Fringe Festival, Edinburgh Scotland

I was part of the Fringe Festival this year in Edinburgh.

I was unable to find time to blog about this myself, so I will cheat and refer you to press coverage of this event.

Here is a link to coverage from the LivingScotsman.com (though they mispelled "Hemingway"). You will find the Guardian's on-line coverage here.

This is a quotation the Reuters article on my appearance at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland:

Decades later, Valerie Hemingway brought her memories of daiquiris in tropical Cuba and bullfights in Spain to rainy Edinburgh, Scotland's capital.

She teamed up with Scottish director Toby Gough and a Cuban music and dance group to recreate the Havana of the 1950s in a stage production called "Hemingway's Havana" as part of last week's Fringe Festival.

"Hemingway loved Cuba because it was a place where he could be anonymous," she said in an interview with Reuters.

The full text can be found here.

This is a quotation from the Times On-line about the same event:

Surrounded by gorgeous dancers and musicians from Cuba, and dressed in a glamorous beaded frock, La Hemingway is a handy raconteur who offers a tantalising taste of Cuba at that perfect moment.

The full text can found here.

There was also some coverage in an on-line publication called The List:

Hemingway spent 20 years in Havana and this well-intentioned recreation of his favourite hangout, the Floridita bar, provides a reason for his one-time secretary and daughter-in-law, Valerie Hemingway, to be the star of the show. Live on stage, she diligently delivers reminisces of Cuba and Hemingway but you can't help longing for a native Cuban to give some insight into their country and heritage.

The full text can found here.

MSU President's Lecture

I am honored to be asked to give the President's Lecture this year at my alma mater, Montana State University.

For details, visit their web site here.

War + Ink

I have been on the road for a few weeks. On May 14th I gave a talk to a packed house at the Plaza Library in Kansas City, Missouri. It was my first visit to that part of the world. I was taken around the offices of the Kansas City Star; the same building, the same newspaper where the 18 year old Ernest Hemingway was a cub reporter -- his first newspaper job, which lasted seven months until he left for Italy to join an ambulance corps in World War I. Hemingway later acknowledged that his writing owed much to what he had learned when he worked for the Star. He cited their style sheet as an excellent writer's guideline.

I spent three weeks in rainy England: London, Oxford, Yorkshire, visiting friends and family. Then, in mid-June I returned to Kansas City to attend the 13th Hemingway Society International Conference. The themes were journalism and World War I. It was titled "War + Ink." Some of the sessions were held at the Liberty Memorial War Museum, a splendid venue.

It is beautiful here in Bozeman. The summer visitors have begun to trickle through. This week friends from Italy and Portsmouth, R.I. appeared. The weather cooperated with beautiful sunshine and nothing but blue skies. As soon as they left, however, the heavens opened and there was an almighty downpour with thunder and lightening for good measure.

Till next time.

Opinion Piece by Patrica Anne Shaheen

Still on vacation, but could not resist a quick update.

Here is an interesting opinion piece by a writer in Michigan which uses one of my talks there as a jumping-off point.

Taking a Break

I will be taking a break from speaking, touring, writing and blogging for a few weeks. I hope to resume, refreshed, in June.

Have a happy Spring!

KC Was Great

I had a great time in KC: a large enthusiastic audience and a superb dinner afterwards.

They tell me that my talk was the best-attended event in the venue's very short history (it opened a few short weeks ago in April).

Kansas City itself was very nice; for information about goings on in KC, visit this site.

On To Kansas City!

No rest for the wicked! My Michigan tour was great, but now I am getting ready for my trip to Kansas City.


Here is some advance publicity: (original context is here)

In another book note, Valerie Hemingway, author of Running With the Bulls: My Years With the Hemingways, will speak about her book and her travels with Ernest Hemingway at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Plaza Branch Library, 4801 Main St.

As Valerie Danby Smith, Hemingway worked as the author’s secretary and was with Hemingway and his wife, Mary, when they traveled through Spain, France and Cuba. She worked for the estate after his death and married Gregory, Ernest Hemingway’s son.

Hemingway will sign copies of the book purchased at the event. Otherwise, there is no charge. Call 816-701-3407 or see kclibrary.org.