On Sunday, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency email was “Toto’s ‘Africa’” by Ernest Hemingway. It’s as good as it sounds, and you can read it here. It was funny to me for several reasons, and I thought I’d provide some background as to why the Hemingway part was relevant. I am not a huge fan of Hemingway, in general, but his mastery over language and words is something I’ve tried to emulate (and failed so miserably) over my life. One of my absolute favorite short stories is ‘Hills Like White Elephants.’ You can do a Google search to find a PDF to read. I remember my brain clicking to life when I read it the first time. I wanted to tell whole stories without ever revealing the subject, relying on finesse to guide the reader. I wrote a short series comprised entirely of two-way dialogue. It’s currently sitting on a hard drive in a computer that won’t boot, so cross your fingers that I can sort that soon and then show you how truly awful the writing is! It’s really honestly very bad, and it will make you feel better about everything you’ve written.
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Jo McCrory is a writer and artist living in northern California.
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Coffee beans and wet ink
Eucalyptus and lavender
Oyster shells and chestnuts
Pine needles and ivory
Ripe cherries picked from the tree
Blueberry stained fingers
after you plunder a wild bush
Sunscreen, mountain air
Lake water skin
Wood smoke cologne
Five days gone since a shave
Dirt under your nails on your shins in your hair
You are alive, triumphant
an extension of the mountain’s peak
reaching toward a wide blue sky
-rjm
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