Podcast Summary
Hemingway's life experiences shaped his writing: Hemingway's journalism career honed his skills, Paris introduced influential people and ideas, travel and recreational pursuits gave firsthand understanding, start with 'The Sun Also Rises', Hemingway's quote 'Happiness in all its forms was a miracle' represents his writing.
Ernest Hemingway's experiences as a journalist, his time in Paris, and his adventurous pastimes significantly shaped his writing style and the themes in his novels. Mark Torino, an English professor and Hemingway scholar, shares how Hemingway's early career as a journalist honed his writing skills and laid the foundation for his distinctive iceberg theory. His years in Paris introduced him to influential people, art, and ideas that influenced his work and career trajectory. Furthermore, Hemingway's travel and recreational pursuits allowed him to write with a firsthand understanding of various places and experiences. Mark recommends starting with Hemingway's earlier works, such as "The Sun Also Rises," and considers Hemingway's sentence "Happiness in all its forms was a miracle" as one true representation of his writing. Overall, Hemingway's life experiences and passion for writing contributed to his enduring legacy as a literary icon.
Hemingway's youth and journalistic career shaped his writing style: Hemingway's love for storytelling began in his youth, honed skills by embellishing experiences, learned directness from journalism, and drew inspiration from various characters and events in his career.
Ernest Hemingway's experiences as a young storyteller and his journalistic career significantly shaped his writing style. Hemingway's love for storytelling began in his youth, and he honed his skills by embellishing his experiences. However, his tendency to inflate the truth would later blur the lines between fiction and nonfiction in his work. Hemingway's time as a journalist taught him to be direct and clear in his writing, which became a defining characteristic of his style. Additionally, his experiences covering crime stories and meeting various characters in Kansas City and later as a foreign correspondent provided him with a wealth of material that influenced the content of his writing. Despite his impressive accomplishments, Hemingway seemed to always be striving for more, which led him to explore themes of masculinity, virility, and bravado throughout his work. The tension between authenticity and braggadocio in Hemingway's life and writing continues to intrigue readers and scholars.
Hemingway's Technique of Omission: Hemingway trusted readers to fill in gaps, creating a deeper connection through omission in 'Big Two Hearted River'
Hemingway believed that if a writer knows enough about what they are writing about, they can omit things and trust the reader to fill in the gaps. This creates a collaboration between the writer and the reader. Hemingway's use of this technique is particularly evident in his portrayal of soldiers and veterans, who often speak in laconic, terse statements about their experiences in war. An example of this can be seen in Hemingway's short story "Big Two Hearted River," where the character Nick Adams goes on a camping trip to recover from the trauma of World War I, but the reason for his trip is never explicitly stated in the text. This painstaking attention to detail and omission of certain information creates a powerful impact on the reader, allowing them to connect with the story on a deeper level.
Hemingway's iceberg theory and pivotal move to Paris: Hemingway's iceberg theory invites readers to engage and create meaning, reflecting real-life communication. His move to Paris shaped 20th century literature.
Hemingway's writing style, as exemplified by the iceberg theory, relies on the reader's interpretation and ability to infer meaning from what is left unsaid. This technique mirrors real-life communication, where a significant portion of meaning comes from unspoken words, gestures, and emotions. Hemingway's decision to move to Paris and join the modernist literary scene was a pivotal moment in 20th century literature, and it's fascinating to consider how different the literary landscape might have been if he had followed a different path. The iceberg theory invites readers to actively engage with the text and participate in the creation of meaning, making for a more intimate and inclusive reading experience.
Hemingway's time in Paris shaped his literary voice: In Paris during the 1920s, Hemingway gained valuable networking opportunities, absorbed European literature, and was exposed to modern psychology, all of which influenced his writing and set the stage for his literary success.
Ernest Hemingway's time in Paris in the 1920s was instrumental in shaping his writing career and literary voice. Surrounded by literary greats like Fitzgerald, Joyce, and Gertrude Stein, Hemingway not only gained valuable networking opportunities but also was exposed to a wealth of European literature and art that greatly influenced his work. Paris served as a hotbed for intellectual and artistic growth, and Hemingway's lack of formal education drove him to read extensively on his own, absorbing the works of writers like Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Flaubert. This period in Hemingway's life also exposed him to modern psychology, specifically the works of Freud, which subtly influenced his writing. Hemingway's competitive nature and critical attitude towards other writers notwithstanding, he openly admired the works of Flaubert and Stendhal, among others. Overall, Hemingway's time in Paris in the 1920s was a formative period that set the stage for his literary success.
