My First Visit to the Hemingway Museum!

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My First Visit to the Hemingway Museum!

December 12, 2011 by michael wood

I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the Hemingway Museum at the JFK Library last week for the first time. I could have easily spent the entire day looking at all the Hemingway letters, books, photos and art work. A great way to describe what part of the museum up on the 5th floor is like was stated nicely by Hemingway curator, Susan Wrynn, who said to me “it’s a hidden gem” of the area. I spent more than two hours in the beautiful archive room that overlooked the water and nearby UMass Boston.

I did not have a specific focus on this visit other than to get a tour by Hannah who was terrific and then to spend some time to peruse Hemingway’s work and letters. As for the letters (Collection #104), I spent time looking at incoming letters, postcards and newspapers from people like F. Scott Fitzgerald during the Dec 28, 1928 time period and through May 10, 1934. Following that, I spent time looking at letters from Ford Maddox Ford during the 1932-39 time period.

In addition to letters, I found a fantastic 353 page PhD dissertation by Sharon M. ZeBrack titled Ernest Hemingway: A Levinsonian Study of Mental Illness in Middle Adulthood - The CA School of Professional Psychology at Alvaredo (May 2001).

I would highly recommend a visit to this “hidden gem outside Boston – the museum has a knowledgeable staff and more than 90% of the Hemingway letters are housed here. I now even have my own researcher identification card (good for a year) that I will surely be using soon again. Happy Holidays!!

Posted in Hemingway Museum, Hemingway Museum, JFK Library | Tagged F Scott Fitzgerald, Ford Maddox Ford, Hemingway Museum, Sharon ZeBrack, Susan Wrynn | 5 Comments

5 Responses

on December 12, 2011 at 5:12 am | Reply blackwatertown

Mmm – looks lovely. Haven’t been there, but I did do a bit of Hemingway homage in Cuba – visited the hotel room where he wrote some of For Whom The Bell Tolls (my favourite of his) – and had a chat further along the coast with THE old man of the sea.
- on December 12, 2011 at 5:24 am | Reply michael wood
  
  Thanks for the comment – sounds very cool – now – next up for you will have to be a visit to the EH Museum – you will love it – I was actually scheduled to attend the JKK Library – they were talking about Spaniers new book – the Hemingway Letters – but ended up not going last minute
on December 12, 2011 at 5:14 am | Reply Allie Baker

This looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing your photos – I can’t wait to see it for the first time too!

Allie
- on December 12, 2011 at 5:21 am | Reply michael wood
  
  You will love it Allie – give your self plenty of time – next on the bucket list – a visit to the Finca Vigia – as he says with a smile…
on December 12, 2011 at 5:43 am | Reply Nikon

Thanks! I never knew what the Hemingway exhibit looked like.

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Ernest Hemingway

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