May 30, 2025 • 29 mins
Why should we care about Ernest Hemingway's time in Key West?
What did this great American novelist REALLY do and accomplish during his brief residency on the island from 1931 to 1939?
My dog and I spend a week on the island to answer these - and more - questions ...
Works Cited:
Great, concise book about Hemingway's time in Key West:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104236.Hemingway_s_Key_West
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/guide-hemingways-paris-180950079/
https://www.hemingwayhome.com/his-life
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/july-21/ernest-hemingway-is-born
https://www.ernesthemingwaycollection.com/about-hemingway/ernest-hemingway-in-paris
https://sloppyjoes.com/history/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hemingway-s-last-penny
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=223742
https://www.hemingwayhome.com/our-cats
https://fla-keys.com/keysvoices/hemingway-days-celebrates-legendary-writers-key-west-life/
https://www.clappisonvet.com/resources/blog/september-2017/the-many-cats-of-ernest-hemingway
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We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to every listener of Backroad Odyssey.
Your support fuels our passion and inspires us to keep sharing stories and discover overlooked locations.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey there, welcome to the Van.
We're recording now inNantahala National Forest in
western North Carolina, far awayand much different than our
topic today, hemingway's KeyWest, a town that in so many
ways seems to be a product ofthe author's presence there some
80 years ago.
(00:22):
Today we find out.
Why Is this claiming ofHemingway by Key West deserved?
What did this great Americannovelist really do and
accomplish during his briefstint in Key West from 1931 to
1939?
Most importantly, why is thisworth looking into?
(00:43):
We answer all of this and morein this week's episode of
Backroad Odyssey.
Safe travels, losing down thestreet.
I wonder where this road wouldlead.
So many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh, noodle Dolls, what do yousee?
(01:08):
Back road odyssey.
Tipsy conversations meld withthe gentle movement of the
Atlantic.
Duval Street illuminates,nearby trees, waking, roosting,
roosters.
It's a Tuesday and just anothernight.
(01:29):
In Key West.
The name Hemingway has becomesynonymous with influential
literary icons of the 20thcentury.
At the same time, hemingway theman, his life, has been
(01:51):
condensed into a kind ofsimplified caricature.
A mustached fighter, a lover ofdrink, a writer, To be fair,
yeah, he was all of these things, but the complete story of
anyone's life, of anything,deserves a closer look.
In reality, hemingway is morecomplex.
His sensitive observations ofhuman nature are confusingly
(02:16):
contradicted by his macho,hard-drinking, fighting
reputation.
And nowhere is thiscontradiction more evident than
during Hemingway's Key Westperiod.
His time in Key West and thelegacy he's left behind is as
layered as the old papa himself.
(02:39):
We're driving currently downRoute 1 to Key West, really one
of my favorite drives in theentire country.
The road connects a series ofislands south of Miami down to
where the road stops, in thesouthernmost island, in the town
of Key West.
The water as you drive acrossis a calm turquoise blue.
(03:00):
For hours you pass peoplefishing off bridges, on beaches,
off boats.
It's a fast, it's an easy, it'sa beautiful drive, but it
wasn't always this way.
Before the highway, the massesof fishermen, the flux of
tourism, it was just a sparselypopulated series of islands, the
(03:24):
southernmost of which, wherewe're going now, happened to
attract one of America's mosttalked about and celebrated
writers, ernest Hemingway.
In the next few days we'll goto his house, we'll visit the
places he would frequent, we'lltell stories of the years that
he spent there, but first, asalways, we need context.
(03:44):
Who was Hemingway before he wascalled by the humidity, the
blue waters and the active, veryactive bars of Key West.
And what about Key West?
Back then, a glorified tropicalbackwater deeply impacted by
(04:07):
the recent depression, spoke tothis person at this time.
Born July 21st 1899, the secondof six children, hemingway
showed an early prowess forprose as a reporter for the
Kansas City Star in Missouri,right after high school.
(04:28):
But the quiet Midwestern townof his birth, oak Park, illinois
, would be far from what hewould go on to experience later
in life.
As war rages across Europe,hemingway first displays what
will become a lifelongpropensity for the zealous life.
His life from here onwards,whatever its path, would be an
(04:53):
eventful one.
And after being denied entryinto the US Army due to poor
eyesight, ernest volunteers asan ambulance driver for the Red
Cross.
He then is seriously wounded bymortar fire.
But his experiences during thewar would shape his worldview,
(05:14):
consequently would shape hiswriting style and serve as the
foundation for his novel AFarewell to Arms.
And here's an important thing toremember about Hemingway
Hemingway, throughout his life,wrote what he knew, wrote what
(05:36):
he experienced.
Okay, we stopped about a halfhour down to get a food truck,
taco and a key lime pie.
Went in Rome.
But I wanted to record in thecar after we did this, because
stopping here reminded me of aHemingway quote that's always
(05:57):
stayed with me.
Quote in order to write aboutlife, you first must live it.
Life, you first must live it.
I could have driven all the wayto Key West and guessed how
life-changing this taco key limecombination would be, but I can
tell you now, because I'vetried it it is life-changing.
(06:17):
The tacos, the taco Jalisco,are fantastic.
