Shows
One True PodcastSuzanne del Gizzo on "The Blind Man's Christmas Eve"Happy holidays from One True Podcast, and it wouldn’t be the holiday season without Suzanne del Gizzo—the celebrated editor of The Hemingway Review—here to discuss another one of Hemingway’s seasonally appropriate works. In previous years, we have talked together about “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen,” “Christmas on the Roof of the World,” “The Christmas Gift,” and “A North of Italy Christmas.” This year, we explore “The Blind Man’s Christmas Eve,” an article Hemingway wrote for The Toronto Star in December 1923.With Suzanne, we place the story in its historical and biographical contexts, delve into the relationship be...2024-12-231h 06One True PodcastSuzanne del Gizzo on "A North of Italy Christmas"‘Tis the season! And it wouldn’t be the holiday season without welcoming Suzanne del Gizzo to discuss a seasonally appropriate Hemingway work. In this episode, we examine “A North of Italy of Christmas,” a raucous article he wrote for the Toronto Daily Star one hundred years ago.Del Gizzo – the celebrated editor of The Hemingway Review -- discusses the absurd humor in the piece, all the mistletoe, old favorite Chink Dorman-Smith, and Hemingway’s early writing style. She unpacks the curious title, offers some unexpected background on the origin of the mistletoe tradition, and places the article in i...2023-12-2548 minOne True PodcastMichael Kim Roos on Rinaldo Rinaldi in A Farewell to ArmsJoin us for a special episode devoted to Lieutenant Rinaldo Rinaldi from A Farewell to Arms!On this episode, scholar Michael Kim Roos (co-author of the essential Reading Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms) explores the many dimensions of this beloved character. We discuss Rinaldi’s role as Frederic Henry’s best friend, his development over the course of the novel, Hemingway’s historical inspiration for this character, and the way Rinaldi, a man of science and sensualism, represents one of the novel’s most important themes. In addition, we cover Rinaldi’s iconic appearance as Nick Adams’s audi...2023-11-061h 01One True PodcastNathaniel Philbrick on Herman MelvilleWe head into the heart of the sea with award-winning historian Nathaniel Philbrick to discuss Hemingway, Melville, and where these American writers share a vision and where they part. Philbrick discusses The Old Man and the Sea and Moby-Dick as American classics that overlap and speak to each other across the years. He also covers the short story "After the Storm" as an essential narrative of Hemingway's vision of the sea. Throughout, Philbrick examines how Hemingway and Melville have become two of American literature's most enduring figures. So join us for this maritime adventure with Nathan...2023-06-1248 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #28 with Kerri MaherKerri Maher, author of The Paris Bookseller, shares her one true sentence from Hemingway's A Moveable Feast.2023-06-0132 minOne True PodcastJames Nagel and Dimitri Villard on Hemingway in Love and WarErnest Hemingway’s Red Cross experience in Italy during World War I was short, but it changed the course of his life and his writing. From being wounding in July 1918 to the abrupt end to his relationship with nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky, Hemingway would revisit those traumas for the rest of his life and write about them for his entire career.This pair of tumultuous experiences led to a fascinating book – Hemingway in Love and War – co-written by Hemingway’s hospital roommate Henry Serrano Villard and scholar James Nagel. This book collects Villard’s Red Cross memoir, Von Kurows...2023-05-2251 minOne True PodcastMackenzie Astin on In Love and WarActor Mackenzie Astin joins us to discuss the 1996 movie In Love and War, the narrative of Hemingway’s wounding in World War I and subsequent romance with nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky. Directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Chris O’Donnell, Sandra Bullock, Emilio Bonucci, as well as Astin, this war epic depicts the upheaval that World War I created in the life of the teenaged Hemingway and others. Astin discusses Attenborough’s benevolent presence on the set, the performance of the stars, Venice at sunrise, and he comments on this eternal narrative of a young man goin...2023-05-2254 minOne True