US embassy cable - 02AMMAN3040

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003040 
 
SIPDIS 
 
IIP/G/NEA (BDURANT); NEA/PPD (JBAROODY, CBOURGEOIS, 
JGAFFNEY); NEA/ARN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP,  OEXC,  SCUL,  JO 
SUBJECT: DVC Program on the Literary Works of Ernest 
Hemingway: Program Evaluation: Tracker Number 15010 
 
 
1. Summary: PAS Amman conducted the third DVC program in a 
DVC series entitled "Regional American Writers" at 1400 GMT 
on Wednesday, June 5.  The program revolved around the 
Literary Works of legendary American writer, Ernest 
Hemingway.  The attendance was good with an audience of 
about thirty university faculty members, American Studies 
students, writers and scholars who displayed their 
involvement in the program by posing many interesting and 
valuable questions to our guest speaker. 
 
2. Description of Activity: The 90 minute session took 
place in the PAS auditorium room. 
 
3. Date: June 5, 2002; third Quarter FY-2002 
 
4. Justification and Objectives: The DVC program provided 
our audience with a firsthand exploration of Hemingway's 
literary world and his life.  Many of his works such as "A 
Farewell to Arms," "Death in the Afternoon" and in 
particular his masterpiece "The Old Man and the Sea" for 
which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1952 were discussed in 
detail.  The program also helped the audience understand 
what motivated Hemingway to write as he did.   The speaker, 
Hemingway biographer Mr. A.E. Hotchner, who knew the Nobel 
Prize winning author, familiarised the audience with the 
upsetting and moving experiences Hemingway faced, such as 
his plane crash in Africa in 1952 and his injury in World 
War One in Italy.  These experiences as well others and his 
four marriages all affected his work and shaped his writing, 
giving result to his literary style as verified by Mr. 
Hotchner who stated "Ernest is certainly in all his works." 
He believed his success as a writer and as a celebrity was 
in the fact that he "brought the world to America" by 
writing about far away places such as Africa and of safaris 
in "Green Hills of Africa."  Through his work, readers saw 
him as a war hero, a marlin fisherman, a war correspondent 
and lastly, a tragic figure. 
 
5. MPP Goal: This program supported the MPP goals promoting 
Jordanian understanding and appreciation of U.S society, 
culture, institutions and values. 
 
6. Result/impact: The Jordanian audience was very pleased 
with the guest speaker, Mr. A.E. Hotchner.  His approach was 
very impressive and very affable.  He spoke of Hemingway as 
a writer, as a man and above all, as a friend. He helped 
unravel many of Hemingway's thoughts and feelings which are 
a mystery to Hemingway's readers.  There was a general 
feeling in the audience that there is no one fitter for 
making the true Hemingway known to people other than Mr. 
Hotchner.   Hotchner even clarified false impressions about 
Hemingway being a womaniser, as Hemingway's readers and 
people the world over were led to believe by gossip columns 
and newspapers. He simply said that he was a celebrity and 
was great friends with many actresses such as Marlene 
Dietrich and Ingrid Bergman.  He even recounted personal 
experiences which made the audience laugh out loud, such as 
Hemingway's remark the first time he saw his novel "A 
Farewell to Arms" made into a film.  He declared that having 
worked so hard on the book and then seeing it mangled on 
screen like that was "Like pissing on your father's beard!" 
On a more serious note, he answered a question posed by a 
student about Hemingway's death and what compelled him to 
commit suicide.  Hotchner commented that there was a slow 
decline in Hemingway's enjoyment of life.  The experiences 
he faced in life, such as two world wars and a plane crash 
led him into a depression and fatalism so that he couldn't 
write anymore and when he couldn't write, he didn't want to 
live. 
 
7. Press Coverage: The Arabic daily Ad Dustour ran an 
article on the DVC program on Saturday, June 8.  The article 
covered the topics discussed during the program.  It also 
discussed Ernest Hemingway at length and mentioned some of 
his works, such as "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "A Moveable 
Feast" and "The Old Man and the Sea" for which he  won the 
Pulitzer prize in 1953.  The article also mentioned the 
reasons why Hemingway was labeled "The Writer of the 20th 
Century" saying it was the credibility in his works and his 
clever choice of characters which readers could relate to. 
The article also discussed Mr. Hotchner at great length and 
mentioned his literary works and involvement and 
accomplishments in film and cinema. 
 
8. Comments:  The connection was made through Sprint.  It 
yielded a good picture, resolution and sound.  The 
connection was not obstructed at all during the program. 
 
9. Quality of Support: Excellent.  PAS Amman appreciates the 
support of IIP/G/NEA, IIP/T/SV and NEA/PPD.  Many thanks go 
to Mr. Michael Bandler for his continuous support.  We look 
forward to continued cooperation and success on the final 
DVC program of this quarterly series on Regional American 
Writers.  GNEHM