Ernest Hemingway: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Hemingway's iceberg prose was assembled from borrowed parts: Midwestern plain speech, Paris salon experiment, newspaper cable-ese, and the compositional logic of post-impressionist painting. This mix traces the Oak Park and Chicago roots, the Left Bank apprenticeship under Stein and Pound, and the minimalists who inherited the sentence he built.

The Kynda mix for Ernest Hemingway

• Key Influence · Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884). In Green Hills of Africa Hemingway wrote that all modern American literature comes from this one book, and that there was nothing before and nothing as good since. Twain's first-person vernacular — a boy's unliterary voice carrying moral weight the narrator cannot articulate — is the direct ancestor of Nick Adams and of Jake Barnes. The river journey's flat reportage of violence became Hemingway's method for omission.
• Influencia Obscura · You Know Me Al by Ring Lardner (1916). As a schoolboy at Oak Park High, Hemingway wrote sports pieces for the Trapeze under the byline Ring Lardner Jr., openly imitating the Chicago Tribune columnist's busher letters. Lardner's deadpan transcription of semi-literate American speech, with the joke always sitting under the surface rather than in the telling, taught the teenager that dialogue could carry everything an author refused to state outright.
• Local Roots · Chicago Poems by Carl Sandburg (1916). Sandburg was the loudest voice of the Chicago Renaissance that surrounded Hemingway during his 1920-21 stint writing for the Cooperative Commonwealth and courting Hadley Richardson on the North Side. The collection's muscular monosyllables, stockyard subject matter and refusal of genteel Eastern poeticism define the Midwestern plain style Hemingway carried to Paris and refined into something harder.
• Beyond the Medium · Mont Sainte-Victoire by Paul Cézanne (1904). Hemingway haunted the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris, often on an empty stomach, studying Cézanne; he said he was learning to write landscape the way Cézanne painted it. The deleted ending of Big Two-Hearted River has Nick thinking explicitly about wanting to write like Cézanne. The planes built from flat patches, nothing rendered that isn't structural, is the visual grammar behind his famous iceberg theory.
• Peer · The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925). The two met at the Dingo Bar in Paris in 1925; Fitzgerald recommended Hemingway to Scribner's and to editor Max Perkins, and gave detailed notes that led Hemingway to cut the opening chapters of The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway returned the favor with brutal advice and a posthumous hatchet job in A Moveable Feast. Gatsby is the rival masterpiece against which he measured his own 1920s.
• From the Canon · In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway (1925). The book where the method arrives fully formed: Nick Adams stories alternating with brutal italicized vignettes of war and bullfighting, so that private wounds and public atrocity illuminate each other without a word of commentary. Big Two-Hearted River withholds the war entirely and lets a fishing trip carry it — the clearest demonstration of the omission principle he later named the iceberg theory.
• Key Collaborator · Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe (1929). Max Perkins edited Hemingway from The Sun Also Rises onward, fought Scribner's management over obscenity, and absorbed decades of his letters and moods. Wolfe is the opposite case from the same desk — Perkins carved a publishable novel out of an enormous manuscript — and reading it shows what an editor's hand does, and by contrast how little cutting Hemingway's already-stripped sentences required.
• Legacy · What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver (1981). Carver named Hemingway among the writers who shaped him and praised the early stories' refusal to explain; the kinship is in the bare dialogue, the kitchen-table silences and the catastrophe kept just off the page. Gordon Lish's severe cutting of these manuscripts pushed the iceberg method further than Hemingway took it, making this the book through which minimalism reentered American fiction.

