Met my deadline!

My article on Cuba for the Smithsonian magazine is in the editor's hands and I am off to Israel for some archeological relaxation. More when I return...

Last week I headed for Miami to talk to the Honors students at Miami Dade College about A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway's 1929 World War I novel. This talk was given under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Humanities' One Community One Book program. The college was abuzz with activities. So much going on ... a three day writing workshop, a month of panels, discussions, lectures, dramatisations of A Farewell to Arms, a book that was published seventy eight years ago, and is as fresh today as then in it observations on the futiltiy and incoherence of war. It is also a story of love and loss exquisitely written. My audience ranged from greatly enthusiastic to politely bored as might be expected from a required attendance on a beautiful spring afternoon. There was a lively discussion afterwards, many of the questions preprepared but nonetheless thoughtfully inquisitive, often reflecting the preoccupations of the moment. I regaled the audience with some of my own experiences working as Hemingway's secretary in Spain, France and Cuba when I was their age, and this seemed to make a deep impression. I returned from sunny Florida to snowy Montana, one foot deeper than at my departure, just in time to bring our skiing season to a powdery close after one of the most disappointing ski seasons in memory.

Off to Palm Beach next week to talk about my memoir RUNNING WITH THE BULLS: My Years with the Hemingways. Will let you know how it goes.

St. Patrick's Day Memoir Workshop

I spent Saturday last, St. Patrick's day in Billings, Montana giving a memoir workshop to members of the AAUW. Fifty five people attended, five over the maximum, and another fifteen came to the luncheon and stayed for the half hour wrap-up session. I am amazed at the number of people who are interested in writing their memoirs for various reason: self-fulfilment, to share with the family, for publication, etc. We had a four hour session with lots of participation and input from the attendees. There were quite a few laughs and when it came to doing the exercises, there was true dedication. One woman said that she suddenly remembered something she hadn't recalled in forty years, since she was a teenager. She read her discovery to those at her table. There was general rejoicing. Each person went away with renewed determination to continue recovering the secrets and lost moments of a past life. I had brought along three dozen copies of my memoir, RUNNING WITH THE BULLS: My Years with the Hemingways. Every copy was sold. Yesterday I received a letter asking for a repeat performance next spring.

Off to Miami next week to talk to Dade County Community College about Hemingway's favorite novel: A FAREWELL TO ARMS. Will let you know all about it.

Article about Peter Fonda

My profile of Peter Fonda in Distinctly Montana is out: you can find it here.

Foreward for "Michener: A Writer's Journey"

I wrote the forward for Stephen May's book, Michener: A Writer's Journey.

Statue Unveiling in Key West

I went to the unveiling of a statue in Key West.

Interview w/Seattle Times

Here is an interview I did for the Seattle Times.