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britannica - americana
St. Louis 14 October 1931
: “Owing to the depression the only size 17
plain white shirts with attached collars on sale here are those that
have been on sale in the windows. It has not been considered smart
business to stock clean shirts until these slightly soiled shirts have
been sold at reduced prices. You can get a pretty nice soiled shirt
now for around $1.79. If you ever become dissatisfied with your life
with Benchley and that whole gin crazed Saturnalia and want to lead
a cleaner life bring your shortwave set clown to Key West and we
could try to turn an honest penny running Chinamen. The goddamned
Chinamen are still crazy to get into this country and we could bring
them in and then have a hearty laugh at their expense [...]”
[Kansas City 16 November 1931]
. Hemingway announces the birth
of his second son and describes his hunting activities (mentioning
Round-Tablers Dorothy Parker and Donald Ogden Stewart): “Baby
named Gregory Hancock - Gregory for any 3rd Pope you name
and Greg Clark of Toronto Hancock for my Grandfather’s wife Miss
Hancock - and all her forebears - weight 9 lbs - Caeserian - signs of
life in Greg 20 minutes after birth - O.K. now - craps, peas [!] - in fact
the works - had a good sound erection as soon as life appeared -
I’d appreciate your informing Mrs. Parker [...] Tell Mr. Stewart I broke
21 out of 25 in the same afternoon sixteen yard rise - not having had
my shoes off since the morning of the day before. It was evidently
taking my shoes off that buggared my shooting on the boat - on the
other hand no one can say what might have broken with my shoes
off - Those things are hard to figure - Killed eleven live birds straight
at the 30 yard rise same aft. - only three states you can shoot them
in - Here, Kentucky and Pennsylvania [...]”.
29 March
[1932]
. The news of Dorothy Parker’s latest suicide attempt has
reached Hemingway, and he is obviously trying to show compassion
(in 1926, he had shocked and offended friends - among them Stewart -
with “To a Tragic Poetess”, a venomously misogynic and occasionally
anti-Semitic poem about the caustic critic and her failed attempt to
take her own life): “How’s Dotty? What are you guys doing driving die
poor little woman almost to suicide. Fie on you MacGregor - why don’t
you make Stewart kill himself and really do something constructive -
Poor Dotty - no kidding - How is she-? Where is she-? I’d like to write
her - give her my love [...].” Some 29 years later, Hemingway himself
would shoot himself, as had his own father in 1928.
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