In Memory of Jim Zwick
March 23, 1956-January 24, 2008
It is with deep sadness that we report the death of Jim Zwick on January 24, 2008. Jim was an extraordinary scholar, a valued friend, and a frequent contributor to the Mark Twain Forum. In addition to writing book reviews, he responded to queries and enlightened us all with his eloquent expertise. In the mid-1990s, Jim launched what soon became the premier Mark Twain-related web site on the Internet. His willingness to share his knowledge with others and his passion for research was legendary and appreciated by all who knew him. Jim Zwick’s devotion to scholarship and his dedication to human rights will be sorely missed.
The following excerpts give additional information about Jim Zwick. For more details about his life and work, visit http:www.jimzwick.net
Published in the Hartford Courant on 1/30/2008.
Jim Zwick
Jim Zwick, 51, an American Studies scholar whose specialties included Mark Twain, political history, and the educational usages of the internet died Thursday (January 24, 2008) at his home outside of Syracuse, New York. Zwick was the author of numerous noted books and articles on Twain, anti-imperialism and other topics. Major publications included the books Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire, Inuit Entertainers in the United States, and Confronting Imperialism: Essays on Mark Twain and the Anti-Imperialist League. He was a frequent contributor to a wide range of journals and anthologies. Zwick began creating websites in 1994. He created and ran the Mark Twain site at About.com, later consolidating his many writings into the widely cited Boondocksnet.com, which was included in the reading list of Mark Twain courses at universities worldwide.
In 2000, he ran the author's posthumous online campaign for the Presidency, MSNB's top-ranked campaign website. With his unique perspective, he provided consultation and commentary for documentary films including Ken Burns' Mark Twain. Living in Hong Kong during the 1970's, his language skills allowed him to travel extensively in the Peoples' Republic of China in 1979, long before the current openness. He later traveled in the Philippines, and was long active with The Friends of the Philipino People. Zwick also served on the Executive Committee of the Mark Twain Circle. Zwick received his BA at Earlham College in 1981 and his MA in Comparative Politics and World History at Syracuse University where he continued to do post-graduate work and teach for some time. He attended Wethersfield High School and the Shanti School in Hartford.
Zwick is survived by his father and step-mother Frank and Lynn Zwick of Myrtle Beach, SC, his sister Joan Zwick of Tolland, brothers David of Old Saybrook, Douglas of Los Angeles, and their families. He is predeceased by his mother Joan Jenkins Zwick, and sister, Susan Laurie Zwick. Memorial contributions may be made to Human Rights Watch, 350 5th Avenue, 34th Floor, New York, NY 10118 (www.hrw.org/donations).
The following list of Jim Zwick’s publications is excerpted from his web site. Additional information about Jim may be found at. http:www.jimzwick.net
Print Publications
Confronting Imperialism: Essays on Mark Twain and the Anti-Imperialist League (West Conshohocken, Pa.: Infinity Publishing, 2007).
Inuit Entertainers in the United States: From the Chicago World's Fair through the Birth of Hollywood (West Conshohocken, Pa.: Infinity Publishing, 2006).
"Inuit Entertainers in the United States," a five-part series published in Them Days (Labrador):
- "The Chicago World's Fair and Its Aftermath, 1892-1896," 29 (Summer 2005): 3-16.
- "Esther Eneutseak and the Exposition Tour of 1900-1902," 30 (Fall 2005): 4-18.
- "Coney Island and the 1904 World's Fair" 30:3 (2006): 32-42.
- "Making Exposition and Hollywood History" 30:4 (2006): 17-25.
- "Hollywood's First 'Real Eskimos'" 31:1 (2007): 19-27.
"Behind the Song: Bread and Roses." Sing Out! 46 (Winter 2003): 92-93.
"Mark Twain's Anti-Imperialist Writings in the 'American Century.'" In Vestiges of War: The Philippine-American War and the Aftermath of an Imperial Dream, 1899-1999, ed. Angel Velasco Shaw and Luis H. Francia (New York: New York Univ. Press, 2002), 38-56.
"Mark Twain and Imperialism." In A Historical Guide to Mark Twain, ed. Shelley Fisher Fishkin (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 227-255.
"Foreword." In The Story of the Lopez Family (Manila: Platypus Publishing, 2001), 5-13.
"The Anti-Imperialist Movement, 1898-1921." In Whose America? The War of 1898 and the Battles to Define the Nation ed. Virginia M. Bouvier (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2001), 171-192.
"The 'Stereoscopic' War of 1899." In Voices and Scenes of the Past: The Philippine-American War Retold, ed. Maria Serena I. Diokno (Quezon City: The Jose W. Diokno Foundation, 1999), 1-5.
"Mark Twain's Opposition to United States Imperialism: A Centennial Perspective," BU Bulletin (Bicol University, Legazpi City, Philippines), Oct. 1998 - Jan. 1999.
