Trouble Begins Bonus Material: Barbara Snedecor Discusses the Letters of Olivia Langdon Clemens
As part of the 2024 Elmira College Alumni Weekend, Barbara E. Snedecor presented “‘I am women’s rights: Olivia Langdon Clemens – Class of 1864 and Wife of Mark Twain.”
In her talk, Snedecor discusses the Langdon family, Livy’s early years, her courtship, and eventual marriage, with Mark Twain. Through a number of Olivia Clemens’s letters, Snedecor brings forth a more nuanced view of Twain’s than was previously available. Snedecor also highlights Olivia’s and the Langdon family’s close association with Elmira College.
Barbara E. Snedecor served as director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies and as Assistant Professor of American Literature at Elmira College. In addition to editing the second edition of Mark Twain in Elmira, she has contributed pieces to the Mark Twain Annual and American Literary Realism. She is the editor of Gravity: Selected Letters of Olivia Langdon Clemens (University of Missouri Press, 2023).
Dr. Snedecor has given a number of lectures for the Center for Mark Twain Studies, including:
- Barbara E. Snedecor, “Gravity – A Conversation” (November 30, 2023 – Elmira College Campus)
- Barbara E. Snedecor, “‘…there is only one thing of real importance…’:Selected Letters of Olivia Langdon Clemens” (June 20, 2018 – The Park Church)
- Barbara E. Snedecor, “…the quietest of all places…” (September 21, 2011 – Quarry Farm Barn)