Welcome to Free Expression on the Weekend.
This week, columnist John J. Miller argues that Mark Twain’s 1896 novel, “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc,” challenges popular perceptions that the famous American author was possibly an atheist.
Dwayne Eutsey, an independent scholar, proposes a different idea: “The reports of Mark Twain’s atheism have been greatly exaggerated.” His line plays on what may be Twain’s best-known quip: “The report of my death was an exaggeration,” spoken to a journalist who was investigating a rumor in 1897. It’s also the opening sentence of Mr. Eutsey’s book, “There Is No Humor in Heaven,” published last year by the University of Missouri Press.
Until his actual death in 1910, Twain was “a seeker”—a person who searches for spiritual truth but doesn’t settle into a single system of belief, Mr. Eutsey told me in an interview: “He was genuinely trying to discern the divine.”
Mark Twain’s Exaggerated Unbelief
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Bob Dylan Does It on His Own Terms
By James B. Meigs
Almost 85, the iconic songwriter is still innovating.
You’ll Miss Stephen Colbert When He’s Gone
Like him or hate him, his patriotism is genuine—and an increasingly rare quality on the left.
Even Barney Frank Thought Democrats Went Too Far
The late Massachusetts representative was a left-wing stalwart, but he spent his last days warning against the radicalism in his party.
No More Easy A’s at Harvard
University faculty vote to limit the number of students who get the top grade in any class to 20%.
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