MARK TWAIN/ “The first truly American writer”

The American writer known as Mark Twain, whose birth on November 30, 1835 was remembered yesterday even by the daily Google doodle, was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens. His choice of penname is symbolic of the depth of his finest works. It is a tribute to the America that marked the first part of his life, when he worked on the steamboats of the great Mississippi River, which bisects the nation. In the dialect of the sailors on those boats, in fact, the expression "by the mark, twain" meant "from the point of the sign, there are two fathoms," that is, about four meters. It was a cry heard and uttered so many times by the future author of Tom Sawyer and many other famous books, that it remained in his heart, so much that he wanted to use it as a pseudonym. William Faulkner called Mark Twain the "first truly American writer", and, starting from this quote, IlSussidiario.net asked Vita Fortunati, professor of Anglo-American literature at the University of Bologna, about the value of Mark Twain today.

Professor Fortunati, do you agree with what William Faulkner said? What is understood today with the phrase "American writer"?
The deep Americanness of Twain, as Faulkner meant it, is found in its language and in that humor which was his great trademark. Twain's humor draws on the frontier, paradoxical humor characteristic of the tall tales, myths, and legends like David Crockett. In this sense, Mark Twain is deeply American with all of his interest in the Mississippi, the fluvial epic, and the stories of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, which show that he belongs to the deepest part of America.

Is it possible to say that Mark Twain's love for America, his ability to describe great spaces, may have influenced the analogous passion for America and for journeys of the writers of the Beat Generation in some way?
I would say yes. The fluvial epic, the love of travel, life on the Mississippi, and the sense of adventure can also be found in writers like Jack Kerouac. It is a profound connection.

In Italy, Twain is often recommended as reading for children. Why? Are his books just for kids?