Hemingway's Return to Petoskey

Opinion

On July 21, a statue will be unveiled in Petoskey's Pennsylvania Park to commemorate northern Michigan’s influence on both the writings and personal life of Ernest Hemingway. The date is significant; it would have been Hemingway’s 118th birthday. Widely considered the most influential American author of the 20th century, Hemingway began his writing career in Petoskey, Michigan, in the fall of 1919.

Nearly 60 years after his death, both Hemingway’s name and work are just as prevalent now, if not more so, than at the height of his career. Nevertheless, as a man of a certain era and, lest we not forget, a human with foibles and failures of his own, Hemingway is not without his critics; even the decision to erect this statue in his honor provoked some ire — interesting, I think, given that we now live in a society where celebrity is often built on outrageous or scandalous behavior, not true talent or creative contribution. 

Most often associated with places such as Paris and Key West, Florida, Hemingway first came to northern Michigan when he was barely three months old. The 20+ summers he spent with his family on Walloon Lake provide the content and inspiration for some of his best works, including the “The Nick Adams Stories” collection. And his early exposure to and encouragement from some of the era’s most influential literary figures, several of which summered at the nearby Chautauqua encampment of BayView, proved to be pivotal in his decision to become a writer. 

Hemingway first encountered controversy in 1923 while living in Paris with his first wife, Hadley (Richardson), to whom he was married in Horton Bay, Michigan, in September 1921. He had just written “Up in Michigan” a short story that would be part of the collection, “Three Stories and Ten Poems,” his first published work, printed in 1923. American poet and novelist Gertrude Stein, upon reading the story, which involves a drunken hunter who forces himself upon a waitress, declared it unpublishable, even in the liberal and progressive climate Paris' afforded at the time.

Hemingway, never one to be harnessed, went one step further and used the very real names of close family friends for the main characters. This decision resulted in turmoil on both sides of the pond and a rift within his family that never fully healed.

Despite the lore that still surrounds his personal life, Hemingway in today’s world would be considered relatively boring. His long history of overindulgence with alcohol would hardly register in comparison to the accepted norm of opioid and other addictions amongst today’s celebrity elite. The language throughout his works, considered so provocative during his career, now seems tame in comparison. And with only six (documented) intimate relationships throughout his life, four resulting in marriage, Hemingway most likely would lose his status as a womanizer, thus eliminating the possibility for any of his spouses to appear on the Real Housewives of Cuba. 

Yet despite the drastic changes in our culture, Hemingway still seems to be judged by the standards of the 1950s. Although not thoroughly convinced that our current moral tolerance necessarily represents progression, I think it would be much more fair to judge the man by his contributions, achievements, and true character than by the public persona and hype from decades past.

Let’s back up to World War I. After being rejected by the U.S. Army because of his poor eyesight, Hemingway, undeterred and anxious to do his part, joined the Red Cross as an ambulance driver assigned to the Italian front. Three weeks after his arrival, he received more than 200 wounds to his legs during an Austrian bombing assault. After nearly losing both limbs to infection, he returned home six months later as a decorated war hero at the young age of nineteen, facing years of physical and mental recuperation. 

In the ’30s, Hemingway played a major role in bringing the Spanish Civil War to the world's attention, oftentimes putting himself right in heat of the battle. The 1937 documentary The Spanish Earth, cowritten and narrated by Hemingway, was considered by many the best film made on the Spanish tragedy.  

Serving his country once again in 1945, then as a war correspondent, Hemingway was present for World War II’s invasion at Normandy. His inherent understanding of military tactics and warfare was utilized by allied officers; often credited with helping liberate Paris from the Nazis, he faced tribunals for his alleged overzealous patriotism.

Fishing, a passion of Hemingway’s since his northern Michigan boyhood, inspired his extensive study of the Gulf Stream while he lived in Cuba; the knowledge he gleaned and shared in turned spurred studies that resulted in the reclassification of North Atlantic marlin variations — a system that is still used today. His Gulf fishing adventures also yielded the material for several stories, including the classic The Old Man and The Sea, for which he was awarded both the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes for literature.  

These are the accomplishments and contributions for which we choose to honor Ernest Hemingway  with a statue in his likeness. This incredible addition to our area’s rich and diverse history and culture would not have been possible without the generous contributions and insight from the late Mr. Robert Jensen Dau and family.

Christopher Struble is the president of The Michigan Hemingway Society, a small local business owner, historian, and avid outdoorsman.

 

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