Hemingway's Insecurities and Literary Influences: Hemingway's experiences deeply influenced his writing, and his insecurities led him to criticize other writers' works.
Ernest Hemingway, despite his literary success and influence, was known for his sparing and often backhanded compliments towards other writers. This ungenerous behavior towards his peers, even towards works considered classics, such as James Joyce's Ulysses and Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, is a reflection of Hemingway's insecurity. Hemingway's active lifestyle, including hunting, fishing, traveling, and bullfighting, deeply influenced his writing, creating a symbiotic relationship where his experiences fueled his creativity. His insider's appreciation for various activities, such as bullfighting and drinking, is evident in his works, allowing readers to connect with his characters and understand their experiences, even if they don't share the same interests.
Hemingway's Dedication to Writing and Adventurous Lifestyle: Despite a hard-living lifestyle marked by injuries, health issues, and excessive drinking, Hemingway remained committed to his craft and viewed writing as his true faith and calling. He reread his work extensively and took editing seriously, but the extent varied throughout his career.
Ernest Hemingway, known for his larger-than-life persona, was both disciplined in his writing routine and prone to accidents and excessive drinking throughout his life. Under the influence of Theodore Roosevelt's image of manhood, Hemingway went to Africa multiple times and embraced the festive lifestyle, but he was also a dedicated writer who woke up early to put in hours of work before indulging in drinking and socializing. Despite his injuries and health issues, Hemingway took his writing seriously, viewing it as his true faith and calling. He would reread his work extensively to get into the world of his stories before continuing new writing. However, the extent of his editing varied throughout his career. Despite his hard-living lifestyle, Hemingway's commitment to his craft remained unwavering.
Exploring the Tension Between Thought and Action in Hemingway's Works: Hemingway's novels examine the intricacies of how the mind functions under stress and the importance of balancing thought and action
Ernest Hemingway, known for his meticulous editing and action-oriented characters, actually valued both the intellectual and the practical. Contrary to the cartoon image of Hemingway as a blue-collar craftsman, his characters were often intellectual and introspective. Hemingway explored the tension between thought and action by examining how intellectual, sensitive individuals behave in high-stress situations, such as war or crisis. He believed that imagination, essential for a writer, could be detrimental in certain contexts, while the ability to suspend imagination was a great gift for a soldier. Hemingway's novels often delve into the complexities of how the mind functions under stress and the challenges of balancing thought and action.
Hemingway's View on Soldiers and Writers: Hemingway believed soldiers and writers were distinct roles, but admired Shakespeare's ability to write like a soldier. He practiced metacognition to determine useful thoughts and wrote one true sentence.
That Hemingway believed that great soldiers and great writers were two distinct roles, and a good soldier couldn't become a good writer because they were too focused on the battle at hand. However, Hemingway admired Shakespeare's ability to write like a soldier, even though Shakespeare never served in the military. Hemingway's appreciation for Shakespeare highlights the importance of thought in writing, and Hemingway himself practiced metacognition, or thinking about his thoughts, to determine what was useful to think about in a given circumstance. One of Hemingway's favorite novels, "For Whom the Bell Tolls," is an example of this, as Hemingway's character coaches himself on what thoughts would be useful and which would be distracting. Hemingway's one true sentence might be the idea that a writer only needs to write one true sentence, which Hemingway himself exemplified throughout his career. To get started with Hemingway, readers could begin with his short stories, such as "The Killers," "Hills Like White Elephants," and "The Old Man and the Sea." These stories showcase Hemingway's signature style and themes.
Impact of losing manuscripts on Hemingway's writing: Hemingway's loss of manuscripts led him to write succinctly, revealing only surface details while leaving deeper meaning open to interpretation (iceberg theory)
That Ernest Hemingway's loss of his manuscripts in the 1920s resulted in a profound impact on him, as evidenced by his famous one true sentence, "It was true, all right. And I remember what I did in the night after I let myself in the flat and found it was true." This sentence, according to Mark Torino, is a great example of Hemingway's iceberg theory, as it reveals only the surface details while leaving the deeper meaning and potential actions open to interpretation. Torino is the author and editor of several books on Hemingway and hosts the One True Podcast. He and his team are also releasing a book, "One True Sentence, Writers and Readers on Hemingway's Art," which features interviews with various authors and scholars discussing their favorite one true sentences from Hemingway's works. To learn more about Torino's work and the One True Podcast, follow them on Twitter @onetruepod or visit onetruepod.com.
