Akram Youth Fear | June 2016 | Akram Youth | Page 20

Mark Twain

Glimpses of Great Souls
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better
known by his pen name Mark Twain, was
an American author, essayist, lecturer
and humorist who wrote a series of
famous books including Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer. In 1888, Mark Twain was
awarded the Master of Art degree from
Yale University.

How I Conquered Stage Fright - by
Mark Twain
My heart goes out in sympathy to
anyone who is making his first
appearance before an audience of human
beings. I recall the occasion of my first
appearance. San Francisco knew me
20 | June 2016

then, only as a reporter and I had to present
myself to San Francisco as a lecturer. I knew
that nothing short of compulsion would get
me to the theatre. So I bound myself by a
hard-and-fast contract so that I could not
escape. I got to the theatre forty-five
minutes before the hour set for the lecture.
My knees were shaking and I had my
doubts that I will be able to stand on them. If
there is an awful, horrible malady in the
world, it is stage-fright an