Ernest Hemingway: In the Ring and Out

This essay offers an in-depth biographical and historical review of Hemingway’s lifelong engagement with boxing, scrutinizing in some detail a selection of anecdotes concerning Hemingway’s linked passions for fighting and writing. As Hemingway soon realized, Paris was a far better place to indulge his penchant for pugilism than Chicago, where professional boxing remained illegal except in private clubs. By perusing the sports pages and attending fights at such colorful venues as the Stade Anastasie, Hemingway worked hard to make himself a boxing authority as well as a writer.