Published in The Miami Herald Travel Section, June 23, 1996

Maybe Elvis could whip up a crowd like these guys. Maybe, back when he was rockin and rollin on stage; tippin his mic, and shakin his hips. But the 100 or so Ernest Hemingway wannabes who tipped their fishing hats and shook a few words loose on stage at Sloppy Joe s -- a Hemingway haunt -- were rather moving, too. They made a spectator wonder if another cultural icon wasn't still alive and, well, living in Key West.

You see, on this two-by-four mile island that boasts many celebrity musicians and writers, Ernest Hemingway is King. And the Hemingway Look Alike Contest that takes place each year at Sloppy Joe s is just one facet of the Hemingway Days Festival. In its 16th year this July 12-20, the week-long party offers as much for bystanders as it does for participants: Writers workshops and arm wrestling contests. Poetry readings and golf outings. Art and architectural tours. Fish-offs and barbecues and story telling and, generally, a fine balance of education and entertainment packed into a few square blocks on the US s outpost in the Caribbean.

"We planned our vacation to Key West specifically during this festival", said David Haas, a Daytona resident who whooped-it-up with other on-lookers last year at the first round of the Look-Alike Contest. "My buddy, Everett St. Francis, is thinking about participating next year".

I eyed St. Francis. A gray touch up here end there; a wool turtleneck sweater, and yep, he could be a dead-ringer for the late, great author, too. Indeed, a visit to Key West this week in July guarantees smooth waters for diving and snorkeling, the tail-end of tarpon season, fine dining, shopping -- and Ernie. Lots of Ernies.

“You could do a whole lot less constructive stuff with retirement,” said Jack Waterbury, a retired airline pilot and the 1987 Hemingway Look-Alike winner who, with other winners, judges the contest. The camaraderie among the look-alikes is special.

Special, too, are the poetry readings. In 1995, Joy Harjo was a featured speaker at the writer s workshop, and her part in an evening of open-air readings from the balcony at Kelly McGillis Caribbean Bar and Grill was spectacular. Harjo s saxophone accompaniment to her moving, Native American poems wafted through the palm fronds like a haunting, tropical breeze.

Five nights later, the 1995 festival wrapped up with impromptu poetry readings at the infamous, Green Parrot bar. The contrast in poetry and place was as extreme as the dual personalities of the festival s namesake.

Valerie Hemingway was Ernest Hemingway s secretary in Spain, France, and Cuba in 1959 and 1960. After his death in 1961, she organized his papers, which were later presented to the Kennedy Library.

“I met him when I was 19, and I remember him most as a teacher,” said Hemingway, who had married his youngest son, Gregory, and shared her thoughts about his father at the 1995 festival. "Even dining was exciting with Ernest, he put so much life into everything...he made everyone around him bigger than life."

Of course, she said reality didn’t necessarily agree with Ernest’s perceptions: "He was as exaggerated as he was disciplined. The man was curious and interested at the same time he was unforgiving, paranoid, and cruel." According to his secretary, Hemingway employed humor often, but it was sharper with those close to him...he used it to get the truth across.

Such insights into the man are important to this particular Hemingway festival, just one of dozens in the exotic arenas where Hemingway traveled and worked.

“The Hemingway Festival in Italy is very scholarly, and it draws 10,000 visitors,” said Hilary Hemingway, Ernest s niece, and one of the Hemingway family members who attends and coordinates the Key West festival. But the Hemingway Days Festival in Key West represents more than Ernest the author; it captures his personality and zest for living.

John Clifford is a gray-haired, gray-bearded neurosurgeon from Baton Rouge. He participated in the Hemingway Days Festival for the first time in 1995: "One of my patients came out from under anesthesia, and the first thing he said was 'You look like Ernest Hemingway.' So I figured that was a good excuse to take a summer vacation to Key West.”

For details, call festival headquarters in Key West, 305/294-4440.

© Barbara Bowers 1996