DVC Program on the Literary Works of Ernest

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003040

SIPDIS

IIP/G/NEA (BDURANT); NEA/PPD (JBAROODY, CBOURGEOIS,
JGAFFNEY); NEA/ARN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP OEXC SCUL JO
SUBJECT: DVC Program on the Literary Works of Ernest
Hemingway: Program Evaluation: Tracker Number 15010



1. Summary: PAS Amman conducted the third DVC program in a
DVC series entitled "Regional American Writers" at 1400 GMT
on Wednesday, June 5. The program revolved around the
Literary Works of legendary American writer, Ernest
Hemingway. The attendance was good with an audience of
about thirty university faculty members, American Studies
students, writers and scholars who displayed their
involvement in the program by posing many interesting and
valuable questions to our guest speaker.


2. Description of Activity: The 90 minute session took
place in the PAS auditorium room.


3. Date: June 5, 2002; third Quarter FY-2002


4. Justification and Objectives: The DVC program provided
our audience with a firsthand exploration of Hemingway's
literary world and his life. Many of his works such as "A
Farewell to Arms," "Death in the Afternoon" and in
particular his masterpiece "The Old Man and the Sea" for
which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1952 were discussed in
detail. The program also helped the audience understand
what motivated Hemingway to write as he did. The speaker,
Hemingway biographer Mr. A.E. Hotchner, who knew the Nobel
Prize winning author, familiarised the audience with the
upsetting and moving experiences Hemingway faced, such as
his plane crash in Africa in 1952 and his injury in World
War One in Italy. These experiences as well others and his
four marriages all affected his work and shaped his writing,
giving result to his literary style as verified by Mr.
Hotchner who stated "Ernest is certainly in all his works."
He believed his success as a writer and as a celebrity was
in the fact that he "brought the world to America" by
writing about far away places such as Africa and of safaris
in "Green Hills of Africa." Through his work, readers saw
him as a war hero, a marlin fisherman, a war correspondent
and lastly, a tragic figure.


5. MPP Goal: This program supported the MPP goals promoting
Jordanian understanding and appreciation of U.S society,
culture, institutions and values.


6. Result/impact: The Jordanian audience was very pleased
with the guest speaker, Mr. A.E. Hotchner. His approach was
very impressive and very affable. He spoke of Hemingway as
a writer, as a man and above all, as a friend. He helped
unravel many of Hemingway's thoughts and feelings which are
a mystery to Hemingway's readers. There was a general
feeling in the audience that there is no one fitter for
making the true Hemingway known to people other than Mr.
Hotchner. Hotchner even clarified false impressions about
Hemingway being a womaniser, as Hemingway's readers and
people the world over were led to believe by gossip columns
and newspapers. He simply said that he was a celebrity and
was great friends with many actresses such as Marlene
Dietrich and Ingrid Bergman. He even recounted personal
experiences which made the audience laugh out loud, such as
Hemingway's remark the first time he saw his novel "A
Farewell to Arms" made into a film. He declared that having
worked so hard on the book and then seeing it mangled on
screen like that was "Like pissing on your father's beard!"
On a more serious note, he answered a question posed by a
student about Hemingway's death and what compelled him to
commit suicide. Hotchner commented that there was a slow
decline in Hemingway's enjoyment of life. The experiences
he faced in life, such as two world wars and a plane crash
led him into a depression and fatalism so that he couldn't
write anymore and when he couldn't write, he didn't want to
live.


7. Press Coverage: The Arabic daily Ad Dustour ran an
article on the DVC program on Saturday, June 8. The article
covered the topics discussed during the program. It also
discussed Ernest Hemingway at length and mentioned some of
his works, such as "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "A Moveable
Feast" and "The Old Man and the Sea" for which he won the
Pulitzer prize in 1953. The article also mentioned the
reasons why Hemingway was labeled "The Writer of the 20th
Century" saying it was the credibility in his works and his
clever choice of characters which readers could relate to.
The article also discussed Mr. Hotchner at great length and
mentioned his literary works and involvement and
accomplishments in film and cinema.


8. Comments: The connection was made through Sprint. It
yielded a good picture, resolution and sound. The
connection was not obstructed at all during the program.


9. Quality of Support: Excellent. PAS Amman appreciates the
support of IIP/G/NEA, IIP/T/SV and NEA/PPD. Many thanks go
to Mr. Michael Bandler for his continuous support. We look
forward to continued cooperation and success on the final
DVC program of this quarterly series on Regional American
Writers. GNEHM