The Mark Twain House & Museum

You could not keep a woman, so you summoned a goddess. In this frame, she would not age, she could not walk away.

Another day, another poem from the @marktwainhouse.bsky.social youth summer writing program. The students take a trip to the Wadsworth Atheneum to practice ekphrastic writing, and this was inspired by "Lady St. John as Hebe" by Sir Thomas Lawrence. journey75.org/2025/whisper...

For 12 years @marktwainhouse.bsky.social has been running this program and the writing is *always* amazing.

The program is supported by the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation's New Era Writers Program and an anonymous donor through the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

#NookFarmVoices #NookFarmWritersCollaborative #MarkTwainHouse #Literature #NFWC2025 #Journey75

This was the 12th summer of youth writing at the museum. Each summer it is open to CT writers between 14 and 18. The students learned dozens of different forms and genres, wrote individual and collaborative pieces, had workshops with authors and journalists and Oscar-nominated screenwriters.

The program is inspired by Mark Twain’s life as a working writer, someone who wrote in a variety of genres and cultivated a range of skills in order to sustain a career in a challenging publishing world.

A group of NFWC 2025 students at the final showcase.

A group of NFWC 2025 students at the final showcase.

The Nook Farm Writers Collaborative is a summer creative writing apprenticeship at The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut under the guidance of under the guidance of writing teachers Victoria Nordlund and Jamie Pisacane and program coordinator Grace DiModugno.

A digital graphic for the NFWC 2025 program.

Last week, our Nook Farm Writers Collaborative teens wrapped up the 2025 program with a showcase performance and the publication of the summer 2025 issue of their literary magazine.

Read (and listen) to their work at www.journey75.org

📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRQt...

They say unicorns bow to virgin maidens, but they don’t say what happens after they kneel. They don’t say what the horn is for. They say they are gentle, but only in the way a trap is gentle when it waits.

I am still haunted by this poem, "The Myth Was Never The Unicorn," written by one of the teens who participated in the creative writing program at the museum this summer. A reminder that girls are always aware.

Read the full piece and listen to the author recite it: journey75.org/2025/the-myt...

📍From the hearth of The Mark Twain House & Museum
🖼️ Photo from Mark Twain: A Biography by Albert Bigelow Paine (1912), courtesy of the Internet Archive:
flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14740990926

Pictured here: Mark Twain, Livy, Susy, and friends on the ombra, the shaded veranda of their Hartford home. A favorite family spot on pleasant days, and a fitting stage for one of literature’s most unforgettable households.

Mark Twain, Livy, Susy, and friends on the ombra, the shaded veranda of their Hartford home. A favorite family spot on pleasant days, and a fitting stage for one of literature’s most unforgettable households.

“The darling mispronunciations of childhood!—dear me, there's no music that can touch it; and how one grieves when it wastes away and dissolves into correctness, knowing it will never visit his bereaved ear again.”

—from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

#MarkTwain #MarkTwainHouse

Thanks to Andrea for the inspiration, insight, and creativity—and to the students for showing up with so much heart.
#NookFarmVoices #MarkTwainHouse #YouthVoices #CreativeWriting

The students even took on writing prompts inspired by Andrea’s work—prompting one to ask the question of the day: “Why should I believe in soulmates?”

Author Andrea Ezerins posing with her book at the Nook Farm Voices program at the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT.

Author Andrea Ezerins posing with her book at the Nook Farm Voices program at the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT.

Author Andrea Ezerins posing with her book at the Nook Farm Voices program at the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT.

Author Andrea Ezerins posing with her book at the Nook Farm Voices program at the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT.

Our Nook Farm Voices students had the chance to meet with novelist Andrea Ezerins this week, who shared her journey to publication, what it takes to stay motivated through the writing process, and how publishing varies across genres and presses.

A huge thank you to Gary and to everyone who joined us, it was a night worthy of Twain himself.

📚 #GaryShteyngart #VeraOrFaith #MarkTwainHouse #AuthorEvent #LiteraryHartford

His new novel, Vera, or Faith, had the audience hooked as he shared insights into his dystopian satire and the twisted optimism that fuels it.

Gary Shteyngart at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, CT.

Gary Shteyngart at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, CT.

Gary Shteyngart at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, CT.

Gary Shteyngart at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, CT.

Last night we had the pleasure of hosting the one and only Gary Shteyngart at The Mark Twain House for an evening of sharp wit, big laughs, and brilliant storytelling.

The Nook Farm Voices students visiting the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

The Nook Farm Voices students visiting the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

The Nook Farm Voices students visiting the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

The Nook Farm Voices students visiting the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

Whether inspired by a sculpture’s stance or a portrait’s mystery, each student found a unique way to give voice to what they saw.

Art speaks and they spoke back.

