The purpose of my Program is to inspire people to look at things differently and create new possibilities bridging lessons of history with the demands of contemporary living.

Against The Assault of Laughter, Nothing Can Stand – Mark Twain

Warren Brown, a Mark Twain scholar, received the Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award for his Chautauqua-style portrayal of Samuel Clemens, “bridging the lessons of history with the demands of contemporary living.”

Warren Brown’s uproariously authentic characterization of Mark Twain’s stories and lecture series is guaranteed to entertain.

Experience a first-person Chautauqua style audience question and answer session included with each program.

These presentations promote an appreciation for humanity, education and literacy in a way that is humorous, inspirational, and historically amusing.

Mr. Brown’s program, Catch the Twain , is endorsed by the Illinois Humanities Council, the Illinois Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Warren says he struggled all through school, “The hardest eight years of my life…was 1 st grade.” Nevertheless, Warren has a degree from the University of Illinois.

Catch The Twain!

Call 815-468-0635 to
schedule an appearance.

Notable Mark Twain Quotes

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.

If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.

I don’t give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. – attributed

I have never taken any exercise except sleeping & resting.

There are several good protections against temptations, but the surest is cowardice.

It is easier to stay out than get out.

Courage is the resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer someone else up.

The report of my death was an exaggeration.

It is noble to teach oneself; it is nobler to teach others – and less trouble.

It is better to keep your mouth shut and look like a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt. – attributed

Do something everyday you don’t want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.

Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

Familiarity breeds contempt – and children.

Get your facts first then you can distort them as much as you please.

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

Hartford is the most beautiful city in the world.

Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.

Water taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody.

It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare an impromptu speech.

The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them. – attributed

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.

When you cannot get a compliment any other way pay yourself one.

Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living, the world owes you nothing. It was here first.

Truth is more of a stranger than fiction.

Part of the secret in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.

Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.

Often it does seem a pity that Noah and his party did not miss the boat.

Man is the only animal that blushes, or needs to.

I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it.

It was wonderful to find America, but it also would have been wonderful to miss it.

Let us so live that when we die even the undertaker will be sorry.

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.