“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 approaching Mark Twain Studies from a variety of different approaches and disciplines.
RECENT ARTICLES
Nancy Quintanilla, 2026 Fellow, Contributes A Quarry Farm Testimonial
"A Letter to Future Fellows" (A Quarry Farm Testimonial)EDITOR’S NOTE: We occasionally feature testimonials from recent Quarry Farm Fellows and Residents, which combine conversational illustrations of their research and writing process with personal reflections on...
CMTS Announces Its 2026 Spring Trouble Begins Lectures Lineup
Image created by Angelina Addison '28, CMTS Digital Design Intern All Trouble Begins and Park Church Lectures are open to the general public at no charge. A videorecording of all Trouble Begins and Park Church Lectures will be posted and archived in the Trouble Begins...
“Mark Twain was Broke”: Jeffrey Epstein’s Dismissive Opinion of Twain
While slogging through the cesspool of the recently released Epstein files, I did a search for “Mark Twain” on a whim. To my surprise, the search garnered 130 results. After a perfunctory review, most of them were repetitive or incidental references to Twain. He is...
2027 QUARRY FARM FELLOWSHIP GUIDELINES
VISITING THE MARK TWAIN STUDY
2026 FALL TROUBLE BEGINS LECTURES
2026 QUARRY FARM SYMPOSIUM: “BLACK CHILDHOOD AND CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN THE 19th CENTURY”
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
The Thirteenth Quarry Farm Symposium –
“Black Childhood and Children’s Literature in the Nineteenth Century”
October 16 and October 17, 2026 – Elmira, New York
CFP: “Speculative Souths” Symposium
Denbo Center for the Humaniteis and Arts
CFP Deadline: November 2, 2026
June 10-12, 2026 – Knoxville, Tennessee
Mark Twain Circle at South Atlantic Modern Langages Association 2026 Conference
November 5-7, 2026 – Atlanta, Georgia
Mark Twain Circle at Pacific Ancient and Modern Langages Association 2026 Conference
November 12-15, 2026 – Seattle, Washington