The key lime pie, a keyschocolate and ice cream are
life-changing.
And the point is this the seedsof Hemingway's writing are
important to understand.
He lived then.
(06:39):
He wrote about living Whereverhe found himself.
Hemingway returns to the Midwest, marries his first wife, hadley
Richardson, and accepts a jobas a European correspondent for
the Toronto Daily Star.
This marks the beginning of thecouple's extended stay in Paris
.
Well, in the city, hemingwaymeets fellow expatriate artists,
(07:02):
including Ezra Pond, jamesJoyce and a certain Gertrude
Stein.
He also hones his writing anduses experiences and people in
the city as inspiration for hisnovels.
The Sun Also Rises is publishedin 1926, a novel heavily
influenced by people and eventsaround him at that time in Paris
(07:25):
.
Remember this for Hemingway inorder to write about life, you
need to live it first.
The good and the bad and thebad does come.
Hemingway and Hadley divorceafter an affair by Hemingway
with an American fashionreporter living in the city at
(07:45):
the same time.
This hazel-eyed fashionista'sname was Pauline Pfeiffer and
her and Hemingway would marryshortly after the divorce.
One month after, hemingway andPauline, now heavily pregnant,
want to have their child in theUnited States and they also want
(08:06):
a change of scenery.
Paris had soured somewhat forHemingway after the divorce, but
the city and the stories thathe found there would travel with
him as he and Pauline sailedwest.
As he and Pauline sailed west.
(08:29):
Roosters, sun and frozencocktails that's Key West.
At least, this is theperception a lot of people have
about the island.
We've been here for two daysand, yeah, that's a fair enough
generalization.
But the more you walk around,explore the history, meet the
people here, take in the heat ofthe sun, look at the calm water
(08:51):
, the more you begin to realizewhy this place resonated with
Hemingway.
Walking around, I've beenthinking a lot about Key West
and Paris, two dramaticallydifferent atmospheres, cultures.
What have you?
But both places called toHemingway in some way and I
(09:14):
started to ask myself what thatwas.
Why did both places call toHemingway?
And an answer came to me BothParis and Key West, for all
their differences, were bothplaces where Hemingway could
meet and connect withinteresting people.
(09:34):
Paris, with the lost generation,you know, james Joyce, gertrude
and Key West, particularly backthen, had a gathering of
interesting people livingeventful if unconventional lives
at the edge of America.
And it also was easy to getliquor in both places.
(09:54):
It was prohibition back then.
So I'm sure Hemingway, whofamously liked such activities,
became reason enough to stay.
Hemingway says, quote if you'relucky enough to have lived in
(10:15):
Paris as a young man, thenwherever you go for the rest of
your life it stays with you, forParis is a movable feast, end
quote.
So just like his writingcaptures people and captures
moments, hemingway paysparticular attention in his own
life to people and experiencesthat he admires.
(10:38):
The war informed his decisionsin Paris and Paris, funnily
enough, would influence where hewould go to next.
It was his Paris friend, johnDos Passos, that first suggested
Key West to Hemingway.
And it's moments like thiswhere we see the sensitive,
(10:59):
adhering side of Hemingway'scharacter kind of peek through
the rough, macho exterior.
He values John's advice, hisfriend's advice, and he and
Pauline arrive in Key West inthe spring of 1928.
(11:20):
Key West is known for itsnightlife.
I'm walking down Duval StreetCurrently, by all intents and
purposes is kind of the mainstreet.
Music's playing, people aredrinking, it's crowded.
Definitely lives up to itsreputation.
But what was it like whenErnest and Pauline first set
foot on the island in 1928?
(11:41):
Excuse me, not like this.
Key West in 1928 is a blend ofpoverty, commercial fishing and
trickles of tourism that at thispoint are still relatively
untouched by the larger Floridatourism boom.
(12:03):
Many in the area supplementtheir income with rum running
and well running illegal bars.
Fine, with Hemingway, I'm sureso.
Suffice to say the perfectcocktail of interesting
personalities with stories totell lie waiting for Hemingway's
perceptive pen, for Hemingway'sperceptive pen.
(12:25):
Charles Thompson, the owner ofa local shop, introduces
Hemingway to big game fishing, ahobby he would be wildly
passionate about for theremainder of his life.
Joe Russell, later known asSloppy Joe, would go on to start
his first legal bar of the samename.
Notice, I said legal, firstlegal bar of the same name after
(12:48):
the repeal of Prohibition in1933.
This would serve as Hemingway'sfavorite late night spot for a
stiff drink and someconversation, and it's Sloppy
Joe's that would provide afuture fountain outside the
Hemingway house that's stillthere today.
A urinal from the sloppy Joe'sbathroom, taken from the bar by
(13:10):
Hemingway himself, captain EddieBraugh Saunders, would
cultivate Hemingway's interestin boating and trophy fishing
even further.
So in time this eclectic group,along with some Paris friends,
would be known by locals as theMob.
Everyone in the Mob had anickname Hemingway's was Papa, a
(13:35):
moniker that would stick withhim throughout his later time in
Cuba and beyond.
Hemingway quickly learns toappreciate the eccentricities of
Key West in a way that might beconsidered less formal than his
Paris years.
