Friday, January 30, 2015

Talking Twain

I'm at Macmillan's Criminal Element talking about Mark Twain. A sample:
Mark Twain (1835–1910) was never one to pull punches on politics, ethics, religion, slavery, or just about any cultural flashpoint, quite often leading public discourse on a number of weighty issues where his views, even today, still function as a moral compass. Twain approached each topic with wry humor, reminding us, “If you cannot have a whale's good opinion except at some sacrifice of principle or personal dignity, it is better to try to live without it. That is my idea about whales.”
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5 comments:

  1. Oscar CaseJanuary 30, 2015 at 2:03 PM

    Twain put humor in the most serious of subjects.

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  2. Charles GramlichJanuary 31, 2015 at 10:43 AM

    I still have some Twain to read. Read quite a bit but there is more.

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  3. Prashant C. TrikannadFebruary 1, 2015 at 5:53 AM

    David, I'm with Oscar about Mark Twain's humour. Sometimes I get a kick out of merely reading his quotes.

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  4. David CranmerFebruary 1, 2015 at 6:55 AM

    Oscar, He had a way of adding that necessary sugar (humor) to the needed medicine.

    Charles, I'm desperate to read it all.

    Prashant, A selection of his quotes is indeed funny.

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  5. Richard ProschFebruary 2, 2015 at 7:13 PM

    Like so many giants, Twain must've been hell to live with. I enjoy reading him, but don't know if he would've made a good friend. I'd like to think so-- a complex man for sure.

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