January News from the Mark Twain House

Writer and skeptic Anne Trubek, who was slated to speak at The Mark Twain House & Museum tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan. 12, will now deliver her lecture on Friday, Jan. 14. The date change is due to weather warnings for Tuesday and Wednesday in Connecticut.

Trubek speaks on "A Skeptic's Guide to Writers' Homes." The free event, beginning at 5 pm is sponsored by the museum and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. After a kreception, Trubek will speak at 5:30 and sign copies of her book. Trubek is Associate Professor of Rhetoric & Composition at Oberlin College. Since 2006, she has written for Mother Jones, The Believer, The American Prospect, The Oxford American, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, among other publications. She is frequent guest on radio shows such as NPR's Morning Edition.

Marx Brothers mayhem meets Mark Twain when author and wit Roy Blount, Jr. visits The Mark Twain House & Museum on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 6:30 pm to sign and discuss his new book Hail, "Hail, Euphoria! Presenting the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, The Greatest War Movie Ever Made."

A full evening of laughter, the event kicks off at 6:30 pm with a book signing, followed by a conversation with Hartford Courant columnist, WNPR host and humorist Colin McEnroe. Immediately after the conversation there will be ascreening of the landmark 1933 film by the anarchic quartet of classic comedy.

Nearly eighty years after its release, Duck Soup remains an influential piece of political satire on politics and war. In Hail, Hail, Euphoria! bestselling author Blount examines the comedic genius of the Marx Brothers in their finest hour -- and nine minutes. The humor and idiosyncratic wit of Duck Soup are saluted by the author's own in this gem of a book, offering a behind-the-scenes tale of show business and brotherhood that only a true Marx Brothers aficionado could tell.

Tickets for the event, including the conversation and film, are $15 ($10 for members of The Mark Twain House & Museum, WNPR 90.5FM and CPTV). For reservations, call 860-280-3130. Copies of the bool will be on sale at the event, which is co-sponsored by Connecticut Public Broadcasting.

R-Rated Twain, featuring some of Mark Twain's spiciest and shocking works, is on tap Thursday, Jan. 27 at City Steam Brewery Café's Brew-Ha-Ha Comedy Club.

The "adults-only" readings, performed by Sea Tea Improv and directed by Twain House Communications Manager Jacques Lamarre, will take the audience through the naughtiest puns, poems, parodies and passages that Twain wrote. Suffice to say the material covered by Twain in these writings is not suitable for most publications, family audiences or polite society.

There will also be hilariously biting take-downs of Twain's enemies culled from the recently published, bestselling Autobiography of Mark Twain. The blushing begins at 7 pm on Thursday, Jan. 27. The comedy club's doors will open at 6 for guests who would like to eat and sample City Steam's famous microbrews downstairs before the show. Food and drink will be served throughout the reading. Due to the nature of the material and the presence of alcoholic beverages, all guests must be 21 or over or attend with a parent or guardian.

City Steam's Brew Ha Ha is located in the basement of the historic Brown Thompson building at 942 Main St., Hartford. For tickets, call 860=280-3130. Reservations are strongly recommended. Any available seats will be sold at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.

Master sushi chef George Shimizu will divulge the secrets of great sushi in a special class at the Murasaki Café at the house Sunday, Jan. 16, from 1 to 3 pm.

Shimizu, who founded the café as a city outpost of his long-running and popular Murasaki restaurant in West Hartford, will instruct students on rice preparation, rolling technique, and much more.

Enrollment is limited to 10 so that each student will get hands-on experience, close personal instruction, and a full meal. Tools and ingredients will be provided.The cost is $75 per person and reservations can be made at 860-280-3159.