TikTok Comedy Tree-Hugger Tobin Mitnick on Tuesday; Great Upcoming Events in Store...

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Virtal TikTok Star @JewsLoveTrees Explores the Natural World Through Comedy

Tuesday, April 18 at 7pm ET - Tobin Mitnick on MUST LOVE TREES: An Unconventional Guide with Anita Morzillo (Virtual)

Tobin Mitnick, the TikTok sensation behind @jewslovetrees, invites you to share his deeply personal connection to our forest companions in ways that expand the storied genre of nature writing. Full of fact, opinion, and humor—as well as beautiful drawings—of a vast selection of North American trees, Must Love Trees is part textbook, part memoir, and part comedy: a complete—and most unconventional—story of our forest pals ever told. 

Virtual: $5 non-members and members. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE. 

Coming Next!

True Crime Inspires a New Novel of Murder and Lust in The Gilded Age

Tuesday, April 25 at 12pm - A Lunchtime Conversation with Robert Brighton on THE UNSEALING: Love, Lust and Murder in the Gilded Age with Dr. Cecelia Tichi (Virtual)

Robert Brighton will be joined by fellow Gilded Age mystery author Dr. Cecelia Tichi to discuss his new novel—inspired by a true crime ‘murder of the century.’ A web of love, lust, and intrigue forms within the elite enclave of Ashwood in Buffalo, New York that pits husbands against wives and detective against detective. Set against the backdrop of Gilded Age splendor and excess and the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, comes a psychological tale of forbidden pleasures and fathomless pain from a world at once utterly strange and strangely familiar. 

Virtual: $5. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE. 

Tuesday, April 25 at 7pm ET - Paterson Joseph on THE SECRET DIARIES OF CHARLES IGNATIUS SANCHO: A Novel with Kimberly Kersey (In-Person and Virtual)

Actor and playwright Paterson Joseph’s debut novel charts the life of Charles Ignatius Sancho through fictionalized diary entries, letters, and commentary. Georgian London is not a safe place for a young Black man. He must dodge slave catchers and worse, and his main ally—a kindly duke who taught him to write—is dying. Sancho is desperate and utterly alone. So how does the same Charles Ignatius Sancho meet the king, write, and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain, and lead the fight to end slavery? Through every moment of this tale, Sancho forges ahead to see how much he can achieve in one short life: “I had little right to live, born on a slave ship where my parents both died. But I survived, and indeed, you might say I did more.” 

In-Person Event: $10 non-members, $5 members. Admission price will be deducted from your signed copy of the book with purchase. LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE. 

Murder-Mystery-Comedy-Super Fun Tours!

Saturday, April 29, starting at 7:00pm ET- GET A CLUE TOURS featuring Sea Tea Improv (In-Person)

GET A CLUE Tours of The Mark Twain House are only offered a few times a year, so you won't want to miss out! We need YOU to solve a crime using the various rooms (secret passageway, conservatory, billiards room, and more) of the Twain house — and some of the author’s favorite literary characters — as part of the game. Who killed that varmint Pap Finn? Was it Tom Sawyer in the Library with the Wrench? Come find out. It is different every time!

Reservations are required, REGISTER HERE.

Members of MTH&M should login to access their member discount.

Upcoming In-Person Events

Tuesday, May 16 at 6pm ET - Ned Blackhawk on THE REDISCOVERY OF AMERICA: Native Peoples and The Unmaking of U.S. History with Dr. Kerry Driscoll (In-Person & Livestream)

Considered one of the “Books to Read in 2023” by Washington Post Book World, The Rediscovery of America provides a sweeping and overdue retelling of U.S. history that recognizes that Native Americans are essential to understanding the evolution of modern America.

In-Person Event: $10 non-members, $5 members. 

Livestream Event: Livestream: $5 non-members, free for members. 

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE. 

Tuesday, May 23 at 7pm ET - Simon Winchester on KNOWING WHAT WE KNOW: The Transmission of Knowledge from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic with Hartford Public Library CEO Bridget Quinn (In-Person & Livestream)

Join us for a conversation with award winning writer Simon Winchester about his brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.

In-Person Event: $10 non-members, $5 members. 

Livestream: $5 non-members, free for members. 

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Wednesday, May 24 at 6pm - DINA MARTINA: Chariots of Failure (Live & In-Person)

Absolutely packed with ludicrous songs, horrifying stories and overburdened costumes, Dina Martina’s shows are impossible to adequately describe, other than that they’ve become synonymous with jaw-dropping pathos and mind-blowing comedy.  She is hailed as “the most original drag performer working in America today” (Village Voice).

