hemingway again

[Tim Strzechowski]

> So I'm watching the Biography bit on Hemingway (it's available through
> netflix) and it mentions the suitcase that Hadley lost...  I seem to
> remember someone mentioning that some of his writings had been found
> at some point, I could be wrong...  but Biography (for non-US
> residents, it's some kind of show that tells, well, a biography of
> famous-type people, I forget which channel it's shown on though) says
> that the suitcase and all of his writing up til that point was
> "forever lost".  Was this suitcase ever found?  I don't know what year
> this film was made, possibly it was, after this film was made...
> curious if anyone knows.

According to the Carlos Baker biography _Hemingway: A Life Story_ (published 
in 1969) and Kenneth S. Lynn's critical biography _Hemingway_ (published in 
1987), the briefcase was indeed lost forever.

However, in the early Ninties I recall a "long-lost" short story of his 
being published -- something about a train ride thru the European 
countryside -- although I don't know if it was part of the famous briefcase 
that Hadley lost.

By the way, the whole issue of losing a manuscript and having to rewrite the 
thing over again -- which Hemingway simmered over ever since -- was finally 
worked into his fiction in _The Garden of Eden_, by far the best of Hem's 
posthumous works.


>
> I've known about his early life before this, but I'll say again if I
> haven't said it here before... interesting that the man who has become
> known through history to be the epitome of masculinity was originally
> dressed as a girl,

The Lynn biography goes into great detail and psychoanalytical speculation 
on this point, which pisses off Hemingway devotees something awful!

> was poor at sports,

He was actually a decent boxer and fisherman.