"The Anti-Imperialist League and the Origins of Filipino-American Oppositional Solidarity." Amerasia Journal 24:2 (Summer 1998): 65-85.
"Mark Twain and the Single Tax Movement." The Georgist Journal No. 87 (Summer 1997): 5-10.
"'Prodigally Endowed With Sympathy for the Cause': Mark Twain's Involvement with the Anti-Imperialist League." Mark Twain Journal 32 (Spring 1994): 2-25 (mailed spring 1997). Enl. and rev. version of article first published in Ephemera Journal 5 (1992): 50-68.
"William Dean Howells and the Anti-Imperialist League." Mark Twain Journal 32 (Spring 1994): 25-26 (mailed spring 1997).
"An Empire Is Not a Frontier: Mark Twain's Opposition to United States Imperialism." Over Here: Reviews in American Studies 15 (Summer-Winter 1995): 58-70.
"Sitting in Darkness: An Unheeded Message About U.S. Militarism." Baltimore Sun (April 23, 1995), J1, J6. Also distributed by the Los Angeles Times Wire Service.
"Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, and the Anti-Imperialist League, 1899-1920." In Proceedings of the 1994 Maxwell Colloquium (Syracuse: Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse Univ., 1995), 105-110.
Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War, Editor (Syracuse: Syracuse Univ. Press, 1992; Philippine edition, Manila: Popular Book Store, 1994).
"An American Anti-Imperialist: Mark Twain on the Philippine-American War," Filipinas Magazine (Sept. 1992), 50-54.
"Mark Twain on American Imperialism" (Excerpts from Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire, cover story), Atlantic Monthly 269 (April 1992): 49-65.
"Who Wrote the Couplet? Textual Variants in Mark Twain's 'Salutation to the Twentieth Century,'" Mark Twain Journal 27 (Spring 1989): 34-39 (mailed Sept. 1991).
"Imperialists & Anti-Imperialists: The Roots of American Non-Intervention Movements," Nonviolent Activist, War Resisters League (March 1991), 11-12.
"Militarization in the Philippines: From Consolidation to Crisis," Philippine Research Bulletin 1:2-3 (Fall/Spring 1984-1985): 5-9.
"Militarism and Repression in the Philippines," in Michael Stohl and George A. Lopez, eds., The State as Terrorist: The Dynamics of Governmental Violence and Repression (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1984): 123-142.
Militarism and Repression in the Philippines, McGill Studies in International Development No. 31 (Montreal: Centre for Developing-Area Studies, McGill Univ., 1982).
Documentary Films
Two Bells/Two Worlds. Directed by Bernard Stone, 2002. Distributed by The Cinema Guild. (Pre-production consultant and on-screen commentary.)
Mark Twain. Directed by Ken Burns. Florentine Films, 2001. (Program advisor.)
Electronic Publications
Web Sites
Inuit Entertainers in the United States. InuitEntertainers.com, Sept. 2006-Aug. 2007 (closed).
HistoryIllustrated.com. Nov. 2004-Aug. 2007 (closed).
Mark Twain for President. Twain2000.com & Twain2004.com, Sept. 1999-Dec. 2001 & April 2003-April 2005 (moved to BoondocksNet.com).
BoondocksNet.com. Feb. 1999-July 2007 (moved to HistoryIllustrated.com).
Mark Twain. About.com, March 1997-Sept. 2001 (moved to BoondocksNet.com).
Sentenaryo/Centennial: The Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War. Various domains, Sept. 1995-Feb. 1999 (moved to BoondocksNet.com).
Anti-Imperialism in the United States, 1898-1935. Various domains, March 1995-Feb. 1999 (moved to BoondocksNet.com).
Mark Twain Resources on the World Wide Web. Various domains, Jan. 1995-Feb. 1999 (moved to About.com and BoondocksNet.com).
Mark Twain on the Philippines. Various domains, Jan.-March. 1995 (absorbed into Anti-Imperialism in the United States).
Essays
"Review: Manifest and Other Destinies: Territorial Fictions of the Nineteenth-Century United States, by Stephanie LeMenager," Mark Twain Forum (www.twainweb.net), March 16, 2005.
"Review: Mark Twain, by Peter Messent," Mark Twain Forum (www.twainweb.net), Aug. 18, 1997.
"Towards Critical Internationalism Within U.S.-Based American Studies." Interroads: International/Comparative Perspectives on the Study of American Culture (Interroads@home.ease.lsoft.com), Feb. 16, 1997. Solicited essay followed by responses by Mustafah Dhada, Sylvia Hilton, John Carlos Rowe, Dolores Janiewski, and E. San Juan, Jr.
"Remembering St. Louis,1904: A World on Display and Bontoc Eulogy." American Studies List (H-Amstdy@msu.edu), March 2, 1996.
"Review: Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs and Empire." American Studies List (H-Amstdy@msu.edu), Nov. 7, 1995.
Back to the TwainWeb home page