Fall 'Trouble Begins' Lecture Series Continues October 21

“Liable To Get Hurt” political cartoon by unknown illustrator.First published in the Minneapolis Tribune (February 14, 1901). Bottom caption (cropped): “Better quit your foolin’, Mark, and go back and work at your trade.”

The public is invited to attend the 2026 Fall The Trouble Begins Lecture Series, presented by the Center for Mark Twain Studies and supported by the generous donations of The Mark Twain Foundation. The third free lecture is at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 16, in the Barn at Quarry Farm, with a presentation by Donald T. Bliss, an independent scholar.

Entitled “Mark Twain’s Election Advice: Vote Your Conscience! Elect Candidates of Integrity Who Put Your Country’s Interest above Party Loyalty and Aggrandizement,” the presentation will outline Twain’s guidance on voting for candidates of integrity and accomplishment, regardless of party or platform. Bliss believes Twain’s advice remains relevant for today’s voters

Now retired, Bliss served in the federal government for 13 years under five presidents and practiced law in Washington DC for more than 30 years. From 2006-2009, he served in Montreal as an Ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization. He is author of six books, including Mark Twain’s Tale of Today and Mark Twain’s Ten Lessons for a Healthy Democracy. His great-grandfather and grandfather were Mark Twain’s publishers.

The remaining lectures in this year’s Fall Trouble Begins Lecture Series are listed below. All lectures begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Barn at Quarry Farm. They are free and open to the public. Find recordings of previous lectures here.

  • Wednesday, Oct. 21: “Mark Twain’s Election Advice: Vote Your Conscience! Elect Candidates of Integrity Who Put Your Country’s Interest above Party Loyalty and Aggrandizement” by Donald T. Bliss, Independent Scholar

  • Wednesday, Oct. 28: “The Mundane Transcendence of Mark Twain’s Late Style” by Ray Horton, Murray State University

About The Trouble Begins Lecture Series

In 1984, the Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies initiated a lecture series, The Trouble Begins at Eight lecture series. The title came from the handbill advertising Mark Twain's October 2, 1866 lecture presented at Maguire's Academy of Music in San Francisco. The first lectures were presented in 1985. By invitation, Mark Twain scholars present lectures in the fall and spring of each year, in the Barn at Quarry Farm or at Peterson Chapel in Cowles Hall on Elmira College's campus. All lectures are free and open to the public.

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