Mark Twain was originally born Samuel Clemens. The pen name Mark Twain was first used by Clemens in a letter to the Territorial Enterprise on February 3, 1863. A ‘mark twain’ is a nautical term he used during his time on the Mississippi River and it means a depth of 12 feet. During the course of my blog, I will go back and forth between Clemens and Twain because Mark Twain was just his pen name and in everyday life he was Samuel Clemens.
POP QUIZ
What other pen names did Samuel Clemens use before settling on Mark Twain?
a) Rambler
b) Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass
c) Josh
d) W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab
e) All of the above
The answer is e! Thankfully he chose Mark Twain because I never would have been able to spell W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab correctly all summer!
*This information can be found on pages 1, 117-118 of Mark Twain: A Life by Ron Powers.
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