Three days into our time in KeyWest Today, we walked virtually
(14:01):
the entire southern flank ofthe island.
We're back in the van now.
It was a little too hot, buthere's a thought I had in the
hours we'd been walking this isa small island it really is,
especially back then, withoutthe influx of tourists and day
drinkers.
(14:21):
Back then you're going to runinto people and day drinkers
Back then you're going to runinto people.
And so for Hemingway,particularly if you're going to
stay in Key West for the longterm, he had to have felt some
kind of connection with thepeople that were here, with the
culture of Key West.
Why else would he have stayedBetween nights of debauchery
(14:45):
with Hemingway's new friends andPauline accepting the bulk of
the work as a parent?
The couple buys a house in KeyWest on Whitehead Street.
More accurately put, actually,pauline's wealthy uncle, gus,
buys the couple a home in 1931.
Regardless of who bought thehouse, the two-story Spanish
(15:08):
colonial house is built in 1851,and when they buy it, when they
arrive, it needs work, but it'sa task that's readily taken on
by Pauline and by Hemingway.
European antiques from theirtime in Paris are brought into
the house.
The unique basement is repaired.
Trophy skins and mounts fromearnest.
(15:31):
Various African safaris andhunting expeditions are placed
all around the walls of thehouse, much to the displeasure
of Pauline, I'd imagine.
Finally, and importantly, awriting studio is set up in the
back.
In time, and with effort, thehouse is restored and Key West
(15:54):
becomes the official home of theHemingways.
I just toured the HemingwayHouse, nestled between Duval
Street and the Lighthouse.
I have some thoughts andstories, but let's start with
the best and most relevant pieceof information that I can share
with you.
The Hemingway House is home tonearly 60 polydactyl cats,
(16:22):
that's 60 six-toed cats or catswith the gene to produce other
six-toed cats.
It's an understatement to saythere's just a lot of cats,
because there is a plethora ofcats here.
They're resting on beds, chairs, benches, walking through the
yard.
It's awesome.
But the story for thesesix-toed Hemingway cats is even
(16:45):
better.
Get this Every cat you see inand around the house is
descended from one six-toed catgiven to Hemingway by a boat
captain whose name was SnowWhite.
So when Hemingway was herearound the house, he would name
(17:08):
and take care of all of thesedifferent cats that showed up.
He'd give each one of themnames, including I've got it
right here including UncleWolfer, princess Six Toes.
Clark Gable Just keeps going.
He loved cats and here's why Ibring up this story, here's why
I'm telling you this, because Ithink it's important.
(17:31):
Over and over again, we see thiscontradiction in Hemingway A
macho man but a cat lover, aheavy drinker but an early riser
, a passionate lover, a serialwomanizer.
In so many ways this placereflects this contradiction too
His house, with trophies of deadanimals on the walls and
(17:55):
well-taken-care-of named catsrunning around the Key West area
itself, with its binge drinkingand calm waters, its mellow
sunsets.
Maybe it's these similarities,this kinship with Key West, that
distract from hisoften-overlooked writing Well on
(18:18):
the island, from his oftenoverlooked writing Well on the
island.
Three weeks after arriving,hemingway finishes his
semi-autobiographical novel, aFarewell to Arms, and he quickly
settles into a routine on theisland.
First he would rise aroundsunrise, remarkable, after what
I'm sure was a late night ofheavy drinking.
His afternoons are spentfishing around the quays, the
(18:41):
dry tortugas around the area, onhis boat Pilar, bought once
again by Pauline's wealthy uncleGus Must be nice.
And evenings, of course, werefor drinking and talking with
friends, usually at his favoritebar, sloppy Joe's.
Finally, occasionally or often,boxing matches would be set up
(19:05):
and bets would be placed.
That's the Key West routine.
But Key West is more often thannot associated with Hemingway's
drinking, fighting and fishing.
With Hemingway's drinking,fighting and fishing, not his
writing, despite the fact thathe writes and or finishes A
Farewell to Arms For Whom theBell Tolls Death in the
(19:27):
Afternoon, the Snows ofKilimanjaro, to have and To have
Not, and more short stories onthe island.
But it's this fighting, macho,drinking reputation, this
singular reputation that enduresin the bars and tipsy night
culture of modern day Key West.
(19:48):
I just left Sloppy Joe's.
It's the moved location of theoriginal Sloppy Joe's, which is
across the street, but it waspacked.
I wanted to record inside, butthere was just no way.
So here we are, across thestreet, but it was packed.
I wanted to record inside, butthere was just no way.
So here we are across thestreet.
I don't know what else to sayother than I can't imagine this
is the same atmosphere thatHemingway used to spend his
(20:10):
nights at the crowds, themerchandise, the expensive
drinks.
To me, sloppy Joe's, this bar,a lot of Duval Street, is a
tribute to Hemingway the fighter, hemingway the drinker, not
Hemingway the writer.
It doesn't represent the softerside of him that we know was
(20:32):
there in some ways at some times, hidden, deeply hidden.
But there Hemingway meets fellowauthor Martha Gellhorn inside
Sloppy Joe's One Night in 1936.
One year later they agree totravel together and cover the
(20:56):
Spanish Civil War.
