Hola, Pamela! To begin, a triple-barreled question: what
is your area of expertise, how did you obtain this
expertise--and what courses do you deliver at SLU that,
like, extend this expertise?
Pamela Rolfe: My area of expertise? I’d have to say that
expertise is Spain. I’m a journalist. I’ve worked for more
than 20 years as a journalist in Spain, covering
everything from Spanish politics and economics to the
devastating drama of the March 11 train bombs and the
historic days that followed. I’ve covered the film and
television industries, telecom industry, pharmaceutical
companies, Real Madrid and Barcelona football club.
Everything. Even golf and legionnaire’s disease. I’ve
done features about the government’s relationship with
the Catholic Church, the Spanish siesta and traveling to
Segovia for the day. The common thread through all of
those years of writing—and radio and TV appearances—
is Spain. Spain is my “beat,” if you will.
I started working in Spain at the Association of
European Journalists, writing declarations in defense of
freedom of the press in Eastern European countries that
were just coming out from behind the Iron Curtain. Then
I landed a job at the Associated Press’ Madrid bureau.
Wow! That was like journalist boot camp. It’s a small
bureau. At the time we were four people, taking turns,
covering Spain 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In my
opinion, it’s the best learning experience for a journalist
because it hones your skills like nothing else can. You
have to not only be versatile and have news judgment,
but you are always “on.”
At present, in the Department of Communication, I teach
News Writing (for many years!) and Multi-Platform
Journalism (new class!)—both of which focus on
reporting, writing and news judgment.
Now, what was this event in Pamplona in which you
participated—and how did you get involved with it?
Pamela: The event was part of the ninetieth anniversary
celebration of the publication of Hemingway’s landmark
work, The Sun Also Rises, part of a series of events
sponsored by the municipal government. The panel I was
on was called “Hemingway’s Women” and it was made up
of women foreign correspondents, that is, three foreign
correspondents who work in Spain, and one Spaniard
who has worked abroad. The idea was to speak about
Hemingway as a correspondent, his relationship with
women—and his depiction of Pamplona. I write for The
Washington Post, which means any time Spaniards are
looking to find an American correspondent, my name is
one of the first to pop up. And I’m one of the few female
correspondents. So they called me.
The truth is… they had no idea how suited I was for the
panel! Not just because I am a woman, but because
Hemingway has crisscrossed through my life not only as
a correspondent, but as an English major who focused on
Modernism. And, of course, the continuing Hemingway
crisscross, as an American living in Spain. So, I was very
happy to participate. I felt like I had a lot to say. And
actually—I did. I was the only American on the panel.
And Americans have an entirely different connection to
Hemingway from any other nationality—even though he
lived in so many countries.
How did the event play out, like, what happened? And the
really key matter: What do we need to know about
Hemingway?
Pamela: The panel was held in the historic Iruña Café,
which is the heart of the novel, where all the Pamplona
drinking activity takes place. It’s a magnificent place.
Have you been there? It really feels fresh out of the
1920s. There’s even a bronze sculpture of Hemingway at
the end of the bar, marking his place. You can easily
imagine him there.
What do we need to know about Hemingway? So much! I
think it would be hard to overstate how Hemingway
influenced the way Americans think of Europe in general
and Spain in particular. Anything he wrote about—
bullfighting, eating, drinking, streets he mentioned,
flamenco dancing—anything really—has become a
“must” for Americans visiting Spain. As I said before,
when I was working at the Associated Press, I really
learned news judgment. So many news stories that are
newsworthy today have a Hemingway angle. It’s
impressive the impact he had in that respect.
Also….as a correspondent working in Spain, I’ve
witnessed so many of my colleagues—mostly men—go
through what I like to call the “Hemingway Syndrome”
when they move to Spain. They start hanging out at Café
Gijon or Chicote. Wearing a beret. Drinking wine. Going
to “the bulls”—even running with the bulls in Pamplona
for the San Fermines—and working on “their craft”—
that is to say, their writing. It’s a bit predictable,
actually.
In any event, I don’t think it’s appreciated what a cult
figure Hemingway still is.
4-Do you have any photos to show us? Can you tell us
about them?
Pamela: Sure. Here are a couple of pictures of me on the
panel with the other women. I have to say, it was
amazing to be in Café Iruña. I’d actually never been
there and all the people piling in gave it the feel of a big
event. Here’s a picture of the other women I was on the
panel with. And here we all are with the Hemingway
statue. The poster [below at the foot of the document]
was in the window at the café.
When the panel was finished, I asked the organizers to
take it down and give it to me. I thought it was so cool—
in Spanish and in Basque, with Hemingway. I mean, I
don’t have the Hemingway Syndrome, but I can
appreciate how really cool that is!
OK, back to where we started, sort of: What is satisfying
to you in your work that crosses-over between the
classroom and hands-on work in the field?
Pamela: Honestly, I look at my mission in teaching as to
help students not only write well and report thoroughly,
but to understand what makes something news. To help
them learn how to distinguish between all the
information they come across daily and journalism.
Students today are very familiar with “media”… but not
all media is journalism. I love to see that moment when
they “get it” … when they become a more savvy audience
to, and producer, of information. It’s a different kind of
literacy really. Journalists are the people most critical of
journalism. We know not only the ethics and rules of
journalism, but also how difficult it is sometimes to
satisfy them. So, when you know how hard it is, how
subtle it is, you appreciate journalism differently when
you see it well done. And even more so, if you can
actually produce it yourself. Those are nuances you can’t
learn in a classroom. I like my students to have as much
real world experience as I can give them—because I
really think it makes a difference.