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 What is the epitaph on
the Hemingway Memorial?
 Hemingway was asked to write
a short eulogy for one of his friends, Gene Van Guilder, who was accidently shot while duck hunting. The epitaph on the memorial reads:
Best of all he loved the fall
The leaves yellow on the cottonwoods
Leaves floating on the trout streams
And above the hills
The high blue windless skies
Now he will be a part of them forever
Ernest Hemingway - Idaho - 1939
View a photo of the Ernest Hemingway memorial.
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Where are Hemingway's sons today?
Jack Hemingway passed away on December 2, 2000. Gregory Hemingway died on October 1, 2001.
Patrick Hemingway is the last of Hemingway's sons. He is still active in promoting his father's memory.
He participates in Hemingway festivals, conferences, etc., and serves on the advisory board for the
Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, Illinois.
Hemingway's grandchildren, Margaux and Mariel (by Jack) become film
stars. Margaux died of a drug overdose in July of 1996. Lorian Hemingway
(by Gregory) went on to become an established writer.
All of Hemingway's former wives are now deceased. Martha Gellhorn, his
third wife, died the most recently, in February of 1998.
Hemingway's siblings are also all deceased. It's interesting to note that two
other of Hemingway's siblings committed suicide. Ursula Hemingway, the third
eldest daughter born to Grace and Clarence Hemingway, suffering from cancer and
depression, overdosed on drugs in 1966. Leicester Hemingway (Ernest's only brother),
after being told by doctors that a severe case of Type II diabetes might cost him
both legs, shot himself with a .22 pistol in September of 1982.
There are many other members of the Hemingway clan (nieces, nephews,
other grandchildren), but I've given you an outline here of some of the major players. For a family tree detailing the
more recognized members of the Hemingway clan, see the Hemingway Family Tree.
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What was Hemingway's
exact day of death? I've noticed inaccuracies in the biographies, some state July 1,
others state July 2. Was Mary's reporting of the incident accurate?
Mary had originally
told reporters and the likes that her husband had been accidentally shot while cleaning one of his
guns. The bold headline on the front page of the July 3, 1961 edition of
The New York Times read, "Hemingway Dead of Shotgun Wound; Wife Says He Was Cleaning Weapon."
As for the exact day and time Hemingway committed suicide, it was Sunday morning, July 2, 1961.
Jeffrey Meyers and Kenneth Lynn establish the time as "around seven o'clock on Sunday morning." Carlos Baker
notes: "Dr. Scott Earle was summoned at 7:40 a.m. to certify the death."
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Did Hemingway and Agnes
von Kurowsky have an affair? Or was Agnes just an exceptional flirt?
Agnes Von Kurowsky was Hemingway's first
real love interest. Before meeting her, he had been only faintly aware that the opposite sex existed. Agnes's beauty
coupled with the kindness and gentleness she exhibited in her duties as a Red Cross nurse was too much for any
red-blooded American boy to ignore. Whether or not Agnes was just stringing Ernest along will vary from biographer to
biographer. (She always attested that there was never anything sexual between herself and Ernest, though her letters
to him reveal a very clear love and affection.) Most biographers will agree that when Agnes broke off whatever relationship
she had had with her former patient, the lovesick Hemingway was truly crushed. It was his first major rejection, one he
would never forget. In A Farewell to Arms , Hemingway fictionalizes the so-called love affair. The thought of Agnes also prompted
Hemingway's short story, "A Very Short Story," which is a fitting title to sum up the relationship between the two.
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How do we explain Hemingway's
timelessness from both a social and literary perspective?
I attended a two day
Hemingway conference at the JFK Library in Boston. One of the topics of discussion among
the panelists was this question of Hemingway's timelessness both as writer and celebrity.
Why has this 20th century American author endured while so many others (Jack London for instance)
have disappeared into a black hole of obscurity? One speaker answered the question by saying,
"we all write through Hemingway."
Hemingway's style of writing (the grade school-like grammar, austere word choice, the unvarnished descriptions)
continues to be emulated today. The old joke about 20th century writers is that they can be divided into two distinct
groups: those trying to write like Ernest Hemingway and those trying not to. Hemingway's famous commentaries on
the process of writing, his advice to beginners and his criticisms to his contemporaries are simply unparalleled. He
is considered by many the most well recognized writer of the 20th century and perhaps the best American writer ever
to put pencil to paper. Aside from his innovative style, the themes of his works are very human and enduring.
