Short History Of... Ernest Hemingway
Paul Hendrickson, author and journalist who has written deeply on Hemingway, gives lively context to the writer's life. They trace wartime wounds, Paris and bullfighting obsessions, the rise of his spare prose, messy marriages and myth-making. The conversation also follows decline, treatments, and the enduring legend of masculinity and modernism.
56:34
Journalism Shaped Hemingway's Style
- Hemingway's pared-down prose grew directly from his newspaper training at the Kansas City Star, favouring short sentences and strong verbs.
- That reporting discipline became his signature 'iceberg' approach where surface simplicity hides deep emotional currents.
Paris Accelerated Hemingway's Voice
- Paris in the 1920s was the crucible for Hemingway and the 'lost generation,' where mentorship from Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound honed his minimalist technique.
- Immersion among expatriate artists accelerated his voice into the imagistic, declarative style of The Sun Also Rises.
Lost Manuscripts Forced A Rewrite
- In late 1922 Hadley packed Hemingway's entire manuscript collection into a suitcase that vanished en route from Paris to Lausanne, destroying his early drafts and copies.
- Hemingway later claimed the loss forced him to start again and improve his writing.
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Intro
00:00 • 35sec
Hemingway's WWI Ambulance Experience
00:35 • 4min
Formative Childhood and Family Tensions
04:42 • 4min
Early Journalism and Rejection from the Army
08:56 • 1min
Wounding, Milan Hospital, and Agnes
10:00 • 4min
Paris, the Lost Generation, and Style
14:30 • 5min
Ad break
19:27 • 2min
Pamplona and Bullfighting Obsession
21:42 • 3min
Big Two-Hearted River and Iceberg Theory
24:23 • 2min
Sun Also Rises and Stardom
25:58 • 2min
Fame, Myth-Making, and Marital Strain
27:41 • 1min
Divorce, Pauline, and Key West Years
29:00 • 3min
Rise of Gellhorn and Spain Reporting
31:37 • 4min
Ad break
35:52 • 1min
For Whom the Bell Tolls and Cuba Life
37:09 • 2min
Criticisms: Race, Women, and Contradictions
39:30 • 3min
Later Marriages and The Old Man's Triumph
42:47 • 1min
Decline: Health, Crashes, and Memory Loss
44:05 • 2min
Electroshock, Mayo Clinic, and Losses
45:58 • 52sec
Death in Ketchum and Final Letter
46:50 • 5min
Legacy, Myth, and Lasting Influence
51:46 • 4min
Outro
55:27 • 60sec
#101083
Big Two-Hearted River
Ernest Hemingway
"Big Two-Hearted River" is a two-part short story by Ernest Hemingway that depicts Nick Adams's solitary camping and fishing trip in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan after returning from World War I. As Nick methodically sets up camp and fishes in the river, the story explores themes of healing, nature, and the process of recovery from trauma.
Through detailed descriptions and understated prose, Hemingway captures Nick's emotional state and his attempt to find solace and renewal in the natural world.
The story reflects on the psychological impact of war and the restorative power of simple, purposeful activities.
#1369
• Mentioned in 30 episodes
For Whom the Bell Tolls
John Donne
While the podcast mentions "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in relation to a John Donne sermon, it's important to note that the title is most famously associated with Ernest Hemingway's novel.
Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is set during the Spanish Civil War and follows Robert Jordan, an American volunteer fighting alongside the Republicans.
The novel explores themes of war, love, and sacrifice against the backdrop of political conflict.
Jordan's experiences and relationships highlight the complexities of war and the human cost of ideological battles.
The novel's powerful prose and exploration of universal themes have cemented its place as a classic of 20th-century literature.
#11408
• Mentioned in 4 episodes
The Green Hills of Africa
Ernest Hemingway
Published in 1935, *The Green Hills of Africa* is Ernest Hemingway's memoir of his safari across the Serengeti with his wife, Pauline Pfeiffer.
The book is an evocative account of big-game hunting, examining the grace of the chase and the ferocity of the kill.
It also delves into Hemingway's thoughts on literature and writing, and it is an impassioned portrait of the African landscape and the beauty of a wilderness threatened by human incursions.
The narrative is divided into four parts and includes discussions on American and European literature, as well as the author's personal reflections on hunting and the natural world.
