There are never any suicides in the quarter among people one knows
No successful suicides.
A Chinese boy kills himself and is dead.
(they continue to place his mail in the letter rack at the Dome)
A Norwegian boy kills himself and is dead.
(no one knows where the other Norwegian boy has gone)
They find a model dead
alone in bed and very dead.
(it made almost unbearable trouble for the concierge)
Sweet oil, the white of eggs, mustard and water, soap suds
and stomach pumps rescue the people one knows.
Every afternoon the people one knows can be found at the café.
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Comments
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ironic to find a poem written about suicide from Hemingway so early in his career. He shot himself, and others in his family line also died from suicide. Sad. The title of this poem is a famous section in Paris (early 1920's-40's) that was celebrated as a bohemian (aka utopian) center where poetry, creativity and freeness was the norm. Artists, writers, political thinkers, musicians...flocked in great numbers from around the world to Montparnasse to just be. This poem reflects a split community of the knowns and the unknowns. The loners, the "uncelebrated" succeeded in their quest to die (lines 3,5,7); those that had someone to look out for them were "saved" (10-11). The common gathering spot was the cafe (#12). In some ways this is almost a "journalistic" poem--the reporting of observation. It is not embellished. The parenthesis info is a wonderful addition, and functions as the point of view from the writer. Lines 1-2 caught my attention. I found myself thinking about the contents of this poem, and after rereading it three times, I pulled it apart by just reading lines 1,2 and 12. Then, I just read the poem as a whole again. I love hearing the voice of the poet in this. At the same rate, I also envision it as print in a newpaper--as an article perhaps on page 12 or in the obituary section. Those found have no names--just identified by ethnicity or function (i.e. model).
There is no evident rhyme; and reading this out loud, the term "dead" becomes the strongest term--it is repeated four times. -
i think this person is very creative. i mean its easy to write aabout suicide, but that can make it hard for others to understand. if youve never tried to commit suicide, or seriously thought about it, then it is impossable for you to understand the pain and anger. i like it and think it was well put. it kinda makes you think.
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Its a great write,and very honest. Hemingway basically made me think of Califnornia(Im not sure about Norwegian boys)and how it was a long long time ago. Its an odd write,and I agree with Akasha,I wonder if this guy was sober when he wrote it.
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I wonder was he sober when he wrote this one.
Great write, and very dark and colorful.
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