The predictable affair thatfollows chips away at
Hemingway's marriage withPauline and signals the
beginning of the end of his timein Key West.
Additionally, hemingway'sreputation in that close-knit,
tight community would nevercompletely recover after the
(21:20):
affair.
Pauline was rightfully so.
Equally important in thecommunity and revered around the
island In 1940, they divorce,pauline gets the house it was
hers to begin with and Hemingwaywould go on to marry not one
but two more times.
He would live primarily inHavana, cuba, create
(21:45):
intelligence-gathering groups ofinformants for the Allies
during World War II.
He would eventually travel lessdue to accidents, numerous
accidents and declining physicaland mental health and he would
go on to write what manyconsidered to be his best work
the Old man and the Sea.
(22:06):
Hemingway.
Throughout the years wouldvisit Key West infrequently, but
the island and his old housereportedly made him feel a bit
of melancholy For the remainderof his life.
Neither Key West nor Hemingwayclaimed a particularly strong
(22:30):
connection to each other.
It wasn't until after his deathin 1962 when Key West with its
bars and drinking culture wouldbecome forever memorialized with
the drinking, the fighting andthe fishing author who once
(22:53):
called the island home.
I'm at the shore in Key Westwaiting for the sun to set.
I have some thoughts.
Hemingway's time in Key West isa strange time.
It's a time sandwiched betweenthe zealous, movable feast
(23:15):
Hemingway of Paris and thewell-established, conflicted
writer of the Old man in the Sea.
Well, in Cuba, hemingway thewriter, almost takes a back seat
, especially in modern Key West.
Sloppy Joes, hemingwaymerchandise specialty cocktails,
hemingway merchandise specialtycocktails All of this
(23:40):
celebrates part of what a personwas.
But all's fair because you know, that's how Key West is often
perceived too, and it is thereas part of what makes Key West
Key West.
But the island like Hemingwayis much more than a tipsy night
out.
You know.
There's moments of calm in thesunsets that you see beauty
(24:02):
underneath the calm, turquoiseblue water.
It's more than the bars ofDuval.
I'll leave you with this.
When I was walking the otherday I wrote this.
So, like the man, hemingway'sKey West is more than the cover
(24:23):
of its book.
Till next time.
Silver moonlight illuminatesthe gentle movement of the
Atlantic.
Roosting roosters quiet theircalls to go to bed.
It's a Tuesday and it's justanother night in Key West.
(24:47):
It's Noah here.
Hope you enjoyed your travelsto Hemingway's Key West.
(25:08):
I've got a story, somerecommendations and a final
thought.
So after Hemingway met MarthaGellhorn that fateful night at
Sloppy Joe's, they later decidedto go on and cover the Spanish
Civil War together.
Predictably, they had an affairand when Pauline, back in Key
West, found out about thisaffair, she decided to replace
(25:33):
the boxing rink in theirbackyard, which was Hemingway's,
and replace it with a pool.
And Hemingway returned andfamously said something along
the lines of Pauline, you'regoing to spend my last penny,
threw the penny on the ground.
Now that penny is still there,right next to the pool.
It's encased in cement and someother substance, where you can
(25:56):
see it.
And what I found funny aboutthis is Pauline used her own
money right, she used her ownmoney to build the pool.
It was a substantial amount ofmoney $20,000, but she was well
off.
The house itself was hers.
So it's interesting thatHemingway was that upset about
it.
(26:17):
I don't know, just something tolook out for.
If you do go on the tour, whichI do think that you should do
you should go on the tour, butafter you're done, make sure
that for 15 minutes, 20 minutes,you just walk around, don't say
anything, don't listen toanything, just walk around, look
around, imagine what it wouldbe like to have lived there as
(26:40):
Hemingway, as Pauline, and that,in my view, is so much more
valuable than tours that aregiven every day, because you can
experience it with your owneyes.
And for recommendations, I'llhave a full list in the show
notes, but right now, off thetop of my head there's the Key
West Butterfly and NatureConservatory.
Really really surprising,really really fun.
(27:01):
Watch a sunset at some pointand make sure you just walk
around, don't just drink thewhole time.
Duval Street's great.
All the bars are really fun,but make sure that you take in
everything that Key West has tooffer.
Just like Hemingway had otherthings to offer, so does Key
West.
And a final note, speaking ofHemingway In researching this I
(27:24):
kept finding that wheneverHemingway got comfortable, I
think he got a little restless,he got a little scared.
You see this in Paris, you seethis in Key West, definitely,
and later in Cuba.
And this kind of Rolling Stonementality followed him
(27:47):
throughout his life and thebrief moments that he didn't
have.
This, in my view, afterresearching him for a bit,
happened a lot in Key West, withthese cats that he named, with
these fishing trips to the dryTortugas and beyond, finding
hobbies, having friends.
And as soon as he gotcomfortable with these things,
(28:09):
this restlessness kind of creptback up.
And in my view, key West,hemingway's Key West when he was
there, key West, hemingway'sKey West when he was there.
(28:30):
It seems like it's by and largea happy time in his life and
something that maybe he went onto regret later on in life.
I don't know.
So then I thought to myselfobviously I'm driving around in
a van with my dog.
