The story of Ernest Hemingway’s $187,000 magazine expenses claim

Columbia Journalism Review ^ | May 15, 2019 | Peter Moreira

[Sacajaweau]

$13,000 back then......Can the $187,000 headline be more phony??

[Mr. K]

Money changes value.

A car used to cost less than $1000 brand new in those days.

13,000 was THE EQUIVALENT OF 187,000 today

[miss marmelstein]

Just reading Hemingway’s biography now. He was an insane liar - he claimed to have killed 129 Germans in battle although he wasn’t in any armed forces (he was a journalist in the field). His lies about his participation in WWI (he was an ambulance driver in Italy) are drawfed by his drunken, paranoid lies about WWII.

That being said, he and Fitzgerald are the greatest American short story writers.

[Dr. Sivana]

13,000 was THE EQUIVALENT OF 187,000 today

Understood. But, those of us who know when Hemingway lived already did a quick recalculation in our head. I was thinking he was trying to charge $2 million before even getting to the body thanks to the misleading headline.

[Robe]

“The Old Man and the Sea” was his best IMHO

[struggle]

I did my thesis on Hemingway. Most good short story writers are terrific liars. Faulkner was the same way. Before he got famous, he lied that he was a pilot in WWI. He never got past Canadian flight training.

[4yearlurker]

I always liked “Big Two Hearted River.” Great short story.

[John Milner]

Brian William ought to give short story writing a shot. Ought to be terrific at it.

[Moonman62]

I found that just a couple of weeks ago.

[samtheman]

I did my thesis on Hemingway. Most good short story writers are terrific liars. Faulkner was the same way. Before he got famous, he lied that he was a pilot in WWI. He never got past Canadian flight training.
—
Interesting.

[IronJack]

Hemingway was a bloated egotist. It’s odd that he became so hostile toward journalism because that’s where he made his name and developed his terse, bare-bones style.

I’ve found most of his work over-rated. But I agree with you about Fitzgerald. If you’re only talking about 20th-century writers ...

[RoosterRedux]

In terms of writing style, Hemingway is my favorite.

What always amazes me is that as much as Hemingway hated journalism, his style is pure, crisp journalism (just the basics...nothing extra, nothing not completely necessary).

[RoosterRedux]

It’s odd that he became so hostile toward journalism because that’s where he made his name and developed his terse, bare-bones style.

Ditto. That's what I love most about his stories.

When I first read Hemingway as a kid, I thought it was masculine, nothing but the facts journalism.

I have done a lot of writing over the years and always used Hemingway as a guide of how to do it right.

And as much as I love Nabakov (absolutely beautiful prose), I always used him as a guide of how not to do it.

[RoosterRedux]

Stories are fabrications. What’s the mystery about that?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

He did.

[katykelly]

When the country was watching the OJ slow Bronco chase , I chose to watch The Old Man and the Sea .

[Gamecock]

Was a rat hat itemized on that voucher?

[samtheman]

Only liars can create fiction?

Fiction itself definitely isn’t a lie. Unless it’s seriously and convincingly labeled “non-fiction”.

I’ve written stories. I’m no pro but I have done it. But in my daily life I don’t tell lies.

So yes, to me it is a bit mysterious that greats like Hemingway and Faulkner have to embellish when they write non-fiction.

I bet Asimov wasn’t a liar (just picking one other great at random).

[RoosterRedux]

Only liars can create fiction?

That's quite a little creation there on your part.

Nowhere did I make such a claim.