#1320
• Mentioned in 31 episodes
Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms is a semiautobiographical novel that captures the harsh realities of war and the pain of lovers caught in its sweep.
The story follows Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American ambulance driver on the Italian front, and his passionate relationship with Catherine Barkley, an English nurse.
The novel interweaves themes of love, war, loyalty, and desertion, reflecting Hemingway's own experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I. The book is known for its vivid and deeply felt portrayal of war and its impact on individuals, as well as Hemingway's distinctive writing style that emphasizes immediacy and simplicity.
#8961
• Mentioned in 6 episodes
Death in the Afternoon
Ernest Hemingway
Death in the Afternoon is a non-fiction book that delves into the history, ceremony, and traditions of Spanish bullfighting.
Written by Ernest Hemingway, the book was published in 1932 and includes Hemingway's personal reflections on the sport, as well as a deeper contemplation on the nature of fear and courage.
The book is divided into sections that include Hemingway's writings, pictures, and a glossary of terms.
It also features a color frontispiece by Juan Gris and numerous photographs of bullfights and bullfighters.
Hemingway's work on bullfighting reflects his passion for Spain and the intense life and inevitable death associated with the sport.
#536
• Mentioned in 58 episodes
The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
The novella tells the story of Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman who has gone 84 days without catching a fish.
Determined to break his unlucky streak, Santiago ventures far into the Gulf Stream, where he hooks a giant marlin.
Over the course of three days, he battles the marlin, showing respect and admiration for the fish.
Despite eventually killing the marlin, Santiago's catch is devoured by sharks on his journey back to shore.
The story highlights Santiago's endurance, his deep connection with nature, and the themes of struggle, dignity, and the indomitable human spirit.
#95023
WINNER TAKE NOTHING
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway's 'Winner Take Nothing' is a 1933 collection of short stories that probe human endurance, moral ambiguity, and existential emptiness.
The stories are marked by Hemingway's spare, direct prose and feature characters confronting failure, isolation, and the limits of meaning.
One notable story, 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,' examines the consolations people seek in the face of nothingness.
The collection reflects Hemingway's mature themes of disillusionment following World War I and the difficulties of finding solace.
Its influence endures in modernist literature and discussions of nihilism and human finitude.
#571
• Mentioned in 55 episodes
The sun also rises
Ernest Hemingway
Originally published in 1926, 'The Sun Also Rises' is Ernest Hemingway’s first novel and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style.
The novel follows a group of young American and British expatriates as they wander through Europe in the mid-1920s, capturing the moods, feelings, and attitudes of the cynical and disillusioned Lost Generation.
The story centers around Jake Barnes, a World War I veteran and journalist, and Lady Brett Ashley, as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain.
The novel portrays an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions, reflecting the existential disillusionment characteristic of the Lost Generation.
#4019
• Mentioned in 12 episodes
A Moveable Feast
Ernest Hemingway
In 'A Moveable Feast', Hemingway recounts his life in Paris during the 1920s, detailing his experiences as a young, unknown writer.
The book is filled with vivid descriptions of the city, its nightlife, and the literary figures he encountered, including James Joyce, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein.
Hemingway reflects on his poverty, his writing, and his personal relationships, all set against the backdrop of Paris's vibrant cultural scene.
The memoir was written during the last years of Hemingway's life and published posthumously in 1964 by his widow, Mary Hemingway.
At the dawn of the twentieth century, a writer emerged who learned his craft not in a classroom, but in battlefields, bullrings, and bars. To some, Ernest Hemingway was the greatest writer of his generation. A Nobel laureate whose sparse, muscular prose changed literature forever. But to others, he was a swaggering egotist, a man addicted to danger and performance, obsessed with his own legend. His own life fuelled his work, just as his work in turn fed his own myth. But behind the mask he forged through his writing lay a man haunted by fear, violence, and the tyranny of bravery.
But why, more than sixty years after his death, does Hemingway remain a symbol of masculinity and modernism? Who were the people whose lives were swept up in the hurricane of his own? And how did the same passions that made Hemingway great also destroy him in the end?
This is a Short History Of Ernest Hemingway.
A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Paul Hendrickson, author, journalist, professor, and the writer of Hemingway’s Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost.
Written by Sean Coleman | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw
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