Ernest Hemingway

"I sometimes think my style is suggestive rather than direct.  The reader must often use his imagination or lose the most subtle part of my thought."

— Ernest Hemingway

American Novelist

1899 - 1961

The writer and the artist should not tell everything.  They should respect the intelligence of their readers and admirers.  One important concept that my study of haiku has taught me is that the reader must bring something to the table.  The artist's job is to suggest.  The reader must discover the meaning in the writing or the painting.  My writing like Hemingway's is often suggestive, not direct.  Simple, not complex.  My painting is even more suggestive and simple.  

What this also means is that our state of mind when we read something impacts our response to what we read.  It impacts our experience of what we read.  Readers always bring something to the table.  Some books should be read when we are young and others when we are more mature.  Some books should be read again and again.  Each time we read it, we find new meaning in the words because we are a new person.  The same is true of painting, music, dance and theater.

Ernest Hemingway

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master."

— Ernest Hemingway

American Novelist

1899 - 1961

This is an amazing statement from a writer whom many would call a master.  I think what Hemingway is saying is that we should never stop learning about our craft.  Even the best of the best can learn something new — can improve their craft.  The task of becoming good never ends.  We are all apprentices — beginners.  We must come to the task of creating each work of art as a beginner would.

Those who believe there is nothing left to learn have stopped growing and will soon be spiritually dead and doomed to a life of repetition.  Life is in the learning.  Life is in the growing.  So don't despair if you don't know everything because you never will.  Don't despair if you haven't perfected your craft.  The joy is in the learning.  The joy is in the discovery of ways to improve your craft.

Ernest Hemingway

"The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity to sacrifice.  Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed."

— Ernest Hemingway

American Novelist

1899 - 1961

As writers, artists and creative leaders we often are vulnerable to the hostile, negative behavior of people who do not understand us and what we represent.  These negative people can be our friends and family initially and the wider world eventually as our creative ideas and works try to find their place in that world.  We need to remain strong and courageous in the face of negative attacks.

As creative leaders we often sacrifice much to achieve our dreams.  We become so focused on and obsessed with our work that we ignore family and friends.  We miss out on the joys of life.  We may forget to take care of our health.  We drink and/or take drugs to kill the demons chasing us.  We suffer ridicule at the hands of those who don't understand us and what we do.

People may hate us when we tell the truth.  Often people are not ready for the truth we have to speak.  They may criticize and condemn us.  They may laugh at us.  We must find the discipline and the courage to speak the truth anyway — to open up and share our thoughts and feelings, to share the beauty we see.

Hemingway At Work