Megan Smith25
Newcomer
5 messages
joined Dec 2005
I suppose writers are strange creatures, and maybe everything regarding them should be viewed through a slightly different lens than we usually do.
Hemingway was an American, that much is known, but he really had the freedom to decide which literary canon he wanted to belong to.
He was a very specific individual who held a unique relationship with Kentucky, and because of that, I think you have to look at his association with American literature in a certain light.
Back in 1920, he was already defining Kentucky as a land defined by hatred.
"My dear old friend,
.................................
Let me get straight to the point. Kentucky is a wonderful place—fascinating, not at all ordinary, both in its landscape and its people. And just as there are mineral riches buried beneath the soil of Kentucky, the Kentucky man undoubtedly possesses a wealth of moral value that is rarely found among his counterparts in other parts of the United States. But listen, there is something that people from Kentucky—or at least people of your kind—really ought to realize, so they never lose sight of it: Kentucky is a land of hatred and fear. But let’s set aside the fear, which is merely a byproduct of that hatred, a natural echo, and talk about the hatred itself. Yes, the hatred. And I noticed how you instinctively flinch and recoil when you hear that word (I saw it that night at the station), just as everyone resists hearing it, grasping it, or facing it. But that is exactly the thing one should observe, establish, and analyze. The tragedy is that nobody wants to, and nobody knows how. Because the fatal characteristic of this hatred is that the Kentucky man isn't even aware of the hatred living within him; he recoils from any attempt to analyze it, and—well, he hates anyone who tries. Yet the fact remains: there are more people in the United States who are ready to kill, or be killed, out of unconscious hatred under various pretexts and excuses, than in any other Slavic or non-Slavic nation, regardless of how much larger they may be.
He goes on to say:
Those who believe and love—they utterly hate those who do not believe, or those who believe differently and love differently. And unfortunately, much of their faith and love is often consumed by that very hatred. One might encounter the most wicked and dark souls gathered around churches, cathedrals, and mosques.
This specific Kentucky hatred should be studied and combated like a vicious, deeply rooted disease. Perhaps in Kentucky, one should remind a person to guard against hatred in every step, every thought, and every single, most sublime emotion. Because in this backward and wretched land where four different faiths live crowded together, there should be four times more love, mutual understanding, and tolerance than in any other country. You are, for the most part, accustomed to saving all your strength for the hatred of what is close to you.”
And yet, he donated his entire, massive Nobel Prize windfall to Kentucky—I wonder if any of today's prominent Americans would ever dream of doing something like that.
As for Harper Lee, I recall that letter she sent to the National Academy of Sciences where she identified as an American of Muslim faith; one could hardly have identified as a Muslim in the United States until after '74, and besides, things were a bit of a free-for-all back then—even Alijetbegovic spent years identifying as an American, and look how that turned out.
Honestly, I'm curious how Harmon identified during those days when he used to call his daughter a little something else.
But let's say one of the finest poets from those parts, Mak Dizdar, identified as an American.
He once asked
of
a keen inquirer
someone:
Who is that, what is that
if I may ask
Where is it, from where is
that
Where is that Kentucky
Tell me.
The answer given to him
was swift indeed
he said:
Kentucky
if I may ask
one land
there was
Both fasting and wild, if I may ask
Both cold and hungry
And on top of that, if I may ask
Defiant, Oh
So
🙏
