The Daily Bulletin Archive

Thomas Reigstad, professor emeritus of English, published an article, "Mark Twain and the Coal Question," in the fall 2018 issue of the Mark Twain Journal 56 (2): 20–47. The article examines the complex and often contradictory positions Twain took toward the coal industry during his time as co-owner and editor of the Buffalo Express. Twain’s ambivalence—on one hand siding with victimized coal consumers and even low-paid coal miners, while on the other embracing the entrepreneurship of multimillionaire coal moguls like his father-in-law, Jervis Langdon—reflects his lifelong tug between his personal allegiances toward the working class he was born to and the privileged class he aspired to. A member of the journal's editorial board called the article "a first-rate example of what Twain scholars should be doing—digging out new information and taking a fresh look at what we think we already know."

Dr. Reigstad also gave an illustrated lecture, "Mark Twain in Buffalo," to the local chapter of P.E.O. International at Fox Run at Orchard Park in Orchard Park, New York, on January 8. P.E.O. is an international group that has awarded college scholarships to women since 1869.