What influenced Ernest Hemingway

• Ezra Pound (1885). Pound encouraged Hemingway’s development as a writer. (also via Hugh Selwyn Mauberley) “The two forged a strong friendship; in Hemingway Pound recognized and fostered a young talent.” (Wikipedia)
• Lost Generation. The text explicitly describes Hemingway as influenced by the Lost Generation community. “he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and was influenced by the modernist writers and artists of the " Lost Generation " expatriate community.” (Wikipedia)
• Ring Lardner. Hemingway’s school writing and pen name drew on Ring Lardner. (also via You Know Me Al) “he imitated the language of popular sportswriters and contributed under the pen name Ring Lardner, Jr.—a nod to Ring Lardner of the Chicago Tribune whose byline was "Line O'Type".” (Wikipedia)
• Saul Bellow by Saul Bellow. Roth contrasts Bellow’s prose with Hemingway’s; the quote does not establish that Hemingway was influenced by Bellow. “What he did is he blew the lid off of the sentence. The lid had been put on by Hemingway. Hemingway was the reigning master of the American sentence.” (American Masters)
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain) — titan for Ernest Hemingway “== Writing style == Following the tradition established by Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser, and Sinclair Lewis, Hemingway was a journalist before becoming a novelist.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Mark Twain. The article places Hemingway in Twain’s journalist-to-novelist tradition. “Following the tradition established by Mark Twain , Stephen Crane , Theodore Dreiser , and Sinclair Lewis , Hemingway was a journalist before becoming a novelist.” (Wikipedia)
• Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust. Hemingway repeatedly referred to and read Proust’s novel. “Hemingway's letters refer to Proust's Remembrance of Things Past several times over the years, and indicate he read the book at least twice.” (Wikipedia)
• Henry James. Trodd links Hemingway’s skeletal sentences to an observation by James. “Zoe Trodd believes Hemingway crafted skeletal sentences in response to Henry James 's observation that World War I had "used up words".” (Wikipedia)
• Wirt Williams. Hemingway is quoted on the dust jacket praising the writing of Wirt Williams. “"I think Wirt Williams writes as well as anybody writing."” (Evening Star (Washington, D.C.))
• The Kansas City Star. The newspaper’s style guide shaped Hemingway’s prose. “the Star ' s style guide , which stated "Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative", became a foundation for his prose.” (Wikipedia)
• Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein (1914). Tender Buttons (Gertrude Stein) — titan for Ernest Hemingway “There Hemingway met writers such as Gertrude Stein, James Joyce and Ezra Pound who "could help a young writer up the rungs of a career".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Theodore Dreiser. The article places Hemingway in Dreiser’s journalist-to-novelist tradition. “Following the tradition established by Mark Twain , Stephen Crane , Theodore Dreiser , and Sinclair Lewis , Hemingway was a journalist before becoming a novelist.” (Wikipedia)
• Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (1919). Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson) — titan for Ernest Hemingway “In Chicago, he worked as an associate editor of the monthly journal Cooperative Commonwealth, where he met novelist Sherwood Anderson.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Sinclair Lewis. The article places Hemingway in Lewis’s journalist-to-novelist tradition. “Following the tradition established by Mark Twain , Stephen Crane , Theodore Dreiser , and Sinclair Lewis , Hemingway was a journalist before becoming a novelist.” (Wikipedia)
• Stephen Crane. The article places Hemingway in Crane’s journalist-to-novelist tradition. “Following the tradition established by Mark Twain , Stephen Crane , Theodore Dreiser , and Sinclair Lewis , Hemingway was a journalist before becoming a novelist.” (Wikipedia)
• You Know Me Al by Ring Lardner (1916). You Know Me Al (Ring Lardner) — ghost for Ernest Hemingway “During his last two years at high school he edited the school's newspaper and yearbook (the Trapeze and Tabula); he imitated the language of popular sportswriters and contributed under the pen name Ring Lardner, Jr.—a nod to Ring Lardner…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Mont Sainte-Victoire by Paul Cézanne (1902). Mont Sainte-Victoire (Paul Cézanne) — culture for Ernest Hemingway “Ernest Hemingway compared his writing to Cézanne's landscapes.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• A Sportsman's Sketches by Ivan Turgenev (1852). A Sportsman's Sketches (Ivan Turgenev) — ghost for Ernest Hemingway (wikidata.org)
• The Disasters of War by Francisco Goya (1863). The Disasters of War (Francisco Goya) — culture for Ernest Hemingway (wikidata.org)
• Juan Belmonte, Killer of Bulls by Manuel Chaves Nogales (1935). Juan Belmonte, Killer of Bulls (Manuel Chaves Nogales) — culture for Ernest Hemingway

