This English professor has run with the bulls in Spain for two decades

When Bill Hillmann was 19 years old, he read Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises . That book inspired him to pursue two dreams: a career in literature and to run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

DON GONYEA, HOST: Eight days each July, the calm streets of Pamplona, Spain, transform into a wild race between man and beast. Each morning, bulls are released to run free through the streets as part of the city's San Fermin festival. Thousands of runners dash with them. This tradition was made world famous by Ernest Hemingway's classic novel "The Sun Also Rises," a book that turns 100 this year. But of all the people who have read that book, perhaps no one has been more impacted by it than Bill Hillmann. He was 19 years old when he first read it, and it inspired him to pursue a career in literature and to actually run with the bulls, which he's done hundreds of times. Today, at 44, Hillmann is a professor of English and communications at East-West University in Chicago. When I reached Hillmann on Friday, he had just completed another run. I asked him how it went. BILL HILLMANN: You know, it went amazing. It was the best run I've had in maybe a decade. A beautiful black bull went way out in front. He was just charging up the way. Everybody bailed out, and I just waited. I looked him in the eye, and he charged me, and I ran in front of his horns, and I led him up the street for about 20 yards. And then I dove to the fence. He almost gored me. I came within about 3 inches of getting gored. It was intense, but that's the epitome of what you're trying to do out there, is lead the bull in a close and intense manner. GONYEA: When you first read "The Sun Also Rises," what was it about Hemingway's description of the running of the bulls that you found so compelling? HILLMANN: When the first bull kind of comes onto the scene - this is, like, before the fiesta starts. They're taking the bulls off the trucks and putting them in the pens. Hemingway just had this way of describing the muscularity of the neck, the horns, the thought patterns, the movements of the animal. It was really intense and poetic. And I just became really entranced with this animal. And when he depicted the run, I really enjoyed it. He sort of understood, like, that there's people that run just to do it. There's people that run 'cause they like bulls and they're out there. And then there's the real runners that are running really close to the bull's horns. GONYEA: So you actually spoke with our colleague Kelly McEvers on this program back in 2014. You were on a hospital bed after having been gored by a bull. It was the first time you'd been gored. I want to play a clip from that interview first. Take a listen. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST) KELLY MCEVERS: Wrote part of a book called "Fiesta: How To Survive The Bulls Of Pamplona." I mean, how is that irony sitting with you today? HILLMANN: Well, I mean, I don't see - I have a problem with it because I don't see it as an irony at all. I am alive. I survived. MCEVERS: That's right. All right. Fair enough. OK. HILLMANN: I don't see it as an irony at all. Gorings are part of the run. And if you run long enough, you get gored. GONYEA: And I should add, you have been gore since then. Do I even need to ask the question? What are you thinking when you do this? HILLMANN: Well, you know, the thing is, is that I crossed over a long time ago as one of the runners that's serious about this, you know, that's really devoted to it. The thing is, is that when you love something like this and you're so deeply connected to it, getting hurt is nothing. It's not a big deal. It's just part of the run. And if it wasn't dangerous, what we do out here in the streets wouldn't be beautiful. GONYEA: That answer kind of anticipates my next question. It's a centuries-old tradition, but it has faced some modern criticisms. Animal rights activists say it's inhumane to the bulls. Others say it's too dangerous. What do you say to those who feel like it's time to just leave this tradition in the past? HILLMANN: It's sort of like somebody who never saw a rodeo, never grew up, you know, in cowboy culture and then criticizing cowboy culture. Why would I give a heck about somebody's opinion about bull running and bullfighting when they didn't grow up in the culture? And they have no respect for the culture. They think they're wiser and they're superior morally. It's total disrespect. It's pathetic. GONYEA: Let's return for a moment to Hemingway in his classic novel. I understand you teach "The Sun Also Rises." What lessons can students of today take from this century-old work? HILLMANN: It attaches to your last question, right? There's a lot of beauty when a person enters a foreign culture with curiosity, kindness and an eagerness to learn and to take part respectfully. That's really what Jake Barnes does, the main character in "The Sun Also Rises." He's really embraced the culture. He knows it well. He's getting closer and closer. He's learning it, and he's respecting it and being embraced by the locals. Entering someone else's culture allows you to see humanity from a whole different perspective, and it enriches your life. GONYEA: Bill Hillmann is a professor of English and communications at East-West University in Chicago. He's been speaking to us from Pamplona, Spain, about his personal experiences running with the bulls. Bill, thank you very much. HILLMANN: Thanks so much, Don. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.