PodcastBarbara Will on Gertrude SteinOne True Podcast continues our exploration of the always complicated world of Hemingway’s volatile “friendships” with an episode devoted to Gertrude Stein. We turn to scholar Barbara Will who discusses the things Miss Stein instructed Hemingway about, both personally and professionally. We cover Stein’s background and education, her depiction in A Moveable Feast, her role in Modernism, her politics during World War I and World War II, the way things ended between her and Hemingway, and some of her greatest writings. Prof. Will also explains how “There’s no there there” is a perfect illustr...2023-05-0148 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #27 with Jay McInerneyJay McInerney, (bestselling author of Bright Lights, Big City, Ransom, How It Ended, and most recently Bright, Precious Days) shares his one true sentence from Hemingway's story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place."2023-04-2037 minOne True PodcastJohn Hemingway on Strange TribeJohn Hemingway - grandson of Ernest and son of Gregory -- shares his remarkable story with us. We explore John's important book, Strange Tribe: A Family Memoir, his revealing and unsparing account of his life as a Hemingway.We cover Ernest's volatile relationship with John's father, a history that includes affection and intimate understanding, but also correspondence filled with recriminations. Our discussion of the Ernest-Gregory relationship leads to an illuminating examination of fathers and sons, gender fluidity, mental health, and much more. John also describes his travels and his own writing, and he recalls the close bond...2023-04-1048 minOne True PodcastRuss Pottle on "Hills Like White Elephants"Is “Hills Like White Elephants” Hemingway’s greatest short story ever, or only his most famous? Bolstering the case for “Hills Like White Elephants” as the G.O.A.T., esteemed scholar Russ Pottle joins us to explain the story’s composition, imagery, historical and biographical contexts, and unforgettable dialogue.Pottle helps us read between the lines in the ways Hemingway characterizes Jig and the American through their dialogue and their silence, and through their actions. We figure out exactly how one can wait “reasonably” for a train, and what Hemingway means by the ambiguous ending when Jig s...2023-03-2059 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #26 with Ilan StavansIlan Stavans, publisher of Restless Books and author of numerous works including Quixote and What is American Literature?, shares his one true sentence from Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.2023-03-0938 minOne True PodcastGioia Diliberto on Hadley RichardsonFor an episode devoted to Hadley Richardson, we are proud to welcome Gioia Diliberto, esteemed writer and author of many books, including Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway’s First Wife. We explore Hadley’s difficult childhood, her time in Paris with Hemingway, the dissolution of their marriage, the loss of Hemingway’s manuscripts, the famous “100-day separation” pact, and the rest of their legendary relationship. Diliberto discusses the revelations of the Sokoloff tapes, Hadley’s recorded reminiscences of Hemingway many decades later. We learn how Hadley felt about A Moveable Feast, Pauline Pfeiffer, and also Hemingw...2023-02-2750 minOne True PodcastMartina Mastandrea on "In Another Country"The great Italian scholar Martina Mastandrea discusses “In Another Country,” one of Hemingway’s finest short stories. After Mastandrea treats us to an Italian rendition of the famous opening paragraph, we explore the many treasures of the story: Why did F. Scott Fitzgerald admire the first sentence of the story so much? Is this a Nick Adams story? What does it tell us about Hemingway's perspective on war? What's the difference between our protagonist and the hunting hawks? Why is the major so insistent on speaking Italian grammatically…. and never marrying? Join us in our discussion...2023-02-0657 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #25 with Naomi WoodNaomi Wood, author of Mrs. Hemingway, shares her one true sentence from a letter Hemingway wrote to friends Gerald and Sara Murphy after the death of their son, Baoth, in 1935. 