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Tom Chaney. July 1, 2007: On greatest novel Of Writers and Their Books: Summer adventure with Mark Twain Introduction of delightful neologism, ignabit; postscript etimology of the new word By Tom Chaney Summer is well underway. We have had much heat and some rain. The young literary ignabits* are scouring the bookstores and libraries for to fill the summer reading lists. Here at The Bookstore in Horse Cave youngsters have been asking for To Kill a Mockingbird, various titles by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway and, of course, for Mark Twain. Two or three of these folks have come in lately led by their mothers with a firm grip on an ear. Mostly the little scholars are mute. Often asked what my favorite books are and who are my favorite writers, I hesitate. The question is a difficult one, and my answer may change from time to time. But Mark Twain always makes the list. In trying to decide just which is the Great American Novel, I have swung from Melville's Moby Dick to Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn to Thomas Wolfe's You Can't Go Home Again to Huckleberry Finn to Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men to Huckleberry Finn to William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury and back to Huckleberry Finn. When Mark Twain published Tom Sawyer in 1876, the story of the civilized boy did not sell as well as his earlier Innocents Abroad. Nine years later Huckleberry Finn sold more than 50,000 copies. Huck's escape from "sivilazation" has been on the best seller list ever since. While Mark Twain is mostly classified as a nineteenth century humorist, he is far more. His skepticism, his cynical puncturing of America's hypocrisies, his lambasting of reigning political, religious and literary illusions still ring true today. Huck Finn's affection for the slave, Jim, as they boom down the Mississippi River to head for freedom is a great contrast with the hatred they find ashore. You may recall that one dark night a gang of slave catchers approach Huck and Jim's raft. Unable to see who was aboard, they call out, "Is your man white or black?" Huck replies, "He's white!" And his guilt at his own lie is in sharp contrast to the good sense of the humanity that caused him to lie. Huck decides that if liars go to hell, he would prefer that place to the company of the slave catchers and Aunt Polly, who threatens perdition if he doesn't quit smoking and attend Sunday school. Once Mark Twain told the story of the man who worked all his life to achieve heaven. When he died and entered the pearly gates, the first man he met was a man he despised and whom he thought for sure would be in a warmer climate. He picked up his satchel, inquired the way to hell and left. "There you have it," Mark Twain said, "heaven for climate, hell for society." We are fortunate this summer. Not only do we have Mark Twain for reading in cool maple shade -- lemonade close at hand -- we also have a chance to confront Mark Twain on stage at Kentucky Repertory Theatre. Robert Brock is performing Mark Twain beginning July 5, 2007. Do not miss it. Brock has selected a number of pieces from the massive works of Mark Twain. We shall have a chance to see many sides of Mark Twain. The humorist, of course, but humor used in biting social criticism, the pathos of a rather tragic life, and the rollicking adventures of a humble cup bearer in the salon of Queen Elizabeth I in "1601" offended by the crude language and behavior of the queen and her courtesans. Those of us who have appreciated Brock's earlier one-man shows -- The Gospel of Mark, Revelation, and The Gospel of John -- and his skill at adapting Charles Dickens are eager to see his take on one of the saints of American literature. Mark Twain earned a living on the lecture circuit as well as by his writing. One of my favorite stories about his lecturing involves Ulysses S. Grant. Mark Twain was engaged to speak at a banquet honoring Grant a few years before the former President's death from cancer. The humorist took out after Grant with his usual barbed tongue but worried about Grant's reaction to such irreverence. But President Grant was delighted. After the speech he and Mark Twain got together as friends. Mark Twain was also a publisher. Grant told him about the difficulty he was having getting his memoirs published. Prospective publishers had offered no more than forty thousand dollars for his manuscript. Money was important to Grant. As he approached certain death, he was nearly impoverished. His memoirs were his last hope for leaving his family free of debt. Sensing the potential popularity of the memoirs, Mark Twain offered an advance of half a million dollars. Grant finished his book only days before his death. His family was secure and we have one of the finest autobiographies in American letters. Beginning July 5 audiences in these parts have an unusual chance to get to know this complex American writer. Better call now for reservations. Tom Chaney can be found telling stories, smoking pipe-weed, and occasionally selling books at: THE BOOKSTORE Box 73 / 111 Water Street Horse Cave, Kentucky 42749 270-786-3084 Email: Tom Chaney bookstore@scrtc.com Visit website: The Bookstore Robert Stone, Tom Chaney's editor, wrote Not having seen the word before, I wrote Tom about the origin of ignabit: Ignabit is not to be found on any webpage by Google -- I suppose it is a combination of igno chopped off from ignorant and abit the future intransative Latin verb ending? *Tom Chaney's replied with this explanation of his neologism, ignabit *"Ignabit": A young, agrivating little bastard. Usually found in herds. Probably not used in the singular. All ignabits are shorter than any adult around which they may swarm. They usually grow up, but often adults despair of this. The word was first encountered in Philadelphia and used by a parent in despair over the conduct of his own child. The term is often used in or about the Bookstore in Horse Cave upon the locust-like invasion by an organized group of junior high students whose teacher may be found cowering by the bus. So far as research is able to determine the word first appeared in print in the first draft of a column for the Hart County News-Herald on the afternoon of June 27, 2007. In pronounciation the stress is on the second syllable -"nab". The word may be the noun form of the exclaimation "dagnabit!" This is a curse word in frequent use by inept Baptist deacons engaged in carpentry work in the presence of wives who are card carrying members of the Women's Missionary Union and who are themselves the mothers of ignabits. These mothers hold the firm conviction that any sort of profanity used in the presence of their ignabits will lead to cigaret smoking and drink. This story was posted on 2007-07-01 09:34:31
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Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Tom Chaney: Of Writers and Their Books:
Tom Chaney, June 24, 2007: On Kentuckian Edward F. Prichard Tom Chaney: June 12, 2007: The Coming of Rain Tom Chaney: The catalpa's white week Tom Chaney: Book review of Piper on the Mountain Tom Chaney: Of writers and their books. Gospel of Judas Tom Chaney: May 20, 2007. Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln Tom Chaney: May 13, 2007. Walter Tevis Tom Chaney, Of writers and their books: Plain Truth Tom Chaney, April 22, 2007: Kurt Vonnegut Tom Chaney, April 18, 2007: Pope Joan View even more articles in topic Tom Chaney: Of Writers and Their Books |
 
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