So today was awesome in a completely historical way. We finally did it - walked a 1/4 of a block and went to see the Samuel Clemens House. I have finally discovered my deep connection to this neighborhood. The house itself is amazing, like Victorian era on crack. What was truly striking was Clemens' deep and abiding love for his children, and his complete devotion to the cause of non-prejudice. One of his quotes is "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."
Mark Twain, you know who you are.
I also learned a lot about my neighborhood. This area used to be called Nook Farm, and all the famous artists settled here. One thing I did NOT know was that (obviously many years later) Katharine Hepburn grew up in this neighborhood (Hepburn's mother was a co-founder of Planned Parenthood).
http://www.angelfire.com/journal/difleys/nookfarm.htm
But the coolest thing is that Mark Twain's publisher used to live in Nook Farm on the very ground I live on now. My address is his address. His house is long gone but here we are, occupying the same space as the man who published Tom Sawyer and The Gilded Age. Every great person has a cast of people around him, who will never be known, and maybe it's cool in a weird way that here I am sharing the space of a ghost who made Mark Twain possible. I find the thought numinous.
So I bought a book that everyone should buy their girls, How Nancy Jackson Married Kate Wilson and Other Tales of Rebellious Girls and Daring Young Women http://tinyurl.com/33mp5k
Clemens also hated sexism, and taught his girls how to be strong, smart, brave and proud. That is some shit I can get behind.
As a weird coda to this, one of my best friend's grandfather was a critic. He was an original reviewer of The Mark Twain Society's edition (obviously containing a lot of educational material) of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. He said that the "Yankee [is] a jewel. Nobody will be able to read, much less teach it, without this book."
I cannot believe that, today, I stood in the room that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written in. Awesome.
(Side note: the shop for the house has some kick ass anti-censorship material. Good for them. And us.)
4 comments:
Wow! Just wow!
Excellent, as always, Kim. But I definitely think this your best entry, to date. It's obvious that your visit had a real impact on you and your perceptions of the neighborhood. That element really showed in your writing.
Samuel Clemens has always been one of my favorite historical figures. He’s truly an American icon. It must be an incredible feeling to live right across the street from the home where he produced some of his best-loved works.
The atmosphere in the Twain House must seem really charged by his being there for so many years. Just as there must be an intensity of feeling around the whole neighborhood, for you, knowing that he strolled those streets as he was plotting out many of his stories.
And, something you may not have considered is the likelihood that, since his publisher lived at the same address where you now reside, Twain spent a lot of time in that very same space. How cool is that?
Thanks, also, for the insight into your neighborhood, formerly known as, Nook Farm. From the link:
"Women’s rights and the abolitionist movement, controversial and emotional subjects in the Victorian nineteenth century, sparked lively discussions at Nook Farm, an exclusive enclave in Hartford, CT, where some of America’s foremost liberal thinkers gathered to confront these issues."
Damn! There is something really fantastic about living in an area with that sort of rich history!
I look forward to reading much more about your neighborhood, Hartford and Connecticut, in future installments. Keep it coming!
Kim,
Fifteen-plus years ago, my on-line name would have been connecticutdave.
I grew up about an hour west of Hartford (down 84), near Danbury.
I remember going to MT's house on a field trip in Jr. High, I think.
You made it much more interesting.
I mentioned a while back that you and Dr. Pete might enjoy checking out Kent Falls.
It's a pretty little town on the App Trail. If you head north from there, you'll run into the Cornwall bridge, which is a cool covered bridge.
It's really the only area left in CT where you get a nice rural New England feel.
ps.
I look forward to getting reacquainted with Hartford. It's been a while since I hung out there.
pps.
Next time I go down to my mom's hose I'll give you a heads-up.
Hartford would be a nice place for a gin and tonic break.
:>
since his publisher lived at the same address where you now reside, Twain spent a lot of time in that very same space. How cool is that?
OMG, I didn't even think of that but that is very cool. Maybe that's who I hear walking around in the unoccupied upstairs apartment!
Vermontdave,
Yes, I do remember that suggestion, and I am glad you reminded me of it. I will definitely have to do that. And please do stop by if you visit your mom, I'd love to have you here! We can go to the pub of your choosing.
"Maybe that's who I hear walking around in the unoccupied upstairs apartment!"
Well I rather like the idea that this could be Mark Twain. Now THAT would be a cool upstairs entity!
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