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Valerie in Lansing April 23 - photo gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- January 29, 2008
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25

VALERIE HEMINGWAY SIX-STOP MICHIGAN TOUR

MHC to bring personal secretary of icon Ernest Hemingway to visit Lansing, Hamtramck, Grand Rapids, Marquette, Traverse City, Saginaw

(LANSING)----Valerie Hemingway, author of Running with the Bulls, a memoir of her years as Ernest Hemingway’s secretary and her later marriage to his son, Gregory Hemingway, will tour six cities in Michigan from April 23-29, 2008. The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) brings Valerie Hemingway to Michigan to celebrate The Great Michigan Read, a statewide literature reading program featuring Ernest Hemingway’s The Nick Adams Stories. The MHC launched The Great Michigan Read in July 2007 to help address the decline in reading literature. The Nick Adams Stories chronicles a young man’s coming of age in a series of linked short stories, many of which are set in Michigan.

“I believe that using Hemingway’s work in a state-wide read is a wonderful idea,” said Valerie Hemingway. “I’m really looking forward to visiting Michigan, a place I first heard about from Ernest Hemingway’s lips. He never lost his affection for the state where the happiest moments of his childhood were spent. Michigan was the inspiration for his earliest and some of his best writing.”

“Valerie Hemingway will bring to Michigan her unique, personal connection to an American literary icon, Ernest Hemingway,” said Janice Fedewa, executive director of the MHC. “The Michigan Humanities Council is pleased to make Valerie available in six different locations to share her stories about the man behind The Nick Adams Stories.”

Valerie Hemingway’s scheduled appearances are:

• LANSING: Wednesday, April 23, 2008. 5:00 p.m. Library of Michigan, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing. (517) 373-1300. www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan
• HAMTRAMCK: Thursday, April 24, 2008. 7:00 p.m. Hamtramck Public Library, 2360 Caniff St., Hamtramck. (313) 365-7050. www.hamtramck.lib.mi.us
• GRAND RAPIDS: Saturday, April 26, 2008. 1:00 p.m. Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library St. NE, Grand Rapids. (616) 988-5400. www.grpl.org. Made possible in part by Meijer.
• MARQUETTE: Sunday, April 27, 2008. 2:00 p.m. Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St., Marquette. (906) 228-9510. www.pwpl.info. Made possible in part by We Energies through the Wisconsin Energy Corporation Foundation.
• TRAVERSE CITY: Monday, April 28, 2008. 7:00 p.m. City Opera House, 106 E. Front St., Traverse City. (231) 941-8082. www.cityoperahouse.org. Made possible in part by DTE Energy.
• SAGINAW: Tuesday, April 29, 2008. 6:30 p.m. Temple Theatre, 203 N. Washington, Saginaw. (989) 754-7469. www.templetheatre.com. Made possible in part by the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation and the Arnold & Gertrude Boutell Memorial Fund.

Tickets: The public should contact each of the venues at the phone/websites above for information on tickets and limited seating for each of Valerie Hemingway’s appearances.

About Valerie Hemingway (from valeriehemingway.com)
Valerie Danby-Smith was a journalist working in Madrid when she met Ernest Hemingway in 1959. She served as his secretary in Spain, France, and Cuba from 1959-60, and after the author's death worked for the Hemingway Estate in Cuba, Key West, Ketchum, and New York. She gathered all of the author’s papers and organized them, first for use by Carlos Baker and later for presentation to the Kennedy Library. She came by the Hemingway name by marrying, and later divorcing, Gregory, Ernest's youngest son. For two decades she worked in publishing and public relations in New York City, including two years as a fiction reviewer for Publishers Weekly. Her articles have appeared in Saturday Review, The New York Times, and Ski Magazine. For more information about Valerie Hemingway, please visit www.apbspeakers.com

Share Your Hemingway Story
The MHC invites people to share their personal stories about Ernest Hemingway and his time in Michigan. Stories can be submitted at www.greatmichiganread.org/memories.php and may be published on the Internet and in a future MHC newsletter.

About The Great Michigan Read
The MHC’s The Great Michigan Read is a community reading program for the entire state. With a statewide focus on a single literary masterpiece – Ernest Hemingway’s The Nick Adams Stories – it encourages Michiganians to read and rediscover literature. This classic was inspired by the author’s experiences in Northern Michigan. From July 2007 to July 2008, more than 180 organizations in 130 communities statewide will host discussion groups, speakers, film series, traveling exhibits, essay contests, and other activities. Visit www.greatmichiganread.org or call 517-372-7770 for resources, events, and other program information.

Copies of The Nick Adams Stories and official bookmarks and reader’s guides are available at Meijer, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Schuler Books & Music, and partner organizations.

The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is a private, non-profit organization funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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