Exploring Literary Florida.
Written by: Riley Kaminer
Not least is Ernest Hemingway, whose house in Key West is now a museum. Visitors can walk into his breezy writing studio in the French Colonial building and see the typewriter on which he wrote To Have and Have Not back in 1937. The novel captures the tension between the dark strains of the Great Depression and the luxurious life of tourists enjoying cocktails in the bars and keeping their yachts in the harbors. A classic Floridian narrative, if you ask me.
1937 was a pivotal year because it saw the publication of the most famous literary portrayal of Florida: Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. In addition to descriptions of Jacksonville and Eatonville, Hurston captures the wildness of the Everglades, with huge plants towering over its inhabitants, alligators with glinting eyes, and lush soil.
More recently, Carl Hiaasen has made his native Florida the setting for his comedic crime thriller novels, including Razor Girl and Squeeze Me. Hiaasen said, “Florida is a fertile setting for fiction because real life here is so bizarre.” Taking place among the swanky high society of Palm –each —including a President in his “Winter White House”, Squeeze Me captures that sentiment precisely. Hiaasen satirizes the glitz of charity ball season while drawing inspiration from the viral, bizarre headlines about “Florida man” in a plot-line about a python on the loose.
Given its rich literary history and abundant ground for inspiration, it’s no surprise that Florida is bursting with new talent. Some of this talent was displayed last year in Summer Shorts: Homegrown Edition at Miami’s prestigious Adrienne Arsht Center. Summer Shorts is an annual showing of short plays, now in its 27th year, and the Homegrown Edition showcased Miami’s best emerging playwrights, who took part in City Theatre’s Homegrown Playwright Development Program.
Leave it to homegrown master playwrights to capture the local narrative flair. “Florida has always been a place for both respite and imagination, which is why it has fed the literary landscape. It is where we go to rest amid the once-swampland and, once there, our minds and roots sink back to the places the peninsula is connected to – so many roots across the sea, beneath the sea, just above the water, so much story,” said homegrown master playwright Vanessa Garcia, known for her deliberate wit and keen sense of observation. “My mother likes to say that Miami is a country, and I find that to be accurate. Because it is not just the place many go to rest: it is the place so many go to thrive. To live, and more important still – to survive. A place like that is bound to feed a story. A place like that is bound to change the world through the narratives it builds, preserves, and births.”
The plays in Summer Shorts: Homegrown Edition were a testament to Garcia’s words. They ranged from a snapshot of a barista’s shi¡ to the experience of a Cuban immigrant. During each intermission between plays, video scenes featured different Miami cultural landmarks, highlighting the fact that the plays provide a glimpse into the multicultural tapestry of the city. Far from just a hub of luxury and decadence, it’s clear that Miami is also a vibrant incubator for literary expression.
