Readers Place

Mark Twain interview/review

We can get a glimpse of Mark Twain’s levity (not to mention his attitude towards interviewers) in the following excerpt from Twain’s fictional account of ‘An Encounter with an Interviewer’: The nervous, dapper, “peart” young man took the chair I offered him, and said he was connected with the Daily Thunderstorm, and added: “Hoping it’s no harm, I’ve come to interview you.” “Come to what?” “Interview you.” “Ah! I see. Yes—yes. Um! Yes—yes.” I was not feeling bright that morning. Indeed, my powers seemed a bit under a cloud.

However, I went to the bookcase, and when I had been looking six or seven minutes I found I was obliged to refer to the young man. I said: “How do you spell it?” “Spell what?” “Interview.” “Oh, my goodness! what do you want to spell it for?” “I don’t want to spell it; I want to see what it means.”
“Well, this is astonishing, I must say. I can tell you what it means, if you—if you—“ “Oh, all right! That will answer, and much obliged to you, too.”
“In, in, ter, ter, inter—“ “Then you spell it with an h” “Why certainly!” “Oh, that is what took me so long.” “Why, my dear sir, what did you propose to spell it with?” “Well, I—I—hardly know. I had the Unabridged, and I was ciphering around in the back end, hoping I might tree her among the pictures.
But it’s a very old edition.”

“Why, my friend, they wouldn’t have a picture of it in even the latest e—- My dear sir, I beg your pardon, I mean no harm in the world, but you do not look as—as—intelligent as I had expected you would. No harm —I mean no harm at all.”

“Oh, don’t mention it! It has often been said, and by people who would not flatter and who could have no inducement to flatter, that I am quite remarkable in that way. Yes—yes; they always speak of it with rapture.” “I can easily imagine it. But about this interview. You know it is the custom, now, to interview any man who has become notorious.”
“Indeed, I had not heard of it before. It must be very interesting. What do you do it with?” “Ah, well—well—well—this is disheartening. It ought to be done with a club in some cases; but customarily it consists in the interviewer asking questions and the interviewed answering them. It is all the rage now. Will you let me ask you certain questions calculated to bring out the salient points of your public and private history?” “Oh, with pleasure—with pleasure. I have a very bad memory, but I hope you will not mind that. That is to say, it is an irregular memory —singularly irregular. Sometimes it goes in a gallop, and then again it will be as much as a fortnight passing a given point. This is a great grief to me.” “Oh, it is no matter, so you will try to do the best you can.” “I will. I will put my whole mind on it.” “Thanks. Are you ready to begin?” “Ready.”

1. How old are you?
   Nineteen, in June.

Indeed. I would have taken you to be thirty-five or six.

1. Where were you born?
   In Missouri.

1. When did you begin to write?
   In 1836.

1. Why, how could that be, if you are only nineteen now?
   I don’t know. It does seem curious, somehow.

1. It does, indeed. Whom do you consider the most remarkable man you ever met?
   Aaron Burr.

1. But you never could have met Aaron Burr, if you are only nineteen years!
   Now, if you know more about me than I do, what do you ask me for? …

The interview below by a British journalist originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune July 9, 1886. It was later reprinted in the Washington Post on July 13, 1886, which is the source of this text and offers insight into Twain’s influence in England: ‘Americans feel Mark Twain to be the incarnation of their National spirit. His humour is all American; so, too, is the largeness of his charity and his indomitable common sense and the freshness of heart and feelings which lies beneath his show of cynicism. So, too, is his capacity for crusading, his spiritual hardiness, his idealising faith in women and democracy, his touch of misanthropy, the ferocity of his sarcasm. More than any man living has Mark Twain made the world laugh.’