$45.00 includes a seat to the show and 2 drink tickets to sample the Mixologist submissions  

$60.00 includes preferred seating to the show, 2 drink tickets, and VIP Meet & Greet following the performance (8:30 PM)

IN-PERSON EVENT! LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.

Wednesday, May 31 at 7pm: Jamie Loftus on RAW DOG: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs with Rebecca Castellani (Live & In-Person)

Part travelogue, part culinary history, all comedy—Raw Dog reveals what the creation, culture, and class influence of hot dogs says about America now. Join us for a delicious conversation with the author of Raw Dog, comedian Jamie Loftus, and Rebecca Castellani, local journalist and podcaster about the great American hot dog. You can love them, you can hate them, they’re high culture, they’re low culture, they’re sports food, they’re kids’ food, they’re hangover food, but overall, they’re deeply American. 

In-Person Event: $10 non-members, $5 members. 

Livestream: $5 non-members, free for members. 

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE.?

Calling Young Writers!

The Nook Farm Writers Collaborative is now accepting applications for its Summer 2023 program, open to all Connecticut writers ages 14-18. Participants will spend six weeks together at the museum, writing in the rooms where Mark Twain created his most enduring works, learning from some of the most talented writers and editors in the country, and building the skills to publish their own online literary journal. For more information and to apply for this summer's program, visit https://marktwainhouse.org/nfwc/

Now on View

Come enjoy our new exhibition: FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE? TWAIN'S SUMMER SOJOURNS

Summer getaways were a favorite of the Clemens family. Follow their adventures as they hit the road to Elmira, NY; Old Saybrook, CT; Dublin, NH; and more! This informative and artifact-rich exhibition will include Twain items and glimpses of how the rich (and not so rich) enjoyed their summers in The Gilded Age.

On view now in our Museum Center. Admission included with your Mark Twain House tour ticket. Reserve your tour by CLICKING HERE. Museum Center-only admission available. No reservation required.

In addition to this comprehensive and fun exhibition, we will be offering For Business or Pleasure?-related programming throughout the year. Our first event, a Paint & Sip Night, is on sale now. Information below!

For Business or Pleasure: Twain's Summer Sojourns is supported by the Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation. Additional support is provided by Connecticut Humanities Council, State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, and Webster Bank.

Upcoming Events

V = Virtual Event; IP = In-Person Event

April 17 - Writing in Mark Twain's Library (IP)

April 18 - Must Love Trees: An Unconventional Guide with Tobin Mitnick (V)

April 25 at 12pm - The Unsealing: Gilded Age Love, Lust and Murder with Robert Brighton (V)

April 25 at 7pm - The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho with Paterson Joseph (IP & V)

April 27 at 7pm - Advika and the Hollywood Wives with Kirthana Ramisetti (V)

April 29 starting at 7pm - Get a Clue Murder Mystery Tours with Sea Tea Improv (IP)

May 2 at 7pm - The Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs - and Wrecks - America with Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner (V)

May 4 at 7pm - Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English with Valerie Fridland (V)

May 16 at 6pm - The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and The Unmaking of U.S. History with Ned Blackhawk (IP & V)

May 23 at 7pm - Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic with Simon Winchester (IP & V)

May 24 at 6pm - Dina Martina: Chariots of Failure (IP)

May 30 at 7pm - For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be with Marcus Collins (V)

May 31 at 7pm - Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs with Jamie Loftus (IP & V)

September 23 - New Date! The Bark Twain Bash...It's the Cat's Meow fundraiser with Kenway's Cause (IP)

To see all event information and registration, CLICK HERE.

To preorder books for our upcoming events, CLICK HERE. Signed books will be mailed after the event. Please note that we cannot ship outside of the U.S. at this time.

Your donation to The Mark Twain House & Museum helps us meet our mission to preserve the home and legacy of Mark Twain. Thank you for your generosity!

Support the House

Author programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are sponsored by Connecticut Public Broadcasting and the Wish You Well Foundation. Virtual author programs are supported by Suzanne Hopgood in the memory of former MTH&M Trustee Frank Lord.

Programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are made possible in part by support from CT Humanities; the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts; Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s United Arts Campaign; The Hartford; The Mark Twain Foundation; The National Endowment for the Humanities; and Travelers.