'My Life In The Bull Ring With Donald Ogden Stwart': Ernest Hemingway's Last Word From Beyond The Grave

Paul Bigneil at the British newspaper the Independant offers a piece on a Hemingway short story that Vanity Fair rejected when the late great writer was a young man.

For many aspiring writers, having a story published in a prestigious magazine could make or break a career. For most, their manuscript will be destined for an editor's wastepaper basket. Ernest Hemingway fell into this category after the US glossy magazine Vanity Fair rejected a short story he wrote as a 25-year-old.

But the American author who went on to write novels such as The Sun Also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea appears to have had the last laugh from beyond the grave.

Almost 90 years after the story, entitled "My Life in the Bull Ring with Donald Ogden Stewart", was rejected by the trend-setting magazine, a request from Vanity Fair's editor-in-chief Graydon Carter to publish the story has been turned down by Hemingway's estate. The five-page story, written in 1924 and set in a Spanish bullring, is said to be faintly comical but perhaps not his best work, written as he was attempting to put the finishing touches to The Sun Also Rises and The Torrents of Spring.

Michael Katakis of the Hemingway Estate, told The Independent on Sunday: "We're very careful with unpublished material. The question is: 'If Hemingway were alive, would he want it published in a magazine like Vanity Fair, or would he want it relegated to a scholarly examination of how a writer was developing?  

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/ernest-hemingways-last-word-from-beyond-the-grave-8669795.html 

In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011

Vanity Fair wrote about the passing of Christopher Hitchens tonight.

Christopher Hitchens—the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant—died today at the age of 62. Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in the spring of 2010, just after the publication of his memoir, Hitch-22, and began chemotherapy soon after. His matchless prose has appeared in Vanity Fair since 1992, when he was named contributing editor.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/12/In-Memoriam-Christopher-Hitchens-19492011

I didn't always agree with Hitchens - his atheism, his admiration for Che Guevara and his opposition to the American involvement in the Vietnam War are three areas of disagreement that come to mind - but I was thankful for his brilliant defense of the Iraq War and the war on terrorism, and his fearless opposition to Islamic fanaticism.

I've read nearly everything this fine writer and highly intelligent man wrote. I also enjoyed watching Hitchens debate. He was a very fine speaker and debater.

Although he famously did not believe in God or Heaven, my prayers are with him and and his family.