2023-01-2633 minOne True PodcastJames M. Hutchisson on Hemingway in 1923Happy New Year from One True Podcast! We usher in 2023 with our new year's tradition of wondering what Ernest Hemingway was doing one hundred years ago. In 1923, what was Hemingway writing? Where did he live? Who were his friends and enemies? How was his marriage going? And what was on the horizon? To answer these questions, we turn to his biographer, James M. Hutchisson, emeritus professor at The Citadel and author of Ernest Hemingway: A New Life. Hutchisson describes Hemingway’s trajectory during this year of transition, a young man recuperating from trauma and loss to a stri...2023-01-1648 minOne True PodcastSuzanne del Gizzo on "The Christmas Gift"We welcome back Suzanne del Gizzo to ring in the season with a discussion of “The Christmas Gift,” Hemingway’s account of his 1954 plane crashes in East Africa. Del Gizzo, editor of The Hemingway Review and widely published scholar, guides us through this extraordinary piece originally written for Look magazine, its role in Hemingway’s self-mythologizing, its examination of his near-death experience, its representation of Mary, and how the article both reveals and obscures what actually happened. It has been a triumphant 2022 for One True Podcast, so we hope you’ll enjoy unwrapping this gift of an episo...2022-12-2359 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #24 with Michael MewshawMichael Mewshaw, author of numerous novels and nonfiction works (including Year of the Gun, The Lost Prince, and the forthcoming My Man in Antibes: Getting to Know Graham Greene) shares his one true sentence from Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms.2022-12-1531 minOne True PodcastJackson Bryer on the Hemingway CodeWe are joined by legendary scholar Jackson Bryer, who explains the origins and implications of a notorious concept: the Hemingway code. When the code was introduced in the 1950s by influential scholar Philip Young, what did he intend it to mean? What is a "code hero"? What is a "Hemingway hero"? What did Hemingway mean by “grace under pressure”? Bryer helps us explore the impact and legacy of the code, its relevance today and its limitations, ultimately suggesting how it might enrich our experience of reading Hemingway’s work. We discuss numerous examples from Hemingway's works t...2022-12-0554 minOne True PodcastDon Daiker on The Nick Adams StoriesWe welcome prolific scholar Don Daiker to help us celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Nick Adams Stories. We discuss the volume’s impact and legacy, Philip Young’s controversial editorial decisions, the sequencing, and the characterization of Nick himself, in all of his various phases. Which stories does Daiker consider underrated? Is Dr. Adams unjustly criticized as cold and unloving? What is the role of “The Last Good Country,” the longest story in the volume? Is “Big Two-Hearted River” ultimately affirmative or tragic? We tackle these issues and much, much more as we examin...2022-11-1459 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #23 with Joshua FerrisJoshua Ferris, winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for his novel Then We Came to the End, joins us to discuss his one true sentence from The Sun Also Rises.2022-11-0329 minOne True PodcastHariclea Zengos on "On the Quai at Smyrna"One hundred years ago, in September 1922, Turkish forces torched the port city of Smyrna in a hellish episode towards the end of the Greco-Turkish War. The ensuing evacuation, with its chaos and grisly violence, inspired Hemingway’s journalism as well as his short fiction. Hemingway’s most enduring effort to capture this atrocity is "On the Quai at Smyrna," which would become the first story in his collection In Our Time. This masterpiece of irony with its memorable narrative voice has intrigued readers, even as its historical basis has been less discussed, especially by American readers. T...2022-10-2452 minOne True PodcastKirk Curnutt on "After the Storm"We are asking the entire One True Podcast community to contribute to the Hurricane Ian relief effort. Our production studios are in Fort Myers, Florida, which took the brunt of the storm, so we want to do anything we can to lend a hand. This episode honors the recovery effort by urging our listeners to go to www.communitycooperative.com and give generously to provide direct help to those who suffered from the hurricane. Fittingly, we will devote this One True Fundraiser to a lively discussion of Hemingway’s