#NookFarmVoices #WadsworthAtheneum #YouthPoets #HartfordArts #MarkTwainHouse #EkphrasticPoetry #HartfordCT

The Nook Farm Voices students visiting the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

The Nook Farm Voices students visiting the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

The Nook Farm Voices students visiting the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

The Nook Farm Voices students visiting the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

Last week, our Nook Farm Voices students explored the galleries of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and let their creativity soar. 🖼️

As part of their writing intensive, students engaged in ekphrastic poetry: vivid, imaginative responses to works of art.

You've never heard history like this 👂📜

Daryn and Mallory, our resident curators (and accidental ASMR stars), take you on a soft-sounding journey through the Mark Twain House - bloopers and all.

#ASMRkTwain #MarkTwain #MarkTwainHouse #ASMR #History #Museums #MuseumLife #BehindTheScenes

Using pages from Twain’s The War Prayer, A Connecticut Yankee, Joan of Arc, and The Mysterious Stranger, students found hidden meaning in the spaces between the lines and made each piece their own. An example of a poem.

It’s amazing what emerges when you take ink to page and let silence speak.

Swipe through some of their bold, creative work. Follow along with #NookFarmVoices and #NookFarmWritersCollaborative.

#MarkTwainHouse #YouthVoices #CreativeWriting

Using pages from Twain’s The War Prayer, A Connecticut Yankee, Joan of Arc, and The Mysterious Stranger, students found hidden meaning in the spaces between the lines and made each piece their own. An example of a poem.

Using pages from Twain’s The War Prayer, A Connecticut Yankee, Joan of Arc, and The Mysterious Stranger, students found hidden meaning in the spaces between the lines and made each piece their own. An example of a poem.

Using pages from Twain’s The War Prayer, A Connecticut Yankee, Joan of Arc, and The Mysterious Stranger, they found hidden meaning in the spaces between the lines and made each piece their own.

Using pages from Twain’s The War Prayer, A Connecticut Yankee, Joan of Arc, and The Mysterious Stranger, students found hidden meaning in the spaces between the lines and made each piece their own. An example of a poem.

Using pages from Twain’s The War Prayer, A Connecticut Yankee, Joan of Arc, and The Mysterious Stranger, students found hidden meaning in the spaces between the lines and made each piece their own. An example of a poem.

🖤📝 Blackout Poetry, Lit Up

At yesterday’s Nook Farm Writers Collaborative session, our young writers explored a powerful poetic form: blackout poetry.

Missed our unforgettable evening with Ron Chernow discussing his new Mark Twain biography? You can now watch the full conversation on C-SPAN and BookTV.

Watch here: www.c-span.org/program/amer...

#RonChernow #MarkTwain #CSPAN #BookTV #History

A sign for the house occupied by Mark Twain in the summer of 1890-1891 in Onteora, NY.

Onteora was once Twain’s summer escape and creative retreat. Now, thanks to Daryn and Mallory, the legacy continues to travel, carefully packed, archivally wrapped, and in excellent hands.

#TwainOnTheRoad #LiteraryRoadTrip #TeamTwain #BehindTheScenes #PreservingHistory

A black and white drawing of a woman holding a bird.

A church in Onteora, NY.

The summer residence of Mark Twain in Onteora, NY.

The winding mountainous roads of Onteora, NY.

From winding Catskills roads to the historic grounds where Twain once summered, they documented the journey with photos full of misty mountains, rustic charm, and a dash of literary magic.

Daryn showing off the archival holdings in a holding space in Onteora, New York.

A porcelain figurine in the archival holdings in Onteora, NY.

The beautiful mountainous landscape in Onteora, NY.

Mark Twain's summer residence in Onteora, NY.

🚗✉️ Twain on the Mountain… and back again!
Our brilliant conservators, Daryn and Mallory, recently made the trek to Onteora, NY to return a few cherished items and brought back more than just empty hands! 📸

#MarkTwainHouse #OnteoraClub #CatskillsHistory #MuseumLife #ConservationChronicles

We’ll be sharing glimpses of their experience, their spaces, and their words throughout the summer.

Follow along with #NookFarmVoices and #NookFarmWritersCollaborative.

Nook Farm Writers Collaborative students working on their craft inside the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT.

Nook Farm Writers Collaborative students working on their craft inside the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT.

Nook Farm Writers Collaborative students working on their craft inside the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT.

For the next five weeks, eleven young writers from across Connecticut will be calling the Mark Twain House their creative home. Each morning, they gather to write in a different room of the house, surrounded by the same walls that once inspired Twain and his literary neighbors.

A digital graphic for the Nook Farm Writers Collaborative Project.

"At first, I had thought someone had put a mirror across the street. But it wasn’t a mirror. She had a mole under her left lip...and an unearthly wide grin."

🪞