Hemingway and Lorca

Book excerpt: This fascinating literary work explores the influence of Andalusia's ancient culture and civilization on the works of Ernest Hemingway and Federico Garcia Lorca. Although born on two different continents, these artists both were rooted in the blood and sand of the bullring and the culture of death, which made life that much more rich. They were both poets, and both men were musicians as evidenced by the musicality of the rhythms of their work. This study explores the cultural and historical influence of Andalusia on the poetry of Federico García Lorca and the prose of Ernest Hemingway, particularly the effects of the region's culture of life and death in their writing. This aspect of Spanish tradition found its greatest voice in bullfighting (toreo), pure gypsy flamenco song, and the creative concept of duende. Even though Lorca and Hemingway were born worlds apart, their works are steeped in a civilization thousands of years old that was molded and shaped by numerous people groups, including the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Iberians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Moors, Berber Muslims, and European Catholics. By examining the works of these two men immersed in the rich heritage of Andalusia as expressed during the early twentieth century, readers can more fully appreciate Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises and Lorca's poem Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías. They are masterpieces-one of prose, the other of poetry-created by two great authors who influenced and changed the writing styles of those who followed them.