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Slowing down in Piggott.

June 6, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

Writing like me at Hemingway-Pfeiffer

Happy Saturday! I thought I’d check in to let you know I’m still alive. I’ve been busy doing a whole lot of nothing but writing. After another successful writer retreat in Piggott, Arkansas, at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, my whole body feels drained. And that’s a good thing. Hemingway-Pfeiffer is an awe-filled place. A place for slowing down. A place for concentrating on the craft of writing.

The grounds are gorgeous and peaceful, not too contrived but natural, the way I imagine things looked when Hemingway wrote inside the barn/studio.

Writing Like Me at Hemingway-Pfeiffer (apple orchards)

Small-town Piggott feels like home to me. Treasures can be found if you slow down and notice.

old church window, Piggott, Ar

The Piggott Library has a signed first edition of Hemingway’s Death in the Afternoon, (along with an entire cabinet of related ephemera.) I’m guessing not many small town libraries can claim such a thing.

First Edition, Signed, Death in the Afternoon by Hemingway

I love the history around the town square, especially the faded advertisements spanning old brick buildings.

Piggott Ar painted brick wall

The train rumbles through town at all hours of the day and night, tapping into a deep memory of another time.

The next time you drive from Dallas to Austin or Atlanta to Savannah (or wherever), hop off the interstate and spend some time in one of the small towns along the way. Have lunch. Visit the library. Walk around the square. Take time to slow down. Slow is good.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Piggott is located approximately 180 miles northeast of Little Rock and 110 miles north of West Memphis. For more information about Hemingway-Pfeiffer and other Arkansas Heritage Sites, click HERE.

[tweetthis]Take time to slow down. Your #writing will benefit. @hpmuseum #HemingwayWroteHere[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Mayberry, Rascal Flatts

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Arkansas, Life, Simple Pleasures, Travel Tagged With: Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway-Pfeiffer, Northeast Arkansas

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Comments

  1. Colene says

    June 6, 2015 at 8:43 am

    Happy Saturday to you Talya. I’m glad to hear you had a successful week. Nice pictures and lovely blog.

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 6, 2015 at 9:06 am

      Thanks Colene!

      • Barbara thompson says

        June 6, 2015 at 11:03 am

        Your comments make me want to go visit.. Easy read for a lazy Saturday morning.

  2. Barbara Tate says

    June 6, 2015 at 3:00 pm

    Love the pictures.

  3. Dorothy Johnson says

    June 7, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    Lovely, peaceful pictures and musing.


Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: May 25, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025

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