Home Keywords'Writer' and 'drink'

'Writer' and 'drink'

I compared the keywords ‘writer’ and ‘drink’ using Voyant in order to see if the keywords functioned in any unusual or interesting ways throughout the text. The word ‘writer’ remains the more popular word out of ‘That Summer in Paris’, while the word ‘drink’ is non-existent. The reason I can attest to this is that in the early chapters of the novel, Morley is regaling his time as a young reporter; so focused is he on proving to his new boss Harry Hindmarsh that he can be relied upon for the job, ‘drink’ and any sort of drinking atmosphere is non-existent. However, this changes between chapters 10 and 13 when ‘writer’ and ‘drink’ become much more closely merged, overlapping exactly at chapter ten and thirteen. Why? The likely explanation is that when Morley reaches Paris, he is opened up to the ‘association between writing and drinking’ (Callaghan 1963) taking place in the writers Quarter in the 1920s at the time. Drinking in the cafes was part of this lifestyle – and in chapter ten, after Callaghan has finished getting to know Robert McAlmon and enquiring about writers like Hemingway, he and Loretto have a drink at the Apollinaire’s Café.

In chapter eleven, Morley’s exploration of Paris continues as he seeks out Ernest Hemingway, through owner Miss Beach, at Shakespeare and Co. Hemingway instead tracks down Morley and from there a relationship and dialogue about writing and critiquing writers like Mauriac begins; as does the drinking. Whilst having a writing conversation with Hemingway who keeps knocking back beers and offering more to Callaghan, Morley notes: ‘I had always liked to drink beer slowly, and after the three I felt distended. Why the hell am I doing this?’ (Callaghan 1963).By this point, it becomes clear that ‘The community of expatriate writers provided a supportive environment for heavy drinking’ (Room: 1984): by chapter thirteen, Hemingway delivers something of the writing gospel to Callaghan, stating what ‘the job of the writer’ should be, before the two go for a drink at a café. There is a peak in drinking at chapter fourteen, and as Morley recounts: ‘When we had had a drink, we gingerly got to the question : was Ford a great prose writer?’(Callaghan 1963), it seems a cemented fact that to ‘drink’, and to write, was inextricably linked in Callaghan 1920s Paris. This is only supported moreso, when the spike in drinking and writing tapers out after Morley returns to New York in the final chapters.

Callaghan, Morley. That Summer in Paris: Memories of Friendships with Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald, 1963. http://fitzgerald.narod.ru/bio/callaghan-thatsum.html

Room, R, 'A "Reverence for Strong Drink": The Lost Generation and the Elevation of Alcohol in American Culture' 45, no.6 (November 1984).