In Search Of The
Muse of Europe
Ernest Hemingway in the 1920s.
By Wayne Schutsky
Modern Times Magazine
Prologue of a three-part series.
Prologue | Part Two | Epilogue
March 18, 2012 — For some of the most talented and prolific American writers of the 20th century, Western Europe was a hotbed of inspiration. Whether it was the war zones of World War I and World War II or the romantic Parisian nightlife, the distinctly European region produced, somewhat ironically, some of the most well-known works by American authors.
And now I am in the same place, in the 21st century, hoping to find the same sort of geographical intervention. As one of the most anonymous and least accomplished American writers, I am hoping Western Europe will work its magic on me like it did with Hemingway and Fitzgerald nearly a century ago.
I want to dig in to the place. I want to feel it in my bones. I want to find out why this place, so different than home, could have such a profound effect on American writers. Why does a place that is thousands of miles away have the ability to bring out the essential American-ness in us?
Prologue | Part Two | Epilogue
First stop: Malaga in the south of Spain. This place is not known for its deep history of inspiration when it comes to American writers, but it will have to do. Some family helped me get a room here, so I will make do with the locale and try to learn as much as I can about Spanish culture and its effects on American writers while I am here.
But before I even left the airport for Malaga, I found out that “place” is not as important as just being in Spain: After a few moments in the Barajas Airport in Madrid, I found out why Europe is such an important place to American writers.
The exact moment of clarity occurred while I waited in Terminal 4 for a connecting flight to Malaga. I sat in one of the blue waiting chairs while my wife slept on my shoulder. We had been awake for about 20 hours at that point and fatigue was making my head feel light.
I sat on the chair trying to stay awake and saw a television screen a few rows ahead of me. A woman was crying while speaking at a press conference on the channel as I tried to translate the subtitles using my brief knowledge of Spanish. The screen said something about terrorism and I clenched up, not knowing if something terrible had happened in the country I was to spend the next week in.
I soon deciphered some of the text on the screen and dug into my memory to remember that it was actually the anniversary of the deadly terrorist attacks on the train system in Madrid.
The first thought that crossed my mind was that it looked just like one of the many television programs I see on the screen every year on September 11. A bunch of very distraught and sad looking people re-living one of the worst moments in their lives when they lost a husband or a father or a daughter or a sister.
Prologue | Part Two | Epilogue
And that is why Europe has always been a important place for young American writers to visit. Because it reminds us of how huge the world feels and how small it really is.
Heading into this trip, it felt kind of like the first time I was going to Disneyland. I was going to a place full of fun and adventure, with a little bit of exotic mystery mixed in. Most of the people looked somewhat like me and the general feel of the place was not too different from home. It just had a few attractions and other things that I would like to see.
But that is a narrow, ignorant, and kind of bigoted point of view.
The truth is Europe is a world away. The culture and society are very different than my own. The architecture is grand and ancient and the history of the land defines our modern world.
But the people, they still deal with the same daily dramas like everyone else on planet Earth. Their lives are full of fear and loss and love and the complicated mixture of all of those things that makes up life.
And that is why Europe has always been an important place for young American writers.
It reminds us that the country we live in is not the center of the universe, no matter how strongly our government and culture tries to convince us otherwise.
Prologue | Part Two | Epilogue
It reminds us that the world is extremely complicated and diverse. Even in places where we think the society mirrors our own, vast differences exist that make the place unique and worthwhile.
It reminds us that people are different but feel many of the same things. Even people who grow up worlds apart know what it's like to feel pain and loss and love.
And that is why Europe is such an important place to young American writers: Because it takes us out of our comfort zone and then reminds us that we never left.
Now, let me get back to my Anis del Toro, so I can find myself.
Wayne Schutsky lives in Phoenix, Ariz. Follow him @ThemanofLetters.
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