FAYETTEVILLE — When Lyell Thompson wears his Mark Twain garb, some say he bears an uncanny resemblance to the revered writer. Please join Ozark Poets and Writers Collective when we have Thompson perform his famous "Mark Twain monologues" at 7 p.m.
Tuesday in Hammontree's at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville.
Inspired by Hal Holbrook's performances, Thompson started performing his own rendition of Twain nearly two score ago. What is interesting is that Thompson's life draws many similarities from Twain's, though he did not pick a vocation that had anything to do with literature.
Lyell Floyd Thompson was born in Rock Island, Ill., in 1924, but his family moved to a dust bowl, Depression-era farm in north central Oklahoma when he was 8 years old where he attended a oneroom elementary school.
His first day of high school, he noticed Marki, a cute little classmate from another one-room school, who eventually became his wife. Thompson began his public service career by becoming president of the studentcouncil.
Following graduation in 1942 Thompson enrolled in college at Oklahoma A & M (Oklahoma State University).
He joined the Army's Reserve Corps and was called to active duty in May 1943, which landed him in a rifle platoon of Company E, 393rd Infantry Regiment of the 99th Division, eventually being promoted to staff sergeant. His unit fought in the Battle of the Bulge and later advanced to the Rhine River, remaining on the front line almost continuously until the war ended in May 1945. Thompson was awarded three battle stars and the Purple Heart.
After the war, and upon his return to the states, Thompson married his high school sweetheart and reenrolled in college to finish his bachelor's degree.
He obtained a Ph.D. in soil fertility from Ohio State University in 1953.
Thompson continued to serve his country in theU.S. Army Reserve, retiring as a major in 1967.
Thompson joined the University of Arkansas' Agronomy Department in 1958 as a professor in soil fertility research, mostly in the Arkansas Delta.
Thompson plunged himself into the local civil rights movement, fighting to integrate the Fayetteville City pool, the local theater and many local restaurants.
He retired in 1991, but remains active on campus.
Thompson also served as an elected member of the Washington County Quorum Court for nine two-year terms and continues to officiate many weddings in his capacity as a justice of the peace.
Many describe Thompson as a natural born storyteller, and he is known to wax poetic about the wonders of marriage at these ceremonies.
Over the past two score and 10 years, Thompson has documented his observations about the world around him through many letters to the editor. Thompson first performed his rendition of Twain on Fayetteville's public access television station. It was so well received that he has performed it locally as wellas in Texas, Wisconsin, at an Army reunion and in classes at the University of Arkansas.
Thompson has five children. When he could not be reached for input on this column, I asked his son Kevin what inspired his father to start doing these Twain monologues. He replied, "Because his hair is unruly." I could sense a grin from the other endof the telephone. Apparently storytelling runs in the family.
Join OPWC for Lyell Thompson's Mark Twain monologues. Open mic performances run up to four minutes of original work or a "cover." Performances are not censored and strong or racy language is sometimes used. Admission is free, though a hat is passed for the features.
There's also a free raffle for a book from the UA Press. For more information visit our new Web site: http://ozarkwriters.
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Cat is a nontraditional undergraduate student in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Arkansas, and lives in Durham with her husband, two sons, pug and 30 chickens.
Living, Pages 13 on 09/27/2009