It's My TV….It's My Peanut Butter

Cammy:  I had to ponder this one for a moment.  For some people it would be an obvious yes, but, much as I like reading Twain’s work, I had reason to question whether or not we’d get along.  After all, the man has gone on record slamming Jane Austen and wanted to extend copyright–neither of which I can support.  But, on the other side, he had glowing comments about Anne of Green Gables, had a sense of humor and was an abolitionist, so, it’s not like he’s a hopeless jackass.  So, I decided to let the good count more than the bad and the coffee is a go.  While I’ve got him on the hook, he is definitely going to have to answer to the Jane Austen and copyright stuff (does remix culture change his mind, or reinforce his opinion).  How does he feel about the direction American literature has take since he was churning out stories (or does he care)?

Kristy: Yeah, that’s a toughie.  He seems to have been a cantankerous SOB which could result in the funny or could result in an unpleasant coffee date.  Hard to say.  Adding to Cammy’s concerns about his hatred of Jane Austen and his thoughts on copyright I add another: he was very vocal in his hatred of medievalism.  So much so that he wrote a whole book making fun of it.  And while I concede there are a lot of bad medievalist novels/movies out there… I also enjoy a bit of it.  Add to that, I really don’t enjoy his writing that much.  But on the other hand, last year I had this conversation with a Chinese colleague.  Her face lit up when I told her I spent childhood summers in Mississippi.  She asked me if I’d seen the Mississippi River and what it was like.  Turns out her excitement was all because she had read Huckleberry Finn as a child and loved it so much.  You have to give props to a writer than can create those kind of magical memories about a place she’s never even been.  So… if Cammy’s in, I guess I’m in.  Sounds like we should have some interesting conversations.