The 2015 Hemingway Festival focuses on the theme “Hemingway at the Edges,” exploring the many ways in which Hemingway pushed boundaries – in the wild places he visited, in the writing style he crafted, and in the political realms and conflict zones he investigated. The Festival includes a dynamic range of scholarly presentations, group discussions of Hemingway’s work, and guided visits to local Hemingway sites.
The keynote speaker for the 2015 Festival is Amanda Vaill, author of the 2014 book Hotel Florida: Truth, Love and Death in the Spanish Civil War. The book chronicles Hemingway’s months in Madrid as the civil war erupted in 1936. Hemingway later recalled, “You could learn as much at the Hotel Florida in those years as you could learn anywhere in the world.” Vaill’s lecture for the Hemingway Festival is entitled, “Hem Agonistes: Hemingway’s Great ‘37-‘38 Epoch, What It Cost Him, What It Gave Him.” She will discuss how the Spanish Civil War tested and changed Hemingway, how he engaged in journalistic and propaganda work, how his relationship with Martha Gellhorn developed, and more.
In addition, Nancy Sindelar, author of Influencing Hemingway: The People and Places That Shaped His Life and Work, will give a presentation on the adventures – and reasons behind them – that took Hemingway to the extreme edges of the world. Professors from Boise State University will present a panel discussion of Hemingway’s writing, and BSU graduate students will perpetuate Hemingway’s creative spirit by reading from original work.
On Saturday morning, session on “Hemingway at Idaho” will take place at The Community Library. The presentation will focus on how Hemingway participated in the local culture of the remote outpost of Sun Valley in the mid-20th century.
The Festival also will provide fun opportunities for Hemingway enthusiasts to explore the town and Hemingway haunts, including a luncheon and tour at the Library’s Sun Valley Museum of History, a historic walking tour of Ketchum, and a gala dinner in Hemingway style at the Sawtooth Club.
Dates: Thursday-Saturday, September 10-12, 2015
Location: The Community Library, 415 Spruce Avenue North, Ketchum, ID
Fee: $60
Registration: www.comlib.org/hemingwayfestival
Call (208) 726-3493 x 123 and speak to Anna for more information.
SPECIAL THANKS: We would like to thank the Wattis-Dumke Foundation, the Idaho Humanities Council, the City of Ketchum, Boise State University, Cox Communications, and Idaho Independent Bank for supporting the 2015 Ernest Hemingway Festival.
