Happy Hour: Why I Like Mark Twain with Susan K. Harris

Sponsored by the ESU Indianapolis Branch.
Mark Twain (1835-1919) was an American humorist, journalist, lecturer, and novelist who gained international fame for his travel narratives and for his adventure stories of boyhood, especially The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He is considered one of America’s best and most beloved writers. Susan K. Harris is a Mark Twain scholar as well as a scholar of American women’s writings. She has published four books on the author. Susan’s talk will focus on Twain’s innovative language, his double-edged humor, his political courage, and his struggle to find certainty in an uncertain world. She will explore the debate over teaching Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—how its offensive language works, and why it matters.

Susan investigates aspects of Mark Twain’s fascinating life most people never knew. This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Indianapolis Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required.

Register Here

About Susan K. Harris

Susan K. Harris served twelve happy years as the Joyce and Elizabeth Hall Distinguished Professor of American Literature at the University of Kansas. She received a B.A. from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, an M.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.
 
She has published four books on Mark Twain and edited both a Riverside edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Library of America’s volume Mark Twain: Historical Romances.  She served on numerous advisory boards and university-level committees at Penn State and KU, and for national institutions such as NEH.  Most recently, she served as President of the Mark Twain Circle of America (2020-2022) and received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Society for the Study of American Women Writers.