Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.

The Michigan Hemingway Society recently inaugurated a tour for people looking to gain some insight into Hemingway’s summer home in northern Michigan and the writing that his time there inspired.

When you think of Hemingway you probably think of Paris or Cuba, but during his childhood Ernest Hemingway spent every summer in northern Michigan, and a good portion of his short stories are actually set there. Hemingway’s Michigan tour has 11 sites, each marked with a bronze marker that explains its significance. Sites include The Perry Hotel where Hemingway stayed in 1916 before heading up to his family’s cottage, and the Carnegie Library Building where Hemingway spoke to the Ladies Aid Society in 1919 about his experiences in the war, which then led to his job at the Toronto Star as its European correspondent.

This tour is definitely for really die hard Ernest Hemingway fans. While it may not be as glamourous as touring Hemingway’s Paris, discovering Hemingway’s Michigan would be a great way for any fan to really understand the man before he became a legendary author.

Further reading: Picturing Hemingway’s Michigan

Related posts: Discovering Havana: In the Footsteps of Hemingway