Humanities Archives - Page 3 of 7 - Listening To America

Clay Reads and Riffs on Huckleberry Finn While Sitting Beside the Mighty Mississippi — Video Dispatch

Sunday, August 10 2025 by Editor

Earlier this summer, Clay Jenkinson traveled to the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo, Illinois. Sitting on the banks of the Mississippi, Clay read from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and talked about the novel and its author, Mark Twain, who enshrined this mighty river deep in American mythology.

Published in Dispatches from the Road

Tagged under: America at 250, Books, Humanities, Illinois, Lewis and Clark, Video

A Word About Dictionaries

Sunday, April 20 2025 by Clay Jenkinson

A short dissertation on my infatuation with dictionaries.

Published in Books

Tagged under: Humanities, Lewis and Clark, Thomas Jefferson, U.S. Presidents

Reflections on America and the Open Road

Tuesday, April 15 2025 by Clay Jenkinson

In a few weeks, Clay will embark on an 11,000-mile trek following the Lewis and Clark trail across the continent and back. As he loads his pickup and prepares to hit the road, Clay ponders what he has learned so far in his multi-year project to Listen to America.

Published in Features

Tagged under: America at 250, Books, Humanities, Native Americans

Clay Announces Cultural Tour of John Steinbeck’s California

Tuesday, March 25 2025 by Clay Jenkinson

An exciting new addition to Clay’s slate of LTA Cultural Tours for 2025! We’re headed to Steinbeck Country — California's Central Coast. On this tour we’ll visit Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel, and just across the Santa Lucia mountains, the author’s hometown of Salinas. These California landscapes stayed close to Steinbeck’s heart throughout his life and shaped the Nobel Prize-winning author’s indelible literary legacy.

Published in Dispatches from the Road

Tagged under: Books, Humanities, John Steinbeck, Steinbeck Travels

Best selling author Louis L'Amour and his son Beau L'Amour.

The Enduring Appeal of Louis L’Amour and American Western Fiction

Tuesday, March 25 2025 by Clay Jenkinson

Louis L’Amour is widely considered the best-selling author of Western fiction of all time. Still highly popular with readers around the globe, L’Amour has sold over 320 million books, with numerous film and TV adaptations of his work.