The Ernest Hemingway Symposium in Ketchum, Idaho

The Ernest Hemingway Symposium in Ketchum, Idaho

I can’t begin to tell you what a wonderful weekend I had at the Hemingway Symposium!

The Ketchum Community Library hosted the Symposium and focused this year’s theme on “Hemingway and Women”.  Fredric Hunter, the Keynote Speaker, spoke about writing “The Hemingway Play”, his moving study of Hemingway at various stages of his life.  If you haven’t found a way to see it,  please do!

There were also screenings of For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Spanish Earth, and A Farewell to Arms with lively and interesting discussion lead by Jacky O’Connor, an English Professor from Boise State University. Hemingway Scholar Stacey Guill spoke about Hemingway’s female characters in her lecture, “Pilar and Maria:  Hemingway’s Feminist Homage to the “New Woman” of Spain in For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

During the Symposium, Sue Dumke’s exhibit, “Hemingway’s Paris” was featured at the Gilman Gallery, just a few doors from the events at the library.  Her photographs were taken during the year she was “lucky enough to live in Paris” and are inspired by the places Hemingway lived and visited.

I joined professors Clyde Moneyhun and Mitch Wieland and novelists Clay Morgan and Brady Udall in the panel discussion “Hemingway With(out) Women”.  All of the discussions were enriched by the participation of thoughtful and well read members of the audience .  Presenters and the listeners seemed to really enjoyed each other.

My presentation, “West of Paris: Conversations about Ernest Hemingway” went well and was a lot of fun.  The genial atmosphere of the Symposium and the community helped me feel confident about speaking in front of a group for the first time.  Clearly, Hadley and all things Hemingway still capture the imagination of readers everywhere!

I also enjoyed talking to and meeting lots of new people. John Sanford, Hemingway’s nephew, (whom I interviewed almost a year ago about Hemingway’s Early Life) was there, and we talked over dinner for more than three hours!  And I enjoyed meeting David Meeker and his wife Stephanie, who own “Nick Adams Rare Books” in Sacramento, California.  I had a very interesting interview with David, which I will post soon.  David contributed to The Letters Project and we had a great afternoon of conversation about David’s life as a Rare Book Dealer specializing in Hemingway.

One of the many highlights of the weekend, though, was visiting Hemingway’s grave and his house, which we were able to walk through.  Jim Jaquet led the tour and did a great job of explaining the history and telling stories about Hemingway’s life in Idaho. Visiting Hemingway’s house was a very moving experience and the house was much more cheerful and modern than I expected.  I can see why he loved Ketchum so much.

Here are a few photos of the weekend:

The discussion panel on Friday morning.  From left to right are Clyde Moneyhun,  Allie Baker, Mitch Wieland, Brady Udall. Not pictured: Clay Morgan.
I got to meet John Sanford in person!
A framed inscription to Hadley hanging in the downstairs hall of Hemingway’s Ketchum house. Can you read his handwriting?  I can’t!  Please tell me what you think it says – (You can click on the photo to enlarge it).
Very tired, but happy to be here.  The fireplace in the main room of the Ketchum house.
There were many travel trunks in the Ketchum house, which I found poignant.  This was was near the fireplace pictured above.
More trunks were upstairs in Ernest and Mary’s bedroom.
The details of the trunk.
This is Ernest and Mary’s bedroom upstairs.  It is a big, cheerful room with a great view and a place to sit near the windows.  There were more personal mementos in this room than in other parts of the house including photographs of friends and bullfighters on the desk. There was an old heavy black telephone on the desk, but I forgot to look at the number!
The view from the bedroom.
One of the many photos on the desk, underneath glass, many of them from Spain.
An Ordonez bullfighting poster next to the desk.
Hemingway’s typewriter.  Hemingway’s writing room was upstairs in the next bedroom. The room was smaller and it was difficult to take a good photo.
The entry way.

 

Ernest Hemingway’s grave.  Jack and Gregory are buried nearby.
The Hemingway memorial is in a lovely place outside of Ketchum. Our tour guide read Hemingway’s eulogy aloud as we stood and gazed at the sun shining on the aspens and the river below.

October 25th, 2011

Filed under: Hemingway Symposium , Hemingway’s house , Idaho , Ketchum Idaho