I want to make sure that if Ido have those moments, I'm not
running away from them, and Idon't think you should either,
and I don't think Hemingwayshould have, with that said
thank you for listening,genuinely appreciate every
(28:52):
minute you spend with us.
One thing you can do totangibly help the show, tangibly
help me and Noodles, is to rateand review and subscribe
wherever you're listening now.
It really, really, really helpsus continue to put the work
we'd like to in to making theshow better, to keeping the show
(29:13):
going, to bringing you storiesthat we think you'd enjoy.
Thank you for that.
Be good to each other.
Where to next?
Backroad Odyssey.
Hey there, welcome to the Van.
We're recording now inNantahala National Forest in
western North Carolina, far awayand much different than our
topic today, hemingway's KeyWest, a town that in so many
ways seems to be a product ofthe author's presence there some
80 years ago.
(00:22):
Today we find out.
Why Is this claiming ofHemingway by Key West deserved?
What did this great Americannovelist really do and
accomplish during his briefstint in Key West from 1931 to
1939?
Most importantly, why is thisworth looking into?
(00:43):
We answer all of this and morein this week's episode of
Backroad Odyssey.
Safe travels, losing down thestreet.
I wonder where this road wouldlead.
So many possibilities.
Care to share what you think.
Oh, noodle Dolls, what do yousee?
(01:08):
Back road odyssey.
Tipsy conversations meld withthe gentle movement of the
Atlantic.
Duval Street illuminates,nearby trees, waking, roosting,
roosters.
It's a Tuesday and just anothernight.
(01:29):
In Key West.
The name Hemingway has becomesynonymous with influential
literary icons of the 20thcentury.
At the same time, hemingway theman, his life, has been
(01:51):
condensed into a kind ofsimplified caricature.
A mustached fighter, a lover ofdrink, a writer, To be fair,
yeah, he was all of these things, but the complete story of
anyone's life, of anything,deserves a closer look.
In reality, hemingway is morecomplex.
His sensitive observations ofhuman nature are confusingly
(02:16):
contradicted by his macho,hard-drinking, fighting
reputation.
And nowhere is thiscontradiction more evident than
during Hemingway's Key Westperiod.
His time in Key West and thelegacy he's left behind is as
layered as the old papa himself.
(02:39):
We're driving currently downRoute 1 to Key West, really one
of my favorite drives in theentire country.
The road connects a series ofislands south of Miami down to
where the road stops, in thesouthernmost island, in the town
of Key West.
The water as you drive acrossis a calm turquoise blue.
(03:00):
For hours you pass peoplefishing off bridges, on beaches,
off boats.
It's a fast, it's an easy, it'sa beautiful drive, but it
wasn't always this way.
Before the highway, the massesof fishermen, the flux of
tourism, it was just a sparselypopulated series of islands, the
(03:24):
southernmost of which, wherewe're going now, happened to
attract one of America's mosttalked about and celebrated
writers, ernest Hemingway.
In the next few days we'll goto his house, we'll visit the
places he would frequent, we'lltell stories of the years that
he spent there, but first, asalways, we need context.
(03:44):
Who was Hemingway before he wascalled by the humidity, the
blue waters and the active, veryactive bars of Key West.
And what about Key West?
Back then, a glorified tropicalbackwater deeply impacted by
(04:07):
the recent depression, spoke tothis person at this time.
Born July 21st 1899, the secondof six children, hemingway
showed an early prowess forprose as a reporter for the
Kansas City Star in Missouri,right after high school.
(04:28):
But the quiet Midwestern townof his birth, oak Park, illinois
, would be far from what hewould go on to experience later
in life.
As war rages across Europe,hemingway first displays what
will become a lifelongpropensity for the zealous life.
His life from here onwards,whatever its path, would be an
(04:53):
eventful one.
And after being denied entryinto the US Army due to poor
eyesight, ernest volunteers asan ambulance driver for the Red
Cross.
He then is seriously wounded bymortar fire.
But his experiences during thewar would shape his worldview,
(05:14):
consequently would shape hiswriting style and serve as the
foundation for his novel AFarewell to Arms.
And here's an important thing toremember about Hemingway
Hemingway, throughout his life,wrote what he knew, wrote what
(05:36):
he experienced.
Okay, we stopped about a halfhour down to get a food truck,
taco and a key lime pie.
Went in Rome.
But I wanted to record in thecar after we did this, because
stopping here reminded me of aHemingway quote that's always
(05:57):
stayed with me.
Quote in order to write aboutlife, you first must live it.
Life, you first must live it.
I could have driven all the wayto Key West and guessed how
life-changing this taco key limecombination would be, but I can
tell you now, because I'vetried it it is life-changing.
(06:17):
The tacos, the taco Jalisco,are fantastic.
The key lime pie, a keyschocolate and ice cream are
life-changing.
And the point is this the seedsof Hemingway's writing are
important to understand.
He lived then.
(06:39):
He wrote about living Whereverhe found himself.
Hemingway returns to the Midwest, marries his first wife, hadley
Richardson, and accepts a jobas a European correspondent for
the Toronto Daily Star.
This marks the beginning of thecouple's extended stay in Paris
.
Well, in the city, hemingwaymeets fellow expatriate artists,
(07:02):
including Ezra Pond, jamesJoyce and a certain Gertrude
Stein.
