Dr. Ott compares Hemingway’s carefully constructed public persona to the careful construction of Hemingway’s prose. A true master of the topic, Mark Ott draws connections between Hemingway’s style, Cezanne’s paintings, and the idea that composition applies similarly to painting, writing, and life.

Mark Ott is the author of A Sea of Change: Ernest Hemingway and the Gulf Stream, A Contextual Biography, co-editor of Ernest Hemingway and the Geography of Memory: New Perspectives and Hemingway in Italy: Twenty-First Century Perspectives. He is also the editor of the “Teaching Ernest Hemingway” series for Kent State University Press, and was the co-director of the XVI Biennial Ernest Hemingway Society Conference in Venice in 2014.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Editor’s Note: I’m a member of the Hemingway Society, and this question –why are you still teaching Hemingway– comes up often from those reading or studying Hemingway, or from others. Dr. Ott makes a great open discussion of the pros and cons, flaws and humanity of the man and author.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WztLYVgjmy0