Hello dear readers,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted any of the written word. I’ve been trying to squeeze out what’s left of the summer, and the busy back-to-school schedule and routines, along with multiple sports practices, have all kicked back in.
I’ve also been immersed in all-things Ernest Hemingway.
It started one night a few weeks back when I decided to watch the three-part six-hour PBS documentary Hemingway by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.
I did a deep dive into Hemingway back in the late ‘90s, reading The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms and For Whom The Bell Tolls, and then a personal memoir written by A. E. Hotchner, who was a companion of the author’s from 1948 until his death 1961.
I love Hemingway, but I realized while watching the documentary that I hadn’t read anything of his in almost 20 years.
Serendipitously, I had picked up a collection of Hemingway’s short stories at a library book sale back in the spring. The documentary, which highlights many of his short stories, whetted my appetite to finally dig into the book that had been collecting dust for months on my bookshelf.
I also picked up from my local library, Ernest Hemingway: A Biography by Mary V. Dearborn, who also makes an appearance in the Burns documentary.
The book sheds light on Hemingway’s upbringing, his family, and includes his early experiences as a reporter for The Kansas City Star and the Toronto Star and as an ambulance driver for the American Red Cross during the first World War.
Hemingway was a contemporary, and at one point very good friends, with another of my favorite authors, F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby. It seems they had quite a time from Paris to Pamplona during the 1920s.
One of the other finds out of my Hemingway immersion has been One True Podcast, hosted by Mark Cirino and produced by Michael Von Cannon, two Hemingway scholars who speak with other Hemingway scholars and biographers about Hemingway, his novels, his short stories, and more.
I’ve found each of these fascinating to listen to, and they are really making me want to go back and re-read and read more Hemingway.
A great episode to listen to would be the one featuring Jeffrey Herlihy-Mera and the discussion of “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”. Herlihy-Mera explains how Hemingway’s conversion to Catholicism, the political and technological (electricity) upheaval in Spain, and Spanish customs all converge to influence this short 1933 Hemingway masterpiece.
A New Playlist: Fall Back ‘24
It’s not been all reading and podcasts for me however.
While I’m prohibited from hosting another Oktoberfest Party at the house, that doesn’t mean I can’t make another Fall Playlist on Spotify.
“R&B” by The English Teacher was the first song added to the playlist, but song selections have probably been most heavily influenced by George Harrison’s solo ‘70s catalog. Check it out and let me know what you think…
Thanks for reading and thanks for listening.
And be sure to leave some comments about the Hemingway story or playlist.
Brian, I went on a Hemingway bing a few years ago and read through most of his stuff. Some of it I enjoyed, some was just so so. Enjoyed the playlist also, lots of great tunes there. Thanks for sharing.