One True Podcast
One True Podcast explores all things related to Hemingway, his work, and his world. The show is hosted by Mark Cirino and produced by Michael Von Cannon. Join us in conversation with scholars, artists, political leaders, and other luminaries. For more, follow us on Twitter @1truepod. You can also email us at 1truepod@gmail.com.
One True Podcast
James H. Meredith on "Who Murdered the Vets?"
“Who Murdered the Vets?” is one of the most important non-fiction pieces Hemingway ever wrote. This 1935 article for New Masses excoriated the Roosevelt administration’s careless supervision of World War I veterans who died during the Labor Day hurricane while they were living in workcamps along the Keys. Stationed there to help to build the overseas highway, more than 250 died as victims of the cataclysmic storm.
Hemingway wrote what he called his “2800 words of dynamite” in a frothing rage, furious at the irresponsibility of the government, shocked at what he had witnessed firsthand, and grieving for the veterans who survived the Great War, only to lose their lives at home.
To discuss this explosive article and its crucial context, we welcome James H. Meredith, the former President of the Hemingway Society. Jim’s perspective walks us through Hemingway’s approach to this tragedy and how he composed such a vivid, emotional polemic.