I love Ernest Hemingway. His nickname was Papa. I like it. With Papa, it's always about what he doesn't say rather than what he does say. Also, the man loved cats. I actually have a collection of photos of him and his cats with the latter crawling around his writing space. It reminds me of when my kitty sits on my desk as I'm writing. Everyone's writing space is different. I prefer the isolated locale, silent, with ample light. Only my thoughts to distract me.
Anywho...
A Moveable Feast. Beautiful. Here are some of my favorites.
"All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know."
"When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days, though, the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed."
" 'Don't be silly. This is serious. Tell me, did you and your wife sleep together before you were married?'
'I don't know.'
'What do you mean you don't know?'
'I don't remember.'"
"Paris was never to be the same again although it was always Paris and you changed as it changed."
"There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it. But this was how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy."
This was not from A Moveable Feast... It's just Papa being flippant. Surprise.
Gertrude Stein once said
"A rose is a rose is a rose."
..and Ernest replied
"A bitch is a bitch is a bitch."
