In May of 2011, I went to Oak Park, IL and saw the Hemingway Museum and Hemingway's birth home. It was someplace I've wanted to see for a while now, and it was a rewarding experience. I knew that I lived fairly close, yet I never managed to convince myself I had to see his home, until of course, I knew I was leaving the state and the notion of returning was slim to none.
Also, I studied Hemingway extensively in grad school, and not only am I intrigued by his writing, but by him as a person and his life. I only had one morning to make the trip, so I tried to use my time wisely and make the most of it. I enjoyed my trip tremendously and thought this would be a great outlet to share my experience with you.
While I wrote a bit about my trip at http://acoolwritersjourney.blogspot.com/ , this blog is an extension of that post so that I could include most of the photos I took. I'll also post occasionally about Hemingway's books and his writing, so I welcome you to post your own thoughts, experiences, and join in on the conversations as you see fit!
Enjoy!
P.S.
This will be a work in progress for a while, as I decide how to place the photos and try to utilize the blog to the best of its abilities, so keep checking back!
I grew up in Oak Park, IL and went to the same hight school as Ernest Hemingway, but years later. The story around school was that he had flunked English when in high school. I didn't know he'd been a journalist in Kansas. Another coincidence since I've lived in Kansas since 1975! The building where the museum is located looks so familiar but I can't identify it.
ReplyDeletewww.writergrannysworld.blogspot.com
Isn't Oak Park such a pretty town? I loved my visit there. I had to make a correction; it was the KC Star he was a journalist for, but not for too long; it was before he joined the Red Cross in Italy for WWI.
ReplyDeleteInteresting note about flunking English. Who knows what is really true, but I have heard stories that he fabricated or exaggerated his injuries during the war too.