“We are perched on a hill top that overlooks a little world of green valleys, shining rivers, sumptuous forests and billowy uplands veiled in the haze of distance. We have no neighbors. It is the quietest of all quiet places, and we are hermits that eschew caves and live in the sun.”
~ Mark Twain
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR MARK TWAIN STUDIES
Mark Twain wrote his most famous works in an octagonal study overlooking Elmira, NY, the hometown of his wife, Olivia. For more than two decades the Clemens family summered with Olivia’s siblings at Quarry Farm. All are buried at the nearby Woodlawn Cemetery. In 1983, both Quarry Farm and the study, since relocated to the Elmira College campus, became part of the Center for Mark Twain Studies. CMTS is dedicated to serving an international community of scholars interested in a approaching Mark Twain Studies from a variety of different approaches and disciplines.
RECENT ARTICLES
Working Conditions with Christopher Newfield & Anna Kornbluh (50th Episode #MLA2023 Special)
Originally posted by: Center for Mark Twain Studies on January 4, 2023 Apple PodcastsSpotifyThe annual convention of the Modern Language Association (MLA), though much diminished from its early 21st-century peak, is still the largest gathering of literature and...
The Twitter Elegies (& Mastodon Scolds) with Rebecca Colesworthy & Jeff Jarvis
Originally posted by: Center for Mark Twain Studies on December 19, 2022Apple PodcastsSpotifyThis will be the final 2022 episode of The American Vandal Podcast, but you can expect a special 50th episode shortly after the new year, and much more throughout 2023. As...
Reckless Monetization, Surveillance Kleptocracy, & Olivia Snow’s Villain Origin Story
Originally posted by: Center for Mark Twain Studies on December 7, 2022Apple PodcastsSpotifyHere at Quarry Farm, in 1876, Mark Twain composed and self-published a pornographic farce in mock Elizabethan prose which featured several of the most esteemed literary figures...
2027 QUARRY FARM FELLOWSHIP GUIDELINES
VISITING THE MARK TWAIN STUDY
ALL CMTS 2025 LECTURES
Elmira 2026: The Tenth International Conference
on the State of Mark Twain Studies & Graduate Student Workshop
MARK TWAIN DAY BY DAY
TROUBLE BEGINS
LECTURE ARCHIVES
ONLINE RESOURCES
FOR MARK TWAIN STUDIES
THE MARK TWAIN ARCHIVE
PHOTO GALLERY
RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS & STUDENTS
QUARRY FARM TESTIMONIALS
“FROM THE STUDY”
CMTS POST INDEX
PAST CONFERENCES & SYMPOSIA
KEEP MARK TWAIN’S LEGACY ALIVE
Upcoming Events & Calls for Papers
Mark Twain Circle at 2026 ALA Conference
May 20-23, 2026 – Chicago, Illinois
Elmira 2026: The Tenth International Conference
on the State of Mark Twain Studies
July 30 – August 1 – Elmira, New York
The Second Quarry Farm Graduate Student Workshop: From Seminar Paper to Academic Article”
August 3 – August 7 – Elmira, New York
CFP: The Thirteenth Quarry Farm Symposium –
“Black Childhood and Children’s Literature in the Nineteenth Century”
October 16 and October 17 – Elmira, New York
Accepting applictions until roster is filled