In this year when we can’t be together on site at The Community Library, we invite you to connect with us outside of the box through a fully-virtual celebration of Hemingway in Idaho. Join us September 15-17 for a unique insider’s look at the Library’s growing Hemingway collection, Hemingway’s final home, and some off-the-wall stories about the literary giant’s legacy in Idaho. We’ll explore these topics through live online evening presentations and Zoom discussions – which you can access from wherever you are, out in the field!
We’re looking forward to sharing with you exciting developments in our Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History, including our ongoing preservation of the historic Mary and Ernest Hemingway House. While the Hemingway House serves as a private research area and as a residence for visiting writers, we are using this opportunity to share it with you through a new, exclusive, virtual tour of the home.
Our literature for this “out of the box” year is Ray Bradbury’s short story, “The Kilimanjaro Machine,” which imagines a Bradbury-like narrator time traveling from 1965 back to Hemingway’s Ketchum to track down his literary hero before his death. Virtual discussions on the story will be facilitated by our trusted discussion leaders each day, offering different times for all to participate. Additionally, all “attendees” will receive a special “Out of the Box Toolkit” in the mail ahead of the seminar to help you engage in the programs, even if you are far afield from Ketchum!
The registration fee for this virtual seminar is $45, and registration will be limited to 130 participants.
While we are far apart, all navigating this global pandemic in different ways, we look forward to coming together—safely and virtually—to continue our fellowship around Hemingway and his place in Idaho and our literary lives.
Virtual Seminar Schedule
Links for all programs will be shared with registered attendees by September 14.
Tuesday, September 15
“Only in Ketchum: The Library’s Current Hemingway Research” | 6:00-7:15 p.m. (MDT) | Private Online Event
The Community Library literally has been un-boxing hundreds of Hemingway artifacts over the last year, many of which have not been previously accessible to the general public. In this live presentation, you will get an insider’s tour of the Library’s growing Hemingway Collection. First, the current Hemingway in Idaho research fellow, Allison Kittinger, will present her new virtual exhibit, #HemingwayLife: The Man and the Brand, using the Library’s artifacts to explore Hemingway’s celebrity. Then Mary Tyson, director, and Nicole Potter, librarian, from the Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History, will showcase new acquisitions from the David Meeker Collection, a stellar collection of diverse artifacts from the full span of Hemingway’s life – now housed here in Ketchum, Idaho, where Hemingway made his final home. This will be one of the first showings of items from this collection! The presentation will be followed by a live question-and-answer period.
Wednesday, September 16
Short Story Discussion Group | 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (MDT) | Zoom
Led by Dr. Stacey Guill, Boise State University. We are going to lean into the surreal nature of this year and un-box Hemingway through a story by acclaimed fantasy and science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. We will discuss Bradbury’s short story “The Kilimanjaro Machine” which explores Hemingway and Ketchum through time travel. Participants can participate in one or all of the discussion sessions.
Short Story Discussion Group | 4:00-5:00 p.m. (MDT) | Zoom
Led by Rob Wilson, Rowland Hall School in Salt Lake City. We are going to lean into the surreal nature of this year and un-box Hemingway through a story by acclaimed fantasy and science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. We will discuss Bradbury’s short story “The Kilimanjaro Machine” which explores Hemingway and Ketchum through time travel. Participants can participate in one or all of the discussion sessions.
Thursday, September 17
Short Story Discussion Group | 3:00-4:00 p.m. (MDT) | Zoom
Led by Dr. Clyde Moneyhun, Boise State University. We are going to lean into the surreal nature of this year and un-box Hemingway through a story by acclaimed fantasy and science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. We will discuss Bradbury’s short story “The Kilimanjaro Machine” which explores Hemingway and Ketchum through time travel. Participants can participate in one or all of the discussion sessions.
“An Insider’s Visit to the Historic Hemingway House” | 6:00-7:15 p.m. (MDT) | Private Online Event
Hemingway’s final residence, the site of his death, remains a quiet, private home where Library staff members and visiting scholars work on preservation and conduct research. It is a location that we strive to treat with reverence even as we work to amplify the stories that it holds. It also is where we have launched a writer-in-residence program to promote ongoing literary work and creativity. For the first time, we will open the doors to this box of a house through a special virtual tour. The Mary and Ernest Hemingway House is otherwise closed to the public, and this virtual tour promises to provide unique access to the historic home’s big views and small treasures. The tour will be led by Jenny Emery Davidson, the Library’s executive director, and Mary Tyson, director of the Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History. The tour will be followed by a live questions-and-answer period.