He also hones his writing anduses experiences and people in
the city as inspiration for hisnovels.
The Sun Also Rises is publishedin 1926, a novel heavily
influenced by people and eventsaround him at that time in Paris
(07:25):
.
Remember this for Hemingway inorder to write about life, you
need to live it first.
The good and the bad and thebad does come.
Hemingway and Hadley divorceafter an affair by Hemingway
with an American fashionreporter living in the city at
(07:45):
the same time.
This hazel-eyed fashionista'sname was Pauline Pfeiffer and
her and Hemingway would marryshortly after the divorce.
One month after, hemingway andPauline, now heavily pregnant,
want to have their child in theUnited States and they also want
(08:06):
a change of scenery.
Paris had soured somewhat forHemingway after the divorce, but
the city and the stories thathe found there would travel with
him as he and Pauline sailedwest.
As he and Pauline sailed west.
(08:29):
Roosters, sun and frozencocktails that's Key West.
At least, this is theperception a lot of people have
about the island.
We've been here for two daysand, yeah, that's a fair enough
generalization.
But the more you walk around,explore the history, meet the
people here, take in the heat ofthe sun, look at the calm water
(08:51):
, the more you begin to realizewhy this place resonated with
Hemingway.
Walking around, I've beenthinking a lot about Key West
and Paris, two dramaticallydifferent atmospheres, cultures.
What have you?
But both places called toHemingway in some way and I
(09:14):
started to ask myself what thatwas.
Why did both places call toHemingway?
And an answer came to me BothParis and Key West, for all
their differences, were bothplaces where Hemingway could
meet and connect withinteresting people.
(09:34):
Paris, with the lost generation,you know, james Joyce, gertrude
and Key West, particularly backthen, had a gathering of
interesting people livingeventful if unconventional lives
at the edge of America.
And it also was easy to getliquor in both places.
(09:54):
It was prohibition back then.
So I'm sure Hemingway, whofamously liked such activities,
became reason enough to stay.
Hemingway says, quote if you'relucky enough to have lived in
(10:15):
Paris as a young man, thenwherever you go for the rest of
your life it stays with you, forParis is a movable feast, end
quote.
So just like his writingcaptures people and captures
moments, hemingway paysparticular attention in his own
life to people and experiencesthat he admires.
(10:38):
The war informed his decisionsin Paris and Paris, funnily
enough, would influence where hewould go to next.
It was his Paris friend, johnDos Passos, that first suggested
Key West to Hemingway.
And it's moments like thiswhere we see the sensitive,
(10:59):
adhering side of Hemingway'scharacter kind of peek through
the rough, macho exterior.
He values John's advice, hisfriend's advice, and he and
Pauline arrive in Key West inthe spring of 1928.
(11:20):
Key West is known for itsnightlife.
I'm walking down Duval StreetCurrently, by all intents and
purposes is kind of the mainstreet.
Music's playing, people aredrinking, it's crowded.
Definitely lives up to itsreputation.
But what was it like whenErnest and Pauline first set
foot on the island in 1928?
(11:41):
Excuse me, not like this.
Key West in 1928 is a blend ofpoverty, commercial fishing and
trickles of tourism that at thispoint are still relatively
untouched by the larger Floridatourism boom.
(12:03):
Many in the area supplementtheir income with rum running
and well running illegal bars.
Fine, with Hemingway, I'm sureso.
Suffice to say the perfectcocktail of interesting
personalities with stories totell lie waiting for Hemingway's
perceptive pen, for Hemingway'sperceptive pen.
(12:25):
Charles Thompson, the owner ofa local shop, introduces
Hemingway to big game fishing, ahobby he would be wildly
passionate about for theremainder of his life.
Joe Russell, later known asSloppy Joe, would go on to start
his first legal bar of the samename.
Notice, I said legal, firstlegal bar of the same name after
(12:48):
the repeal of Prohibition in1933.
This would serve as Hemingway'sfavorite late night spot for a
stiff drink and someconversation, and it's Sloppy
Joe's that would provide afuture fountain outside the
Hemingway house that's stillthere today.
A urinal from the sloppy Joe'sbathroom, taken from the bar by
(13:10):
Hemingway himself, captain EddieBraugh Saunders, would
cultivate Hemingway's interestin boating and trophy fishing
even further.
So in time this eclectic group,along with some Paris friends,
would be known by locals as theMob.
Everyone in the Mob had anickname Hemingway's was Papa, a
(13:35):
moniker that would stick withhim throughout his later time in
Cuba and beyond.
Hemingway quickly learns toappreciate the eccentricities of
Key West in a way that might beconsidered less formal than his
Paris years.
Three days into our time in KeyWest Today, we walked virtually
(14:01):
the entire southern flank ofthe island.
We're back in the van now.
It was a little too hot, buthere's a thought I had in the
hours we'd been walking this isa small island it really is,
especially back then, withoutthe influx of tourists and day
drinkers.
(14:21):
Back then you're going to runinto people and day drinkers
Back then you're going to runinto people.
And so for Hemingway,particularly if you're going to
stay in Key West for the longterm, he had to have felt some
kind of connection with thepeople that were here, with the
culture of Key West.
