Shiloh pays homage to Hemingway with new story at Fictionaut.com

Aug. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- The newest work by American writer Doug Shiloh is a parody of Nobel prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway. But where many parodies come from a disdain toward its subject, Shiloh is a fan of the writer known as "Papa."

The story "Hemingway On Trash Day" was written over the 2011-12 winter break. It appears on Fictionaut at http://www.fictionaut.com/stories/doug-shiloh/hemingway-on-trash-day.

Fans of Hemingway's work and life will see references in the humorous short story.

"Maybe the vision of Hemingway in the snow can help relieve this wicked heat wave the U.S. is having this summer," Shiloh cracked.

"He (Hemingway) changed Literature, whether you like him or not, and Hemingway is one of those figures," Shiloh said. "He was polarizing when he was alive, and as we progress into the 21st century, he's still a love-or-hate author.

"I was lucky enough in high school to have a 20th century lit class where we read Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck and Faulkner and it gave me a life-long appreciation for those giants of the 20th century literature," Shiloh said. "Faulkner is probably more in tune with today's work, but I find him a difficult read."

Shiloh is the author of POOKOO, a novel set in Chicago in 1991 at the dawn of the Internet, and it follows an ex-Olympic javelin thrower and his friends. So far, the book has been downloaded 5,000 times. Shiloh is currently editing his second novel, a dramatic comedy titled "Waiting for the End."

"I think those giants, such as Hemingway, would have thrived during the Digital Age - they all lived and died by the word," Shiloh added. "Hemingway would have had a blog with vlogging, while Fitzgerald would have cranked out e-books, maybe two a year, if he had a word processor. Steinbeck wouldn't have had a blog or Twitter account, as the others might have; he seemed like such a private person."

Shiloh adds that "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the "perfect novel", although with high school students who read it, the book gets knocked because it is homework.

"I hope it doesn't turn them off, and I think the new Leonardo DiCaprio movie will help give its legend a boost. By the same token, Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" is of the same time frame and it works at characters getting away from those with bad behavior."

Shiloh's work can be downloaded from Amazon or from his web site at http://www.dougshiloh.com. He can also be followed at Twitter.