Mark Twain expert to headline Kent anniversary events

Henry Sweets, a Mark Twain expert and executive director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, will kick off a series of celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of Kent Library at Southeast Missouri State University.

"Is Mark Twain Relevant Today?" is Sweets' topic for a 7 p.m. presentation Thursday at Sadie's Place in Kent Library. Open to the public, it is sponsored by the library in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council. Refreshments will be served.

At 10 a.m. Friday, 55 Jefferson Elementary School first-graders will hear Sweets speak as well.

Roxanne Dunn, special collections and archives librarian, said one of the driving interests of the 75th celebration has been the library's stained-glass windows. The windows recently were re-installed near a reading room on the library's third floor. They are covered from view until the grand unveiling Nov. 7.

The windows have 45 panels: six on Mark Twain, six on the history of Missouri and 33 detailing the history of printing. Artist G. Owen Bonawit created the glass panels.

Twain is still widely read around the world, Sweets said, and at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, people from dozens of countries come to see the environs that inspired the author's writing.

"They're coming because Mark Twain is still speaking to people today," Sweets said.

He added that Japan has a great fondness for the author, and even has a theme park with Twain-inspired attractions.

Sweets noted his presentations Thursday evening and Friday morning will be different, with the evening one for college students and adults. He'll be asking whether Twain is still relevant today, as issues Twain addressed are still relevant today.

" ... I'm going to begin with a quick run-through of Twain's life to see what his life experience was that gets reflected in his writing. Then [I'll] take a look at Huck Finn and other writings that address racial ... and societal problems that are pertinent today," he said.

For the first-graders, he'll share Twain's stories and talk about the author's early life and school experience in Hannibal.

A former high school chemistry and science teacher who taught for four years, Sweets decided he wanted to go into the museum field.

Sweets, who grew up in Hannibal, holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in education, both from the University of Illinois. He went to the University of Delaware to earn a master's degree in American history with a minor in museum studies.

While he was working on that, the person who was the live-in caretaker at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum retired. Sweets was approached about returning to Hannibal to run the museum. This coming January, Sweets will mark 37 years at his post.

What keeps Sweets interested in Twain is there are always new things coming out about him.

For nine summers, the museum has been conducting teacher workshops. "So now I'm helping teach teachers how to use Mark Twain in the classroom," Sweets said. And three years ago, a major Mark Twain conference was held in Hannibal and groundwork is being laid for another in 2015.

The Missouri Humanities Council awarded the library a $7,168 grant to help underwrite events.

The library is named for Sadie Kent, who served as librarian from 1910 to 1943. During her tenure, she submitted floor plans that were used -- with some modifications by the architect -- for the new library building in 1939. It was previously in Academic Hall.

"She was a really cool kind of Renaissance woman. She did quite a bit," Dunn said.

The next Kent Library event is set for Oct. 8, when stained glass expert Gay Walker from Reed College will offer an informal talk from noon to 1 p.m. at Sadie's Place at Kent Library, and a more formal dinner program, starting at 6 p.m. at the University Center. Both are open to the public.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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