Hemingway's Student

The Devotions of Arnold Samuelson, Assistant and Acolyte

Ebook
On sale Jul 21, 2015 | 24 Pages | 9781101971413

From the award-winning biography of Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway’s Boat: the poignant story of Arnold Samuelson, who looked to the great author for mentorship in writing and life. 

He was a Midwesterner, a young journalist, haunted by inner demons, with a rambling gene, who headed down to Key West and was keen to establish his place in the pantheon of American writers. This was not Papa but Arnold Samuelson, a tormented and scarred young man who pocketed a newspaper photograph of his hero and role model and set off to find him in May of 1934. As luck would have it, Hemingway was home: he was in need of assistance on his new boat, Pilar, and happy to dole out writing advice between fishing and beers. This is the story of Hemingway the teacher, a rare glimpse of Hemingway sharing his craft—part education of a writer and part shadow story of a man who wanted to be Hemingway, and what that meant for him.
© Ceil Hendrickson
PAUL HENDRICKSON is a three-time finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a winner in 2003 for his book Sons of Mississippi. The Living and the Dead: Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a Lost War was a 1996 finalist for the National Book Award. Hemingway’s Boat was a New York Times best seller and also a best seller in the UK. He has been the recipient of writing fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lyndhurst Foundation, and the Alicia Patterson Foundation. Since 1998, he has been on the faculty of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and for two decades before that, he was a staff writer at The Washington Post. He lives with his wife, Cecilia, a retired nurse, outside Philadelphia and in Washington, DC. View titles by Paul Hendrickson

About

From the award-winning biography of Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway’s Boat: the poignant story of Arnold Samuelson, who looked to the great author for mentorship in writing and life. 

He was a Midwesterner, a young journalist, haunted by inner demons, with a rambling gene, who headed down to Key West and was keen to establish his place in the pantheon of American writers. This was not Papa but Arnold Samuelson, a tormented and scarred young man who pocketed a newspaper photograph of his hero and role model and set off to find him in May of 1934. As luck would have it, Hemingway was home: he was in need of assistance on his new boat, Pilar, and happy to dole out writing advice between fishing and beers. This is the story of Hemingway the teacher, a rare glimpse of Hemingway sharing his craft—part education of a writer and part shadow story of a man who wanted to be Hemingway, and what that meant for him.

Author

© Ceil Hendrickson
PAUL HENDRICKSON is a three-time finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a winner in 2003 for his book Sons of Mississippi. The Living and the Dead: Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a Lost War was a 1996 finalist for the National Book Award. Hemingway’s Boat was a New York Times best seller and also a best seller in the UK. He has been the recipient of writing fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lyndhurst Foundation, and the Alicia Patterson Foundation. Since 1998, he has been on the faculty of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and for two decades before that, he was a staff writer at The Washington Post. He lives with his wife, Cecilia, a retired nurse, outside Philadelphia and in Washington, DC. View titles by Paul Hendrickson

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live

Read more