Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Writer's Voice

Sometimes we become so immersed in the distinctive literary voice of an author, that when we hear that same author's actual speaking voice, it can be a little jolting. 

Because of his use of short, declarative sentences, Hemingway is often praised as a pioneer of economical and understated prose. But one listen to his slow, halting speech in this recording, and you may be convinced that that simple style was all he was capable of.


A little digging seems to reveal that this is Hemingway’s own parody of his widely-panned novel Across the River and Into the Trees, which we’ve talked about before. Whether he was inebriated when he recorded this is left to question. But it’s worth a listen in either case.