Peers and kindred spirits

• F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald met and admired Hemingway in the expatriate community. (also via The Sun Also Rises, The Great Gatsby) “Most notable among them was a then relatively unknown Ernest Hemingway , whom Fitzgerald first met in May 1925 and grew to admire.” (Wikipedia)
• John Dos Passos by John Dos Passos. Tydal identifies The Spanish Earth as an artistic collaboration between Dos Passos and Hemingway. “Dos Passos, as well as Ernest Hemingway, Lillian Hellman, and Archibald MacLeish work on the picture.” (John Dos Passos)
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925). The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald) — peer for Ernest Hemingway “After reading The Great Gatsby , an impressed Hemingway vowed to put any differences with Fitzgerald aside and to aid him in any way he could, although he feared Zelda would derail Fitzgerald's writing career.” (Wikipedia)
• Ford Madox Ford by Ford Madox Ford. Hemingway helped Ford edit the literary review. “Hemingway helped Ford Madox Ford edit The Transatlantic Review , which published works by Pound, John Dos Passos , Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven , and Stein” (Wikipedia)
• Joris Ivens by Joris Ivens. Hemingway worked on Ivens’s film project as the replacement screenwriter. “He arrived in Spain in March with Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens . [ 96 ] Ivens, who was filming The Spanish Earth , intended to replace John Dos Passos with Hemingway as screenwriter.” (Wikipedia)
• Hugh Selwyn Mauberley by Ezra Pound (1920). Hugh Selwyn Mauberley (Ezra Pound) — peer for Ernest Hemingway “There Hemingway met writers such as Gertrude Stein, James Joyce and Ezra Pound who "could help a young writer up the rungs of a career".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos (1925). Manhattan Transfer (John Dos Passos) — peer for Ernest Hemingway “Hemingway helped Ford Madox Ford edit The Transatlantic Review, which published works by Pound, John Dos Passos, Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, and Stein, as well as some of Hemingway's own early stories such as "Indian Camp".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Chicago Poems by Carl Sandburg (1916). Chicago Poems (Carl Sandburg) — geography for Ernest Hemingway “He modestly told the press that Carl Sandburg, Isak Dinesen and Bernard Berenson deserved the prize, but he gladly accepted the prize money.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Erik Dorn by Ben Hecht (1921). Erik Dorn (Ben Hecht) — geography for Ernest Hemingway “The following are snippets of letters discussing The Sun Also Rises, based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway: Letter by David O.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe (1929). Look Homeward, Angel (Thomas Wolfe) — collaborator for Ernest Hemingway “Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Making of Americans. Hemingway urged Ford to publish excerpts of Stein's novel. “at the urging of Ernest Hemingway , Ford Madox Ford agreed to publish excerpts in the Transatlantic Review .” (Wikipedia)
• Papa Hemingway by A. E. Hotchner (1966). Papa Hemingway (A. E. Hotchner) — collaborator for Ernest Hemingway “He wrote many television screenplays as well as noted biographies of Doris Day and Ernest Hemingway.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Ulysses by James Joyce (1922). Ulysses (James Joyce) — collaborator for Ernest Hemingway “There Hemingway met writers such as Gertrude Stein, James Joyce and Ezra Pound who "could help a young writer up the rungs of a career".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• James Joyce by James Joyce. Ripatrazone identifies Hemingway as the editor who worked on Joyce’s manuscript. “The Transatlantic editor who worked on Joyce’s manuscript complained that the writer’s additions to the proof were all “in microscopic handwriting.” That pugnacious young editor was Ernest Hemingway.” (Literary Hub)
• Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters (1915). Spoon River Anthology (Edgar Lee Masters) — geography for Ernest Hemingway (openlibrary.org)

Who Ernest Hemingway influenced

• Gertrude Stein. Critic Harris compares literary lineage of Stein-Hemingway to Bruce's influence on comics. (also via A Moveable Feast, Tender Buttons) “just as Stein influenced Hemingway and that generation of writers” (Wikipedia)
• Edward Hopper. The Killers (Ernest Hemingway) — culture for Edward Hopper (via The Killers, Nighthawks) “The inspiration for the picture may have come from Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Killers", which Hopper greatly admired, or from the more philosophical "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place".” (en.wikipedia.org)
• William Faulkner. The article compares Faulkner’s early work with Hemingway’s. (also via The Sun Also Rises) “These and Faulkner's other early works resembled those of contemporaries such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald , at times nearly appropriating phrases.” (Wikipedia)
• Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. The article proposes Hemingway’s story as a possible inspiration for Nighthawks. (via The Killers, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place) “The inspiration for the picture may have come from Ernest Hemingway 's short story " The Killers ", which Hopper greatly admired,” (Wikipedia)
• Tennessee Williams. The page cautiously includes Hemingway among writers Williams admired and referenced. “William Inge , [ 30 ] James Joyce , [ 30 ] and, according to some, Ernest Hemingway . [ 33 ]” (Wikipedia)
• Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion (1970). Play It as It Lays (Joan Didion) — legacy for Ernest Hemingway “During her adolescence, she would type out Ernest Hemingway's works to learn how his sentence structures worked.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• "Jacob and the Other". Reviewer compares the style of Onetti's story to Hemingway's writing. “It is a Hemingway story told with much feeling.” (Evening Star (Washington, D.C.))
• What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver (1981). What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (Raymond Carver) — legacy for Ernest Hemingway “In his essay "On Influence", Carver states that, while he was an admirer of Ernest Hemingway's fiction, he never saw him as an influence, citing instead the work of Lawrence Durrell.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Nelson Algren (1909). Algren's book has a character commenting dismissively on Hemingway, situating Algren's work in dialogue with Hemingway's legacy. “declares "Heming way never wrote anything that would disturb an 3- ycar-old."” (Evening Star (Washington, D.C.))
• Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. Critic notes that Morrison's book analyzes Hemingway's work regarding constructed racial presence. “explore the construction of a 'non-white Africanist presence and personae' in the works of Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Cather and Hemingway” (Wikipedia)
• Hombre by Elmore Leonard (1961). Hombre (Elmore Leonard) — legacy for Ernest Hemingway (openlibrary.org)
• M-G-M. Reports M-G-M's plan to adapt Hemingway's novel into a film. (via Across the River and Into the Trees)