Why else would he have stayedBetween nights of debauchery
(14:45):
with Hemingway's new friends andPauline accepting the bulk of
the work as a parent?
The couple buys a house in KeyWest on Whitehead Street.
More accurately put, actually,pauline's wealthy uncle, gus,
buys the couple a home in 1931.
Regardless of who bought thehouse, the two-story Spanish
(15:08):
colonial house is built in 1851,and when they buy it, when they
arrive, it needs work, but it'sa task that's readily taken on
by Pauline and by Hemingway.
European antiques from theirtime in Paris are brought into
the house.
The unique basement is repaired.
Trophy skins and mounts fromearnest.
(15:31):
Various African safaris andhunting expeditions are placed
all around the walls of thehouse, much to the displeasure
of Pauline, I'd imagine.
Finally, and importantly, awriting studio is set up in the
back.
In time, and with effort, thehouse is restored and Key West
(15:54):
becomes the official home of theHemingways.
I just toured the HemingwayHouse, nestled between Duval
Street and the Lighthouse.
I have some thoughts andstories, but let's start with
the best and most relevant pieceof information that I can share
with you.
The Hemingway House is home tonearly 60 polydactyl cats,
(16:22):
that's 60 six-toed cats or catswith the gene to produce other
six-toed cats.
It's an understatement to saythere's just a lot of cats,
because there is a plethora ofcats here.
They're resting on beds, chairs, benches, walking through the
yard.
It's awesome.
But the story for thesesix-toed Hemingway cats is even
(16:45):
better.
Get this Every cat you see inand around the house is
descended from one six-toed catgiven to Hemingway by a boat
captain whose name was SnowWhite.
So when Hemingway was herearound the house, he would name
(17:08):
and take care of all of thesedifferent cats that showed up.
He'd give each one of themnames, including I've got it
right here including UncleWolfer, princess Six Toes.
Clark Gable Just keeps going.
He loved cats and here's why Ibring up this story, here's why
I'm telling you this, because Ithink it's important.
(17:31):
Over and over again, we see thiscontradiction in Hemingway A
macho man but a cat lover, aheavy drinker but an early riser
, a passionate lover, a serialwomanizer.
In so many ways this placereflects this contradiction too
His house, with trophies of deadanimals on the walls and
(17:55):
well-taken-care-of named catsrunning around the Key West area
itself, with its binge drinkingand calm waters, its mellow
sunsets.
Maybe it's these similarities,this kinship with Key West, that
distract from hisoften-overlooked writing Well on
(18:18):
the island, from his oftenoverlooked writing Well on the
island.
Three weeks after arriving,hemingway finishes his
semi-autobiographical novel, aFarewell to Arms, and he quickly
settles into a routine on theisland.
First he would rise aroundsunrise, remarkable, after what
I'm sure was a late night ofheavy drinking.
His afternoons are spentfishing around the quays, the
(18:41):
dry tortugas around the area, onhis boat Pilar, bought once
again by Pauline's wealthy uncleGus Must be nice.
And evenings, of course, werefor drinking and talking with
friends, usually at his favoritebar, sloppy Joe's.
Finally, occasionally or often,boxing matches would be set up
(19:05):
and bets would be placed.
That's the Key West routine.
But Key West is more often thannot associated with Hemingway's
drinking, fighting and fishing.
With Hemingway's drinking,fighting and fishing, not his
writing, despite the fact thathe writes and or finishes A
Farewell to Arms For Whom theBell Tolls Death in the
(19:27):
Afternoon, the Snows ofKilimanjaro, to have and To have
Not, and more short stories onthe island.
But it's this fighting, macho,drinking reputation, this
singular reputation that enduresin the bars and tipsy night
culture of modern day Key West.
(19:48):
I just left Sloppy Joe's.
It's the moved location of theoriginal Sloppy Joe's, which is
across the street, but it waspacked.
I wanted to record inside, butthere was just no way.
So here we are, across thestreet, but it was packed.
I wanted to record inside, butthere was just no way.
So here we are across thestreet.
I don't know what else to sayother than I can't imagine this
is the same atmosphere thatHemingway used to spend his
(20:10):
nights at the crowds, themerchandise, the expensive
drinks.
To me, sloppy Joe's, this bar,a lot of Duval Street, is a
tribute to Hemingway the fighter, hemingway the drinker, not
Hemingway the writer.
It doesn't represent the softerside of him that we know was
(20:32):
there in some ways at some times, hidden, deeply hidden.
But there Hemingway meets fellowauthor Martha Gellhorn inside
Sloppy Joe's One Night in 1936.
One year later they agree totravel together and cover the
(20:56):
Spanish Civil War.
The predictable affair thatfollows chips away at
Hemingway's marriage withPauline and signals the
beginning of the end of his timein Key West.
Additionally, hemingway'sreputation in that close-knit,
tight community would nevercompletely recover after the
(21:20):
affair.
Pauline was rightfully so.
Equally important in thecommunity and revered around the
island In 1940, they divorce,pauline gets the house it was
hers to begin with and Hemingwaywould go on to marry not one
but two more times.
He would live primarily inHavana, cuba, create
(21:45):
intelligence-gathering groups ofinformants for the Allies
during World War II.
