Telling Twain

Feb 03 2021

Telling Twain Podcast artwork

These are some of Mark Twain's best short stories, adapted and told by Steve Daut. Episodes include historical notes and comments from Steve's book, Telling Twain, available through Amazon. To learn more about Steve, visit www.stevedaut.com

Steve's storytelling program, also entitled Telling Twain, is currently listed in the Michigan Arts and Humanities Council travel directory. Special online presentations can be arranged by emailing me through [email protected]

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

The Facts in the Great Beef Contract

Feb 03 2021 11 mins

This story, first published in 1870, is refreshing in a way, because it demonstrates very clearly that a dysfunctional government bureaucracy has been with us for a long time, yet, we have managed to survive so far. So the next time you spend countless hours trying to straighten out an incorrect tax bill, think about what the guy in this story had to go through. The music for the e

A Curious Dream

Jan 18 2021 10 mins

In this humorous but thought-provoking story, Twain reminds us to respect and honor those who have gone before. This is a adaptation is from a story Twain probably wrote around 1870, and was first published in 1875 in the volume, "Sketches New and Old". Music from FreePD.com includes "Footsteps in the Attic", by Arthur Fordsworthy, and "Nightmare" by Alexander Nakarada. Sound effec

Mrs McWilliams and the Lightning

Nov 19 2020 7 mins

This is one of three stories that Twain claimed was told to him by a man he met on his travels, Mr. McWilliams. I suspect the stories are homage to a couple he was friends with while he worked at the Buffalo Express.

The Salesmans Tale

Nov 13 2020 11 mins

This story was originally called The Canvasser's Tale, was first published in 1876. I changed the name because in today's language, we would call the man Twain encounters a travelling salesman, as we reserve the term canvasser mainly for get-out-the-vote types. Frankly, it seems to me that the artifice of enclosing the story within the frame of a visiting salesman doesn't really en

Experience of the McWilliamses With Membraneous Coup

Nov 03 2020 10 mins

This is one of three stories Twain wrote about the McWilliamses. He claimed that they were told to him by Mr. McWilliams, who he encountered on his travels, but it seems more likely to me that the stories were written in homage to friends who lived in the same boarding house as Twain when he was working at The Buffalo Express, John and Esther McWilliams.

A Fable

Oct 20 2020 6 mins

This story was first published in 1909. As one of Twain's later stories, it was tightly written, and it is also very reminiscent of the folk tale genre that he was emulating. In fact, it sounds do much like an actual folk tale, that I tried to find one that inspired it, but I couldn't find anything quite like it. I did change the ending a bit to clarify my sense of what the story i

A Medieval Romance

Oct 12 2020 10 mins

A convoluted European folktale with a particularly Twain twist at the end. Originally published in 1870 as The Awful, Terrible, Medieval Romance, Shakespeare would probably have appreciated this one.

The Professors Yarn

Sep 29 2020 13 mins

This story was originally part of Twain's book, Life on the Mississippi. It's a story that takes me back to my childhood growing up on the Mississippi River, riding the Delta Queen and watching episodes of Maverick. It's a classic tale of riverboat life.

Editing an Agricultural Paper

Sep 17 2020 9 mins

This story was first published in Galaxy Magazine and the Buffalo Express. Although it is certainly fiction, it is also very likely that it is based on arguments that he had with his partners at the Buffalo Express about increasing circulation versus staying strictly with journalistic accuracy.The music for this episode is "Bleu" by Komiko, from FreePD.com.

My Watch

Sep 05 2020 7 mins

In this story, first published in 1870, Twain talks about his travails with getting a watch fixed that didn't need fixing. I have told this in front of various audiences and quickly discovered that I needed to explain what it was like to have a pocket watch in an era when there was no place to find the exact time, and no telephones to even call to find out the time. So I provide th