ERNEST HEMINGWAY

(Oak Park, 21 luglio 1899 - Ketchum, 2 luglio 1961)

Scrittore e Premio Nobel per la Letteratura

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Dear Old Gee: You musta thought me all sorts of a dirty bum because of not answering your and Pudges' priceless note - but guess the letter to both of you explained that. Woulda written you both together - but can't very well - always been separated in my mind and sides there are things to tell both of you. Just because you said about my not writing you I'm enclosing letter I wrote you one day last February when I was feeling low - that's so you won't think I just dropped you out of my mind. Suppose you want to hear all about Hadley - well her nickname is Hash - she's a wonderful tennis player, best pianist I ever heard and a sort of terribly fine article. Spite of the clipping prophecying a big wedding in the fall in St. Louis, we're going to fool them and be married at the Bay in that small, trick church there. Then going to kinda bum around for about three weeks and then go back to Chicago apartment there with Kenley Smith's - stay there through November I guess and then allez to Italy for a year or maybe two years. I've been saving seeds and buying Wop money since came down from Petoskey and I recently had a grant from the King and so I'm setting pretty well that away. We're going to Naples and stay there till it gets warm in the spring. Living at Capri I guess, and then go up into Abruzzi. Capracotta probably - there's a fine trout stream there - the Sangro River - and tennis courts and it's 1200 meters above sea level - most wonderful place you ever heard of. I've gotten all the dope on prices and so on from my best pal, Nick Neroni, who's just come to this country, we were together in the war, and he's been staying around with me and given me all the dope. He's going back in the fall and will arrange everything for us. It sounds pretty good? The date hasn't been set for the wedding, but it'll be early in Sept - some time the first week - and you'll be there of course. I can't invite a big lot of people because we're having it up North to get away from all that sort of thing - but you'll come won't you? Invitations and all that sort of thing'll arrive in course of human events. You don' wanta think, Gee, that I've thrown over all the people I'm fond of up North because I've not been writing this winter. It's been a regular hell of a winter in some ways - been pretty badly sick couple of times - been holding down one jawb days and one nights to get more seeds - been writing stuff on the side all the time and been so busy and tired and done in that I haven't written a line except to Hash all winter. Have what's really a pretty darned good job now - maybe making a mistake to throw it over to go to Italy - but will have enough seeds to last a couple of years there - and with that time to write in I've a chance to get somewhere. Irene Goldstein was here and we had one good session of tennis and I was going to see her again and then got suddenly ordered east to the fight and hadda leave in a hurrypacking on the run and didn't even have a chance to call her upwards. Lost 700 and some seeds on the battle - and that didn't help peace of mind any. It was a good bet at 3 - I though - Carp showed that when he nearly got him in the znd round. We were out of luck - if he hadn't busted his hand with that first right he landed - but what's the use of Post mortems? I'd rather you didn't say anything bout the seeds loseage - you know - there are too many people like to have a crack at you if you give 'em any chancet. Well dear old bean I'd better close-must write Useless - I'll be seeing you in September - Irene tells me you're getting beautiful - wouldn't be anything new -you have to be pretty good looking tho to have other girls say so. Write me will you? And remember me to your Dad and Mother. I'm terribly fond of all of you - you know how fond I am of you. Always, Stein.

• E. Hemingway, Selected Letters: 1917-1961, a cura di C. Baker, Scribner, New York 1981, p. 51.

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