Posted on 01/08/2007 5:47:50 PM PST by Sam Cree
Yes, he had a rough life. One more piece of bad luck you don't mention is that he gave his wife the manuscript of a bunch of early short stories he wrote in Paris, and she lost the manuscript on the train. It was the only copy.
There's some speculation that he may have had homosexual inclinations, which would explain why he wanted to appear so macho. I don't know whether to credit it, because that kind of speculation runs rampant all over the academy.
I've read Carlos Baker. Also Ilse Lind, who is an old friend of mine. I once asked her how she could stand teaching Hemingway to students, year in and year out, and she just sort of smiled and shrugged. In her late years she even taught that late novel, I think it was called "The Garden of Eden" or some such, that wasn't published until long after his death, because even his publishers couldn't stand it. Finally, greed got the better of them and it went into print.
I didn't say they weren't among America's best writers.
He probably had reservations.
Niether did I, though I'd put Joyce in the Irish column even though he pretended to hate his irishness.
However, he hated his home town, left it after graduating from high school, vowed never to return......and didn't.
So, we're even.
Leni
I think you can tell when he was hitting the sauce pretty hard while writing. In my mind though, his flaws are like the scratches and gouges that can be found on a old rifle's stock. They aren't pretty, but they add character.
My biggest problem when I was reading voraciously and quite indiscriminately was that I would exhaust the local libraries of all copies of the author at hand; once read the complete works of Guy de Maupassant, boy, he must have had one hell of a wife.
I once had ambitions of writing myself, but I have absolutely nothing of value to say and no stories worth relating.
I have the idea that Hemingway loved that first wife, the Paris one (Hadley?) the best of them all, and sometimes regretted having left her.
I believe that Garrison Keillor lost a major manuscript at a train station too, but I'd have to say that losing a Keillor manuscript qualifies as a gift to the readers of the world.
He writes for men. Few women like Hemingway. Feminine men usually can't stand him.
Re-read the Sun also Rises someday, when you have time to get thru it in one or two sittings. That book is an amazing thing. The prose is manly, the realtionships are real, and he captured the period very well.
Which would explain why he bores me.
Apparently Hemingway used to wake up in the middle of the night and have a shot of booze, then go back to sleep. You can only keep that kind of thing up for so long.
I will assume you are female then.
I won't even get into why as it'll be obvious to everyone.
I'm putting notice to you, though, that my people will call on your people in the morning.
Leni
LOL. I live dangerously. Now if you can find the other 2 women on FR who actually have read Hem., than you could be a tough gang to deal with.
That didn't seem to stop most of the authors I was forced to read in high school.
I grant you most women prefer Danielle Steele to Hemingway.....but then, these dainty damsels probably read no classics at all.
I love Hemingway's plots, his settings, his rich characters......everything except his style. Although I make certain exceptions, of course, such as some short stories.
Time to say good night.
Dawn and the misting fog will be upon us shortly.
Leni
Farewell.....to arms.
You assume correctly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.