Where Does Your Magic Happen?
Key West at Dusk
Last week, my sister and I made the pilgrimage to the holy land of Ernest Hemingway – Key West, FL. Four hours by plane from Denver and another four hours by car from Fort Lauderdale through some of the most beautiful country in these United States. Our experience was well worth the trek. I was finally able to stand upon the sacred ground in which that special brand of Hemingway magic happened.
Surrounded by banana trees and the many resident cats of the Hemingway House, one of the greatest writers in American history produced many of his most famous works. He weaved his magic in the top room of a two-story carriage house.
Hemingway’s writing studio is on the 2nd floor.
Did he need a huge, fancy desk or massive walls of elaborate walnut panels? Nope. His workshop is surprisingly simple.
Please forgive the bars in the picture. A talented photographer I’m not.
Several talented writers and musicians have made Key West or the Florida Keys their home. Tennessee Williams was one of them. He wrote the final draft of A Street Car Named Desire at the La Concha Hotel. Our tour trolley driver suspected he also was inspired by the many tin roofs in Key West when he wrote Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
Kudos gentlemen. The only creative endeavor I managed on Key West was to come up with ways to get my banana daiquiris into my mouth without spilling. I suppose my creative magic happens best when I’m home in Colorado, sitting at my kitchen table with a warm cup of tea and the sun at my back. TTFN!