From death to loss to perseverance to courage, Hemingway writes of the subjects that affect us all.
When one starts to read a lot of Hemingway, he or she will begin to notice an element almost always lacking: the happy ending.
This is one of the things I truly love about Hemingway. Not only can he describe life "as it is," he is often more adept
at describing life "as it is not." Life is not a bed of roses, a care-free world in which lovers walk hand and hand into
a setting sunset. No, the sun also rises and if its rays are too hot or too bright or if it stays visible for too long, the
roses will wilt and die. Hemingway never shies away from exploring the tragedies of life, of death, of love, of living, of dying,
of loving. This I think explains much of his timeless appeal.
Though Hemingway may have represented the ideal writer in the literary sense, he certainly did
not lead the life of seclusion and isolation so commonly associated with the professional
writer. Hemingway's life was exciting. He presented to the world both a colorful and
contradicting personality. He was the outdoorsman. He hunted, he fished, he drank, he
brawled, he traveled, he married. He was a man who truly enjoyed life. He made those
around him enjoy life. When he could no longer enjoy his life, when his body failed him,
when his gift for writing deserted him, he ended his life. This final act would only add to the
timeless Hemingway mystique.
I am reminded of the Public Broadcasting Service, an organization that takes great pride in creating what they
themselves call "non disposable television," which is television that a person can come back to again and again.
The same thing might be said of Ernest Hemingway's literature. It too is "non disposable." One can reread Hemingway
and always find something new and compelling. This does not apply to every author. One of Hemingway's major
criticisms against fellow writer William Faulkner was the immense difficulty of rereading him.
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What is the history
behind the "lost generation"? Where and how did this phrasing originate?
Gertrude Stein had
gone to have her Ford fixed. Very impressed by the young and efficient
mechanic, she inquired about him to the garage owner. The owner said that
he trained all his mechanics himself and that they learned well and fast. Only
those aged 22 to 30 could not be taught. "C'est une génération perdue," the
owner said in describing this group. (There is another variation of this story
which has Gertrude Stein being extremely disappointed by the mechanic's lax work ethnic,
complaining to the garage owner, who then says "C'est une génération perdue," to
describe the mechanic's generation. This is the version Hemingway confirms in A Moveable Feast .)
It's important to note that Hemingway himself did not entirely subscribe
to the "lost generation" philosophy. See his November 1926 letter to his editor,
Maxwell Perkins, reprinted in Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917-1961
edited by Carlos Baker, page 229.
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Where is Hemingway buried?
Ernest Hemingway is buried in
Ketchum Cemetery in Ketchum, Idaho. View photos of his gravesite.
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Did Hemingway invent a daiquiri drink?
A "Papa Doble" is the name of the Hemingway daiquiri drink.
Legend has it that Hemingway invented the drink at Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West, Florida. (A knowledgeable visitor has informed me
that the daiquiri was in existence as early as 1898-1900 in the province of Oriente, Cuba, supposedly invented by an American mining engineer
named Jennings Cox.) The drink's ingredients include "two ounces of white or light rum, the juice from two limes, the juice from
half a grapefruit, Maraschino liqueur floating on the top, served over crushed ice." Recipe cited here comes from Charles Oliver's
Ernest Hemingway A to Z: The Essential Reference to the Life and Work .
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Was Hemingway an alcoholic?
It has been reported that during the
last twenty years of his life, Hemingway got himself into the habit of consuming a quart of whiskey a day. To many, such
drinking behavior would indicate alcoholism. Hemingway did like to drink and was blessed with the
ability to drink great amounts without showing the effects (don't know if this is a blessing, to some I imagine it is).
Towards the end of his life when his health began to deteriorate and his doctors told him to lay off the bottle,
he did, but only temporarily. Whenever he felt the urge, he would pick up the practice again. It wasn't the alcohol
though that killed Hemingway in the end. It was a shotgun blast to the head. Hemingway was passionate about so many
things in his life, alcohol just happened to be one of them. He carried this passion with him wherever he went.
Alcohol truly was his moveable feast.
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Where can I find a definition
of "the true gen"?
You will want to see
Denis Brian's book, The True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Hemingway By Those Who Knew Him .
On a page before his introduction, Brian provides an explanation of "the true gen."
Hemingway himself explains the concept in an October 1945 letter to Malcolm Cowley.
See Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917-1961
edited by Carlos Baker, page 603.
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