He would eventually travel lessdue to accidents, numerous
accidents and declining physicaland mental health and he would
go on to write what manyconsidered to be his best work
the Old man and the Sea.
(22:06):
Hemingway.
Throughout the years wouldvisit Key West infrequently, but
the island and his old housereportedly made him feel a bit
of melancholy For the remainderof his life.
Neither Key West nor Hemingwayclaimed a particularly strong
(22:30):
connection to each other.
It wasn't until after his deathin 1962 when Key West with its
bars and drinking culture wouldbecome forever memorialized with
the drinking, the fighting andthe fishing author who once
(22:53):
called the island home.
I'm at the shore in Key Westwaiting for the sun to set.
I have some thoughts.
Hemingway's time in Key West isa strange time.
It's a time sandwiched betweenthe zealous, movable feast
(23:15):
Hemingway of Paris and thewell-established, conflicted
writer of the Old man in the Sea.
Well, in Cuba, hemingway thewriter, almost takes a back seat
, especially in modern Key West.
Sloppy Joes, hemingwaymerchandise specialty cocktails,
hemingway merchandise specialtycocktails All of this
(23:40):
celebrates part of what a personwas.
But all's fair because you know, that's how Key West is often
perceived too, and it is thereas part of what makes Key West
Key West.
But the island like Hemingwayis much more than a tipsy night
out.
You know.
There's moments of calm in thesunsets that you see beauty
(24:02):
underneath the calm, turquoiseblue water.
It's more than the bars ofDuval.
I'll leave you with this.
When I was walking the otherday I wrote this.
So, like the man, hemingway'sKey West is more than the cover
(24:23):
of its book.
Till next time.
Silver moonlight illuminatesthe gentle movement of the
Atlantic.
Roosting roosters quiet theircalls to go to bed.
It's a Tuesday and it's justanother night in Key West.
(24:47):
It's Noah here.
Hope you enjoyed your travelsto Hemingway's Key West.
(25:08):
I've got a story, somerecommendations and a final
thought.
So after Hemingway met MarthaGellhorn that fateful night at
Sloppy Joe's, they later decidedto go on and cover the Spanish
Civil War together.
Predictably, they had an affairand when Pauline, back in Key
West, found out about thisaffair, she decided to replace
(25:33):
the boxing rink in theirbackyard, which was Hemingway's,
and replace it with a pool.
And Hemingway returned andfamously said something along
the lines of Pauline, you'regoing to spend my last penny,
threw the penny on the ground.
Now that penny is still there,right next to the pool.
It's encased in cement and someother substance, where you can
(25:56):
see it.
And what I found funny aboutthis is Pauline used her own
money right, she used her ownmoney to build the pool.
It was a substantial amount ofmoney $20,000, but she was well
off.
The house itself was hers.
So it's interesting thatHemingway was that upset about
it.
(26:17):
I don't know, just something tolook out for.
If you do go on the tour, whichI do think that you should do
you should go on the tour, butafter you're done, make sure
that for 15 minutes, 20 minutes,you just walk around, don't say
anything, don't listen toanything, just walk around, look
around, imagine what it wouldbe like to have lived there as
(26:40):
Hemingway, as Pauline, and that,in my view, is so much more
valuable than tours that aregiven every day, because you can
experience it with your owneyes.
And for recommendations, I'llhave a full list in the show
notes, but right now, off thetop of my head there's the Key
West Butterfly and NatureConservatory.
Really really surprising,really really fun.
(27:01):
Watch a sunset at some pointand make sure you just walk
around, don't just drink thewhole time.
Duval Street's great.
All the bars are really fun,but make sure that you take in
everything that Key West has tooffer.
Just like Hemingway had otherthings to offer, so does Key
West.
And a final note, speaking ofHemingway In researching this I
(27:24):
kept finding that wheneverHemingway got comfortable, I
think he got a little restless,he got a little scared.
You see this in Paris, you seethis in Key West, definitely,
and later in Cuba.
And this kind of Rolling Stonementality followed him
(27:47):
throughout his life and thebrief moments that he didn't
have.
This, in my view, afterresearching him for a bit,
happened a lot in Key West, withthese cats that he named, with
these fishing trips to the dryTortugas and beyond, finding
hobbies, having friends.
And as soon as he gotcomfortable with these things,
(28:09):
this restlessness kind of creptback up.
And in my view, key West,hemingway's Key West when he was
there, key West, hemingway'sKey West when he was there.
(28:30):
It seems like it's by and largea happy time in his life and
something that maybe he went onto regret later on in life.
I don't know.
So then I thought to myselfobviously I'm driving around in
a van with my dog.
I want to make sure that if Ido have those moments, I'm not
running away from them, and Idon't think you should either,
and I don't think Hemingwayshould have, with that said
thank you for listening,genuinely appreciate every
(28:52):
minute you spend with us.
One thing you can do totangibly help the show, tangibly
help me and Noodles, is to rateand review and subscribe
wherever you're listening now.
It really, really, really helpsus continue to put the work
we'd like to in to making theshow better, to keeping the show
(29:13):
going, to bringing you storiesthat we think you'd enjoy.
Thank you for that.
Be good to each other.
Where to next?
Backroad Odyssey.
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