hardboiled short story, “After the Storm,” set in the af...2022-10-1958 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #22 with Kawai Strong WashburnKawai Strong Washburn, winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for his novel Sharks in the Time of Saviors, joins us to discuss his one true sentence from "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place."2022-09-1827 minOne True PodcastTimothy Christian on Mary Welsh HemingwayTimothy Christian, author of Hemingway's Widow: The Life and Legacy of Mary Welsh Hemingway, joins us for a conversation about Hemingway's fourth and final wife. Our wide-ranging interview covers Mary's life before, during, and after Hemingway. We explore Mary's family, her early life and education, including her impressive career as a journalist. We cover her first encounter with Hemingway in London during World War II, the development of their sometimes-volatile relationship, and her crucial role in shaping Hemingway's legacy and her own. Christian expertly guides us through the true history behind the story of Hemingway's widow.2022-09-1252 minOne True PodcastThomas Neil Knowles and Erika Robuck on the 1935 Labor Day HurricaneOne True Podcast examines the deadly category 5 hurricane that ravaged the Florida Keys over Labor Day weekend in 1935, both from a historical perspective and a fictional treatment. We first hear from historian Thomas Neil Knowles, author of Category 5: The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, who describes the deadly weather system, its devastating toll on the veterans stationed along the Keys, the bureaucratic inefficiencies, and its legacy. Next, we are joined by Erika Robuck, award-winning author of Hemingway’s Girl, which uses the 1935 hurricane as a historical touchstone. She discusses her approach to fictionalizing Hemingway, how she researched th...2022-08-221h 04One True PodcastOne True Sentence #21 with Billy CollinsBilly Collins, the author of numerous collections of poetry and the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003 , shares his one true sentence from "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place."2022-08-1149 minOne True PodcastJohn Sutton and Chris Warren on Hemingway's RockiesIn this live interview from the 19th Biennial Hemingway Society Conference in Sheridan, Wyoming, we talk with John Sutton and Chris Warren about Hemingway's summers spent in Wyoming and Montana and how his experiences in the American West left their mark on his stories and novels.John Sutton is the director of the NEH “Creating Humanities Communities along Wyoming's Hemingway Highway” Grant project. Chris Warren is the author of Ernest Hemingway in the Yellowstone High Country.During this interview, we explore the lack of critical attention on Hemingway's time in this part of the U.S...2022-08-0148 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #20 with Craig JohnsonCraig Johnson, author of the widely celebrated Longmire series, shares his one true sentence from "The Snows of Kilimanjaro."2022-07-2022 minOne True PodcastDarla Worden on Hemingway's WyomingIn the lead-up to the Hemingway Society conference in Wyoming and Montana, we welcome Darla Worden to explore some fascinating connections between Hemingway and the American West.Worden is the author of the book Cockeyed Happy: Ernest Hemingway's Wyoming Summers with Pauline. She's also the founder and director of the Left Bank Writers Retreat in Paris and the Wyoming Writers Retreat. Although we may not associate Hemingway with the American West, Worden describes the importance of Hemingway's summers in Wyoming in the late 20s and 30s, his writing of A Farewell to Arms, his time...2022-07-1149 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #19 with Jennifer HaighJennifer Haigh, author of Mrs. Kimble and Mercy Street, joins us to talk about her one true sentence from the short story "Mr. and Mrs. Elliot."2022-06-3024 minOne True PodcastTom Jenks on Editing The Garden of EdenIn 1986, twenty-five years after Hemingway’s death, Scribner’s published a coherent portion of his sprawling manuscript called The Garden of Eden. This publication changed the way we view Hemingway’s engagement with gender and sexuality, and remains his most daring novel ever. In order to make that novel publishable, Scribner’s called on a gentleman named Tom Jenks to do the editing. Jenks