Why is Mark Twain important to American literature?

His deceptively relaxed style has had a profound influence on generations of American writers. "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn," Ernest Hemingway wrote in 1935. read more

Mark Twain was (/is regarded as) the first literary voice that was distinctly American. Most everyone that came before him wrote in an English or otherwise European voice. Mark Twain wrote "with the bark on". read more

One hundred years after his death on April 21, 1910, "Mark Twain remains as central as ever not only in American literature but in American life," writes James M. Cox, a leading Twain scholar. read more

Under the pen name Mark Twain, Clemens published more than 30 works of literature that included satire, historical fiction, short stories, and nonfiction. Many of his books, including Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court have become classics. read more