I met Mark Twain
Jul 25th, 2008 by spaceagesage
Twenty-eight years ago when I was a young adult in Aspen, Colorado, a one-man show came to town. A talented, but fairly unknown actor (not Hal Holbrook) had memorized almost every line and moment of Mark Twain’s life — my favorite author at the time — and this man had the look, gestures, and witticism of Samuel Langhorne Clemens down to an art.
I sat mesmerized by the actor, enthralled to see Mark Twain come alive before my very eyes. Every wave of the cigar, each dancing smile of self-satisfaction at a joke well received, and the playful Southern accent drew me into the performance.
At the end of an fun evening of entertaining, the actor said he would answer any questions from the audience. The Aspen crowd was quick to ask Mark Twain about his take on current politics and trends. The actor enjoyed adding Twain’s satire to his answers and obviously had fun with the give and take.
Finally, I raised my hand. Sweeping across the room, expecting another barbed questioned, he drew near and asked, “And what would your question be little lady?”
I replied, “I want to be a writer. What do I do to become a better writer?”
Suddenly the room fell silent. The actor and audience looked into my earnest face, and they realized I wanted Mark Twain, not the actor, to answer my question.
The man’s face softened, his mind switched gears, and he came a bit closer, as if Mark Twain and this young woman were to have a private conversation. Everyone leaned forward to listen.
Mark Twain looked me in the eye and said, “Experience of life — not of books — is the only capital usable in writing well, and one can make no judicious use of this capital while it is new.”*
Quite frankly, I don’t remember the words exactly, I just remember he talked about living life more fully so you can write more deeply and richly.
The amazing thing for me was in that one, stellar moment, my writing hero came down from on high and touched me with his words. As I looked into “Mark Twain’s” eyes, I really did hear that old father of American literature answer my question, and it changed my life. In those eyes, I felt Mark Twain bless my journey as a writer, a journey I am still taking.
Question:
If you could sit down and have a cup of coffee or an afternoon with your hero, what question would you ask?
—-
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog.
Tim Ramsey
Tim —
Welcome! Thanks for leaving a comment and for the compliment. Always nice to hear from a new commenter. .
What a great post! Love the interaction you describe.
Enjoy, Barbara
Barbara Ling —
Welcome!
Thanks for your kind words. It was a memorable moment for a young writer.