hauled the manuscript home on the New York City subway in shopping bags and began his work, which was one of the most high-profile editorial jobs in the history of American literature. Jenks...2022-06-2054 minOne True PodcastMark I. Lurie on Lewis Galantière and Rufus Hickok on Guy HickokToday’s episode investigates two largely forgotten figures from Hemingway’s past: Lewis Galantière and Guy Hickok. Galantière was a critic who befriended Hemingway in the early Paris years, and they maintained a friendship and correspondence for many years. Hickok was Hemingway’s journalist buddy who accompanied him through Italy for the notorious March 1927 trip that spawned “Che Ti Dice La Patria?” To discuss these men and their respective relationships to Hemingway, we welcome their descendants and chroniclers: Mark I. Lurie, author of Galantière: The Lost Generation’s Forgotten Man, and Rufus Hickok, author of The Paris Bur...2022-05-301h 02One True PodcastOne True Sentence #18 with David FrumDavid Frum, staff writer at The Atlantic, author of numerous books including Trumpocracy and Trumpocalypse, and speechwriter for President George W. Bush, joins us to talk about his one true sentence from A Farewell to Arms.2022-05-1926 minOne True PodcastAndrew Feldman on Revolutionary CubaAndrew Feldman joins us to talk about his book Ernesto: The Untold Story of Hemingway in Revolutionary Cuba. What did Cuba mean to Papa and what has Papa meant to Cuba? To explore the place where Hemingway spent much of his adult life and Ernest became Ernesto, we discuss Hemingway's relationship to the Cuban people, his engagement with Cuban politics, and some of his greatest works, including The Old Man and the Sea and A Moveable Feast. Feldman gives One True Podcast a debrief on his extraordinary two-year research trip to Havana and its environs, wh...2022-05-0950 minOne True PodcastJ. Gerald Kennedy on In Our TimeHemingway’s first book of short stories, In Our Time, is the most experimental work of his career and his most challenging. It is also an early masterpiece, with brutal, opaque stories like “Indian Camp,” “The Battler,” and "Soldier's Home." For this episode, we are joined by J. Gerald Kennedy, editor of the new Norton Critical Edition of In Our Time, to discuss the emergence of the Hemingway style, the book as a narrative sequence, its composition, its legacy, and even the discarded fragment of metafiction called “On Writing.” From classics like “Big Two-Hearted River” to less-discussed s...2022-04-181h 00One True PodcastOne True Sentence #17 with Michael KatakisMichael Katakis, photographer and author of A Thousand Shards of Glass, Ernest Hemingway: Artifacts from a Life, and Dangerous Men, joins us to talk about his one true sentence from the short story "Indian Camp."2022-04-0722 minOne True PodcastRuth A. Hawkins on Pauline PfeifferThe pride of Arkansas, Ruth A. Hawkins, joins the show for an illuminating episode on Hemingway’s second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer.Hawkins draws from her definitive book Unbelievable Happiness and Final Sorrow to discuss Pfeiffer’s family and upbringing, her controversial friendship with Hadley, her marriage to Ernest, her motherhood, the mysterious details of her death, and her legacy. Although the Hemingway-Pfeiffer marriage is often ignored or even maligned, new dimensions to their relationship emerge through our conversation as Hawkins traces their history together, both the happiness and sorrow. 2022-03-2856 minOne True PodcastMichael Thurston on Bill Gorton in The Sun Also RisesJoin us for a conversation about one of Hemingway's most beloved secondary characters: the hard-drinking, fun-loving, quick-witted writer, fly fisher, and amateur taxidermist, Bill Gorton from The Sun Also Rises.Michael Thurston, editor of the new Norton Critical Edition of The Sun Also Rises, guides us through Bill's friendship with Jake, explores the historical people who inspired his creation, analyzes Bill's role in the novel, and also pins down some of his more arcane allusions.This episode is a simple exchange of values: give it a listen and be treated to a lively discussion of...2022-03-0756 minOne True PodcastOne True Sentence #16 with Brian TurnerBrian Turner, author of Here, Bullet and My Life as a Foreign Country, joins us to talk about his one true sentence from The Old Man and the Sea.2022-02-2427 min