The first in the White House American Authors series, this symposium celebrated the life and works of one of our best-known authors, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, most commonly known by his pen name, Mark Twain. Clemens was a natural born storyteller who was one of the first writers to recognize that art could be created out of the American language. Through his carefully chosen words and his sharply honed humor, he dealt head-on with controversial issues that others were afraid to confront.

The Symposium on Mark Twain was moderated by Eden Ross Lipson, Children's Book Editor for The New York Times, and featured Ken Burns, who presented excerpts from his documentary on Twain; Jocelyn Chadwick Assistant Professor of Education at Harvard University; and Shelly Fisher Fishkin, a Twain scholar.

The Symposium concluded with an evening performance of Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain Tonight at historic Ford's Theatre.

For additional information about the life and works of Mark Twain. please visit:

Library of Congress, America's Library: Meet Amazing Americans: Mark Twain
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/twain

Mark Twain House, Hartford, Conneticut
http://www.marktwainhouse.org/

The Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum
http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/

PBS: New Perspectives on the West
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/clemens.htm

The Mark Twain Papers and Project, Bankcroft Library at the University of California, Berkley
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/MTP/

Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Mark Twain Symposium

• Opening Remarks by Mrs. Bush at the Mark Twain Symposium
• Remarks by Mrs. Bush at Mark Twain Symposium