Rehabilitating Hemingway

Saltwater Sportsman ^ | 2004 | Norman German

[Sam Hill]

"How did Hemingway's children get along in life, do you know? I know there were a couple grandchildren who were actresses."

Jack and Patrick became college teachers. Gregory became a doctor.

The sons had/have their own peculiarities. But seem to be fairly stable.

The granddaughters you're thinking of are Jack's children. Margueax you know had problems and killed herself about nine years ago. Very sad.

[Sam Hill]

Gregory has more peculiarities than most:

The Strange Saga of Gregory Hemingway
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/GregoryHemingway.html

[SpringheelJack]

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.

Another one I remember is Thomas Carlyle. After he'd finished it, he sent his only copy of "The French Revolution" to a friend of his, who lost it. Carlyle was forced to rewrite it all from scratch.

[SpringheelJack]

I bet most of you Hemingway fans didn't know he wrote a book of poetry. I have a copy: Ernest Hemingway 88 poems.

It's pretty bad; most of his "serious" poetry was written in his early 20s, when nobody is really any good, and what he attempted after that was usually parodic in intent and wears thin easily.

[SpringheelJack]

Including all of his editors and publishers (Eastman, McAlmon),

His editors for nearly all of his writing career were Maxwell Perkins and (I think) Charles Scribner, Jr., who were the polar opposite of hating him.

[fish hawk]

Yet the man took a stab at it whether good or bad. I have his book and I believe that about eighty to ninety percent of his poems are tongue in cheek and not trying to win a prize with the poems.

[SpringheelJack]

Yet the man took a stab at it whether good or bad. I have his book and I believe that about eighty to ninety percent of his poems are tongue in cheek and not trying to win a prize with the poems.

Do you remember "The Earnest Liberal's Lament"?

I know that pet cats screw,

And some girls bite,

But what can I do

To set everything right?

[Sam Hill]

"Maxwell Perkins"

I didn't mean to type "all" of his editor, publishers.

But Perkins was about the only person who could put up with him. And just barely.

[al baby]

What's a Hemingway ?










Oh about 200 lbs

[al baby]

I think ol Dasher has read them

[nicollo]

The story of Hemingway shooting a marlin that I remember involved his artist friend Henry Strater. They were days or more into a tournament with little success, most of which time Hemingway spent drinking. Strater finally snagged a serious bite and fought it in. After wearing down the giant fish and bringing it near, Hemingway appeared from below deck with his gun, screaming "sharks! sharks!" and pegged the fish, which, bleeding, attracted sharks.

Strater never forgave him:

Nice fish -- and would have weighed in the winner...

Dunno the veracity, but that's the story as I know it. Here, btw, is Strater's portrait of Poppa:

Sam, the Strater marlin pic is from the same site you drew those other pics from: AntiqueFishingReels.com

[Sam Cree]

I've read that story somewhere. I remember that Hemingway came on deck with his Tommygun and started shooting, but can't remember whether he shot sharks and set them into a frenzy or shot the marlin. I do remember that Strater was ticked about it.

That's a very nice portrait in my view, thanks for posting it.

The scene at Bimini of drinking hard and fishing hard in a tiny tropical setting went unchanged until the last couple of years. Now, sadly, the island is being developed. The drinking and fishing is still going on, but the setting is going to be different.