A New, Old Source Complicates the Story of Hemingway's "After the Storm"

Abstract: The composition of Hemingway's largely overlooked short story "After the Storm" has long been debated. Publications by Susan F. Beegel and others rightly have challenged the conventional wisdom that Hemingway crafted the narrative as a version of conversation with a Key West boat captain. Recent research has led to the discovery of previously overlooked evidence related to the 1919 shipwreck that inspired the story. Several Spanish-language sources have also helped to fill in the gaps with other details. These sources not only serve to further undermine what we thought we knew of "After the Storm" andHemingway's narrative strategy but they also offer opportunitiesto bring the story new attention and to spark new ways of reading it.