The Library’s writer-in-residence, Michael D. Wilson, will present on “Hemingway’s Coda: The Mythology of his Language.”
Wilson’s research on Hemingway’s language originated as the thesis for his Master of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Chicago in 2012. In his paper, Wilson examines the issue of hyphen use in Hemingway’s prose, motivated from a close examination of the text in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Wilson’s work on the “Hemingway Hyphen” explores how tempo is a product of hyphen use, how Hemingway’s vivid writing is a product of this use, and he positions representations of language alongside the effects of music, improvisational jazz, and the idea of perfect pitch amongst poets, painters, and presenters.
In this presentation, Wilson will discuss his observations and these concepts, and will explain the algorithm he developed to search and sift Hemingway’s language, as well as how this algorithm can be used today to explore literary innovation.
Michael D. Wilson did his PhD coursework in engineering at Purdue University, his Master’s degree at the University of Chicago, and undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. A Clinical Professor of the Practice, Wilson is the Faculty Director for Innovators for the Americas and Entrepreneurship for the Miami Herbert Business School. Prior to academe, Michael founded several startup companies and consulted with Fortune 500 companies and global brands. He also founded a large Internet Service Provider (ISP) backbone serving greater New England both connectivity and complex web development projects for thousands of business-to-business customers. Currently, Michael runs research from his Yuiwe Lab focusing on Entrepreneurship Education and is a managing partner at Equapath.com
