It all started with A Moveable Feast, the first Hemingway book I read for pleasure (without being assigned to read it). Hemingway’s voice was warm, and yet detached, one could feel the ache of nostalgia in each sentence and yet, at the same time, feel that he was a cad. A Moveable Feast left me wanting to know more about him – what happened after Paris? What happened to Hadley and Bumby?
To answer some of these questions, I read his biography next, but the biography only created more questions about this complicated man. His life was richly layered beyond my wildest expectations; he lived in exceptional times, he explored several continents, he loved and hated deeply, he wrote books that are still of great interest to us. He lived out the adventures and the consequences of being a completely free human being. Time has shown us that his afterlife is just as vigorous as when he was alive. Alas, I was hooked.
This blog is an exploration of our responses to Hemingway; his books, his friends, his travels, the times he lived in, and all of what went into making his life so extraordinary. It’s a discussion, a conversation, a debate –
The goal of The Hemingway Project is to collect stories about Hemingway’s enduring influence. I see The Hemingway Project as a bridge between the academic world and aficionados and an exploration of the fascinating Hemingway subculture that has existed for decades, The Hemingway Project is the study of one writer, his life and work, and his incredible readership.
Are you a Hemingway scholar? Do you have a good Hemingway story? Have you taken to wearing a beret and thinking about Hemingway at work? Do you daydream about fighting bulls in Spain? Or making your next home in Cuba? Marrying a couple more times? Do you think he’s overrated? Do you re-read his books every year? Do you have a neighbor who knows a friend whose sister had a crush on him in the 40’s? Please join the discussion about his rare, uncommon, controversial man. ~ Allie
January 4th, 2012
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