Traverse City Record-Eagle

Life

July 27, 2007

Hemingway should serve as inspiration

Five years after California launched its statewide reading program with Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," Michigan is jumping on the literacy bandwagon with its own initiative honoring its own "" well, sort of "" native son.

Earlier this month the Michigan Humanities Council selected Ernest Hemingway's "The Nick Adams Stories" for its first year-long The Great Michigan Read. The idea, according to the council's Janice Fedewa, is for people to become engaged in reading and community programs through a classic piece of literature, made in Michigan, from an American icon.

Already more than 100 communities have signed on to participate, from book clubs to entire school districts. And partners the MHC, Central Michigan University's Clarke Historical Library, which houses a large Hemingway collection, and the Michigan Hemingway Society are collaborating to produce a 30-minute documentary on Hemingway in northern Michigan, where the famous author summered with his family for several years.

I don't much care for Hemingway "" the man or his fiction "" but I think as a Great Michigan Read, he's an inspired choice. The controversial and often troubled author of works like "A Farewell to Arms," "The Sun Also Rises" and "The Old Man and the Sea" should make for some spirited discussions on several levels.

For instance, there's Hemingway, the world-weary writer; Hemingway, the macho man "" what was up with all that boxing, bullfighting and big-game hunting, anyway? "" and Hemingway, the adventurous foodie. In fact, book clubs that like to tie their refreshments to a book's theme could sample some of the food and drink he enjoyed, say, daiquiris and peanut butter and onion sandwiches, purportedly one of his favorite lunchtime meals. Or how about a menu inspired by his world travels, from Italy during World War I to Paris and Spain in the 1920s, the Caribbean in the 1930s and 1940s, and East Africa in the 1950s (although assembling the ingredients for Fillet of Lion and Eland Piccata could be a bit tricky).

Some groups even like to tour a book's settings, which could spell added tourism for northern Michigan. Those of us who live here may already be familiar with Hemingway haunts like the Horton Bay General Store, which he frequented as a boy and a young man, and Petoskey's City Park Grill, where he reportedly enjoyed playing billiards. But surely Horton Bay, Walloon Lake, Petoskey and Harbor Springs could benefit from rolling out the red carpet for Michiganians who have never been north of Grand Rapids.

If nothing else, the project should serve as the catalyst for readers to discuss their own Michigan experiences "" even if those experiences never inspire a great novel.

Reach staff writer Marta Hepler Drahos at mdrahos@record-eagle.com.

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