What’s New

'Race, Rage & Redemption'

A revealing look at the issue of racism. Our new exhibit 'Race, Rage and Redemption' includes "A Sound Heart & a Deformed Conscience," an in-depth view of Mark Twain's views on race; "Hateful Things," a survey of racist imagery from the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University; and an array of films, lectures and programs.

The exhibit and events explore one of the most brutal chapters of American history and the effect of slavery on our national consciousness.

The exhibits are accompanied by a display, "Hopeful Things," in the Great Hall, produced in cooperation with the Greater New England Alliance of Black School Educators.

"Race, Rage and Redemption" is supported by the City of Hartford Arts & Heritage Jobs Grant Program, Pedro E. Segarra, Mayor; Aetna, Inc.; The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation; the George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., and Alan S. Parker, Co-Trustees; Francisco L. Borges; Lindberg & Ripple, Inc.; R. Paul and Cecily H. Mehlman and Reid & Riege, P.C.

Please note: these exhibitions contain inflammatory and upsetting imagery. Parental discretion is advised.

The exhibitions may be viewed through September 3 during regular visiting hours for a $6.00 museum-only admission, or free with a Mark Twain House tour.

Time's Hilarious Joel Stein

Thurs, May 24, 7:30 p.m.: The fearlessly funny Joel Stein, humorist, reporter and rabble-rouser for Time magazine. Aside from his cover stories and his weekly humor column for Time, Joel writes for the Los Angeles Times, has appeared on VH1’s I Love the 80s, and was fired by Martha Stewart. He is on tour promoting his hilarious new book Man Made – A Stupid Quest for Masculinity. “Joel Stein is one of the funniest authors I have ever read,” says Neil Strauss of Rolling Stone.

$30; $25 for members. Call 860-280-3130 for tickets.

Aunt Jemima & Uncle Ben

Wed., May 16, 5 p.m.. 'The Trouble Begins at 5:30' : UConn's Dr. Jeffrey Ogbar speaks on "Beyond Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben: American National Identity and Race." Our popular series of free, after-work lectures on Twainian subjects, continues with this talk by by Dr. Ogbar, Associate Dean for the Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Connecticut.

This spring's series of "Troubles" explores themes of our provocative exhibition, "Race, Rage and Redemption," which includes a tough and disturbing display of racist artifacts and imagery called "Hateful Things." These artifacts provide a stepping-off point for Dr. Ogbar's lecture.

Dr. Ogbar's research interests include the 20th century United States with a focus in African American history --more specifically, black nationalism and radical social protest. He has produced courses, lectures, articles and books on subjects as varied as Pan-Africanism, African American Catholics, civil rights struggles, black nationalism and hip-hop. He has held fellowships at Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research, where he completed work on his book, Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity. He also held fellowships at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City, and the Africana studies program at the University of Miami where he conducted research for his book Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap. His latest book is an edited volume, The Harlem Renaissance Revisited: Politics, Arts and Letters.

DJ SPOOKY's Rebirth of a Nation

Thurs, May 17, 7 p.m.: A remixed version of D.W. Griffith's racist film Birth of a Nation: lecture & film screening with DJ SPOOKY, who comes to Hartford to discuss and screen his work.

Adding a hip-hop/electronica score and digital graffiti, this edgy and intelligent artist reappropriates this landmark film while viewing it through a modernist, African American lens.

Featuring a pre-film lecture with DJ Spooky, a screening of Rebirth of a Nation and a post-film Q&A. Tickets are $20, $15 for Twain and Stowe Center members. For tickets call 860-280-3130.

A collaborative presentation of The Mark Twain House & Museum and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center.

June: Cussler, Blume, Didion

Clive Cussler at the Museum June 14; Judy Blume at the Lincoln Theater June 21; Joan Didion at Hartford Stage June 28.

Three famed American writers -- the top-notch adventure writer Clive Cussler; the beloved chronicler of adolescence Judy Blume; and journalist, novelist and memoirist Joan Didion -- will make appearances in June to benefit Hartford's literary treasure, The Mark Twain House & Museum.

The appearances, in three different locales, are already causing a stir in the local community and tickets may not be available up to the time of the events, so be sure to reserve now.

Clive Cussler, Thursday, June 14, 7:30 p.m.

At The Mark Twain House & Museum

Adventure, ahoy! The Grand Master of Adventure comes to the home of Mark Twain. New York Times bestselling author Clive Cussler surfaces in Hartford on June 14. Famed for his pulse-raising action novels, Cussler is the author or coauthor of more than forty previous books, including twenty-one Dirk Pitt tales, eight NUMA Files adventures, eight Oregon Files books, the Isaac Bell historical thrillers, and the Fargo adventures. He is also the founder of the real NUMA, which, led by Cussler, searches for shipwrecks of historic significance.

Tickets are $45 ($40 for Mark Twain House & Museum members). A VIP ticket, which includes a reception with Clive Cussler at 6 p.m., is $85. Call 860-280-3130.

Judy Blume, Thursday, June 21, 7:30 p.m. The Clemens Lecture

At the Lincoln Theater, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford

One of the best-loved writers for children, young adults and grown-ups, Judy Blume holds a special place in many a reader's heart. With over 80 million books in print, her classic novels include Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Superfudge, Blubber, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Finding herself at the center of an organized book banning campaign in the 1980s, she began to reach out to writers, teachers and librarians who were under fire. Since then, she has worked tirelessly with the National Coalition Against Censorship to protect the freedom to read.

Support provided by Hartford Steam Boiler, the Cigna Foundation, the Greater Hartford Arts Council, and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

Tickets: $25 and $40. A VIP ticket, which includes VIP seating and pre-event reception with Judy Blume, is $85. For tickets call 860-768-4228 or go to www.hartford.edu/hartt.

Joan Didion, Thursday, June 28, 7:00 p.m.

At Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford The Friends of The Mark Twain House present An Evening with Joan Didion.

Journalist, novelist, screenwriter, essayist and memoirist Joan Didion has had an enduring impact on the American literary scene for over five decades. She won the National Book Award for her stark The Year of Magical Thinking, a look at her grief in the year after the death of her husband, Hartford's own John Gregory Dunne. She followed up this masterpiece in 2011 with her new frank confessional Blue Nights, about her complicated relationship with her daughter, Quintana Roo. Followed by a dessert reception and book signing. Tickets are $40, $30 for Mark Twain House & Museum members and Hartford Stage subscribers. Call 860-527-5151, or go to www.hartfordstage.org. The Mark Twain House & Museum (www.marktwainhouse.org) has restored the author's Hartford, Connecticut, home, where Samuel L. Clemens and his family lived from 1874 to 1891. Twain wrote his most important works during the years he lived there, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In addition to providing tours of Twain's restored home, a National Historic Landmark, the institution offers activities and educational programs that illuminate Twain's literary legacy and provide information about his life and times. The house and museum at 351 Farmington Ave. are open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and Sunday, noon-5:30 p.m. For more information, call 860-247-0998 or visit www.marktwainhouse.org. Programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are made possible in part by support from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and the Greater Hartford Arts Council.

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