PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Ernest Hemingway’s grandson will be among the presenters at The Community Library’s annual Ernest Hemingway Seminar, which will be held Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 4-6.

The event aims to honor the literary legacy of the writer by creating thoughtful discussion, personal reflection, and community around his works.

This year’s seminar, “Never Any Ending to Paris: Journeying through A Moveable Feast,” will focus on the author’s posthumously published Paris sketches.

Over two and a half days, participants will explore Hemingway’s stories about his time in Paris in the 1920s, the atmosphere in which he developed his craft, and the characters he brought to life as he later recalled this seminal period. Presentations, discussions, and exhibits will also examine a later context, including Hemingway’s writing and revision of the manuscript at his final home in Ketchum.

“A Moveable Feast offers us insight into Hemingway’s early days as an artist and invites reflection on memory and nostalgia in his writing,” said Martha Williams, the Library’s director of programs and education. “We’re especially excited to welcome Dr. Seán Hemingway, Ernest’s grandson and the editor of the 2009 restored edition of the text, as our opening keynote speaker. Seán will help us dive into the work, what Ernest intended for his memoir, and why it continues to resonate for readers and writers today.” 

The seminar kicks off at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, with a reception catered by Roots Wine Bar and Bottle Shop. It will be followed by Dr. Hemingway’s opening keynote at 6 p.m.

Events continue from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5 and 6, with presentations centering on A Moveable Feast’s style and tone, its characters who inspired Hemingway’s writing, as well as talks on the life of Gertrude Stein and the musical and artistic atmosphere of 1920s Paris.

Notable presenters include Dr. Hilary Justice, the Patrick and Carol T. Hemingway Scholar-in-Residence of the Ernest Hemingway Collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. She will speak alongside Barbara Groth of the Nomadic School of Wonder on Hemingway’s “art of noticing,” inviting seminar attendees to observe their surroundings more closely and contribute to “one true sentence.”

Boise State University, a sponsor of the seminar, will again contribute seminar regulars Dr. Clyde Moneyhun, St. Stacey Guill, and Dr. Mac Test. Francesa Wade, author of the forthcoming Gertrude Stein: an Afterlife, will join virtually from the United Kingdom to discuss her new book and research into Stein’s life and legacy. The Seminar also welcomes this year Hemingway speakers and scholars Cathy MacHold, Eileen Martin, Greer Rising, and Jennifer Sander.

The seminar closes with a reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, catered by Silver Fox Catering.

Tickets to attend in person are $95. At this time, in-person registration is full. Interested participants may sign up for the waitlist at no cost; payment will be due only if and when a waitlist registrant receives a spot or at check-in on September 4.

For those unable to attend in person, there is also an option to join virtually for $30. Visit https://comlib.org/programs/hemingway-seminar/ to register, see the full seminar agenda, or learn more.

A new foyer exhibit at the Library accompanies the Seminar, and will be available for the community to view beginning Sept. 3. “From Paris to Hemingway’s Idaho: ‘Hunger Was Good Discipline,’” is curated by Riley Bradshaw, the Library’s 2025 Hemingway in Idaho Research Fellow.

The exhibit explores Ernest’s time in Paris and in Ketchum, and the intersection of these two worlds as he wrote A Moveable Feast. Displays will feature objects from Hemingway’s historic home in Ketchum, owned and managed by The Community Library. The exhibit will be on display through December.