Pens Warmed in Hell Flare Things Up at Mark Twain House

Mark Twain had just finished a novel of violent social satire, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court," when he wrote to a friend:

“Well, my book is written--let it go. But if it were only to write over again there wouldn't be so many things left out. They burn in me; and they keep multiplying; but now they can't ever be said. And besides, they would require a library--and a pen warmed up in hell.”

Today two pens similarly scorched in the infernal regions, Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi and Charles P. Pierce ("Idiot America"), are coming to the Mark Twain House & Museum.

On Saturday, March 13, at 7:30 pm, The Mark Twain House & Museum will present
"A Pen Warmed Up in Hell Lecture" with Taibbi and Pierce. Both have been guests on some of today’s hottest current events shows, including "Real Time with Bill Maher," "The Daily Show," "The Colbert Report," "Rachel Maddow" and "Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me." WNPR radio personality and Hartford Courant columnist Colin McEnroe will moderate. Tickets are $25 ($20 for members) and can be purchased by calling 860-280-3130.

Taibbi (left) wields one of the warmer pens among young journalists today. He’s a political reporter for Rolling Stone magazine, writing a monthly column, “Road Rage,” and an online column, “The Low Post.” He’s also a sports columnist for Men's Journal, and has written several books, including "The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire."

Charles Pierce (right)also combines the work of sports writer and political writer. He appears weekly on NPR’s "Only a Game." His current book, "Idiot America," examines ignorance in today’s USA, another of Mark Twain’s themes.
The event is one in the museum’s continuing series marking the Mark Twain Centennial Celebration.