“If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing. A writer who appreciates the seriousness of writing so little that he is anxious to make people see he is formally educated, cultured or well-bred is merely a popinjay. And this too remember; a serious writer is not to be confounded with a solemn writer. A serious writer may be a hawk or a buzzard or even a popinjay, but a solemn writer is always a bloody owl.”

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About Ernest Hemingway

American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist

Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His work belongs to the 20th century, and he is widely known for a spare, understated style that shaped later writers. He has 257 quotes on the site. He wrote seven novels, six short-story collections, and two works of nonfiction, several of which became classics of American literature. He was also known for an adventurous public image and a blunt, outspoken manner, and he received the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature.

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Books by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea

A short novel, quick to read.

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