Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan... Mark Twain? I thought nothing else could increase my admiration of Twain but it turns out he sang and played guitar to newspapermen, miners, women (hmm), tourists... No recordings are known to exist. He's my all-time favorite wise guy and rebel!
posted by mmarcos on Nov 1, 2001 - 1 comment

A Little Light Relief - and Brush Up Your English While You're At It. In the spirit of poking fun at one's own flesh and blood - and respecting all those who aren't - I offer the most appalling tribute to Shakespeare's and Emerson's language since time itself began. I give you, ladies and gentlemen, the great Portuguese scholar Pedro Carolino, whose "English As She Is Spoke" Mark Twain considered to be the funniest book ever written. Start with "Familiar Dialogues 1" and, if you've still been able to keep a straight face, try "Idiotisms and Proverbs" for the full effect... (Thanks to Ganz's Humor Page)
posted by MiguelCardoso on Sep 20, 2001 - 19 comments

The War Prayer, by Mark Twain. I always like running across this kind of unpublished Twain gem. He's absolutely amazing at making his readers think. [via boingboing]
posted by swell on Sep 14, 2001 - 5 comments

Mark Twain - Back from the Dead! I just caught this on the Jim Lehrer News Hour. The tale behind the tale A Murder, A Mystery, and A Marriage. A complete, unpublished manuscript of Mark Twain has surfaced, and after 125 years will finally find its way to the pages of the Atlantic Monthly this summer.
posted by ZachsMind on Jun 25, 2001 - 16 comments