Excerpt

Hemingway to Fitzgerald, 1934

"Forget your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start . . . But when you get the damned hurt use it--don't cheat with it . . . About this time I wouldn't blame you if you gave me a burst. Jesus it's marvellous to tell other people how to write, live, die etc. . . . You see, Bo, you're not a tragic character. Neither am I. All we are is writers and what we should do is write. Of all people on earth you needed discipline in your work and instead you marry someone who is jealous of your work, wants to compete with you and ruins you. It's not as simple as that and I thought Zelda was crazy the first time I met her and you complicated it even more by being in love with her and, of course you're a rummy. But you're no more of a rummy than Joyce is and most good writers are . . . You are twice as good now as you were at the time you think you were so marvellous . . . All you need to do is write truly and not care about what the fate of it is. "

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