RIP Jim Harrison. One of the best of us.

[dannyb278]

Not much that I can say that hasn't already been said by those much more eloquent than myself, but if you are a hunter/fisherman that hasn't read Harrisons fiction or essays on food and sport, than you really are missing out and I highly recommend you go pick up one of his books. This guy burned the candle at both ends, and its amazing he lived as long as he did.

I did write a short piece on him following his death, for Wide Open Spaces. It was a real honor.

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/death-of-an-american-legend-remembering-jim-harrison/

He has been my favorite author since I discovered his work back in 2003. Its to bad that he was criminally underappreciated by most readers in America, but to those that loved his work, he will go down in history as a monolithic figure in literature and in life.

 

[noharleyyet]

I had a friend inform me of Mr. Harrison's demise yesterday.

...good mention and write up dannyb.

 

[dannyb278]

I had a friend inform me of Mr. Harrison's demise yesterday.

...good mention and write up dannyb.

Thank you. It was strange writing about a guy I greatly admired but never met. He was a fascinating character.

 

[Hem]

My wife and I have been huge fans of Harrison for years and eagerly awaited his next publication.He was a very interesting man, a true individual, and we enjoyed catching his book readings when we could. Both of us were saddened to hear of his passing on Sunday.I value having his collection on my bookshelf. I would have loved to fish in the day with Harrison,Chathtam, and McGuane.Recently I would have enjoyed just sipping some whiskey with Jim.

 

[Nameless Range]

Good Essay dannyb. RIP Jim Harrison.

 

[dannyb278]

My wife and I have been huge fans of Harrison for years and eagerly awaited his next publication.He was a very interesting man, a true individual, and we enjoyed catching his book readings when we could. Both of us were saddened to hear of his passing on Sunday.I value having his collection on my bookshelf. I would have loved to fish in the day with Harrison,Chathtam, and McGuane.Recently I would have enjoyed just sipping some whiskey with Jim.

That's awesome that you got to see him read in person. I had the opportunity once but missed out on it. Will always regret that.

 

[Hem]

I am a little surprised there hasn't been more comments on Harrison with this thread. He represents some of the best recent fiction put out by an American author and classed in the league of Hemingway.(though he hated this gauge).This might intimidate some easy readers,but I have always found Harrison to be enjoyable reading .The content of his fiction employs the outdoors,hunting.fishing,a little edgy at times.The humor is unparalleled but requires the reader to be focused on the prose.Harrison was brilliant but with a slightly twisted mind,which is what should make his writings all the more appealing.I believe he was in a league of his own.

 

[dannyb278]

I am a little surprised there hasn't been more comments on Harrison with this thread. He represents some of the best recent fiction put out by an American author and classed in the league of Hemingway.(though he hated this gauge).This might intimidate some easy readers,but I have always found Harrison to be enjoyable reading .The content of his fiction employs the outdoors,hunting.fishing,a little edgy at times.The humor is unparalleled but requires the reader to be focused on the prose.Harrison was brilliant but with a slightly twisted mind,which is what should make his writings all the more appealing.I believe he was in a league of his own.

Well said. His subtle and self effacing humor was definitely something that separated his work from Hemingway.

And while Harrison might not have like being compared to Hemingway (perhaps simply because of the regularity of it), I can totally understand why he would be. That level of masculine writing combined with the literary quality of the work produced is rarified air.

 

[AH_14]

Just an absolute classic Mr. Harrison---
His piece with Anthony Bourdain in his No Reservations series in Montana was really great,

Here's a PBS Memorial piece on Jim---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxD8QEkvUVA

Would have loved to spend a day in a drift boat with him!

God Bless Jim!

 

[Big Sky Dreamin]

Just an absolute classic Mr. Harrison---
His piece with Anthony Bourdain in his No Reservations series in Montana was really great,

Here's a PBS Memorial piece on Jim---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxD8QEkvUVA

Would have loved to spend a day in a drift boat with him!

God Bless Jim!

Yep!

The fishing was good, and the whiskey was great with Bourdain. The movie with Pitt was awesome before anyone gave a "care" about Brad.

I, unfortunately, need to share more of my time and soul with his writings.

 

[dannyb278]

Just an absolute classic Mr. Harrison---
His piece with Anthony Bourdain in his No Reservations series in Montana was really great,

Here's a PBS Memorial piece on Jim---
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxD8QEkvUVA

Would have loved to spend a day in a drift boat with him!

God Bless Jim!

That was very nice to watch, thank you for sharing it

 

[HSi-ESi]

This is a cool piece as well.

http://time.com/4275120/mario-batali-jim-harrison/?xid=time_socialflow_twitter

 

[noharleyyet]

This is a cool piece as well.

http://time.com/4275120/mario-batali-jim-harrison/?xid=time_socialflow_twitter

Enjoyable homage....interesting gentleman to say the least.

 

[dannyb278]

Holy cow, that article made me laugh. Specifically the chicken breast story. I always knew Harrison was a thigh man, and felt that dry, boring chicken breasts were one of the worst things about the overly health conscious American diet fads.

Thank you both for sharing that article.

 

[Irrelevant]

In the last few days I've rediscovered a couple of my favorite JH quotes:
"The danger of civilization, of course, is that you will piss away your life on nonsense."

"Life is too short for me to approach a meal with the mincing steps of a Japanese prostitute."

 

[dannyb278]

In the last few days I've rediscovered a couple of my favorite JH quotes:
"The danger of civilization, of course, is that you will piss away your life on nonsense."

"Life is too short for me to approach a meal with the mincing steps of a Japanese prostitute."

He is very quotable. Sometimes those lines just come out of nowhere in his books and force you to go back and read them a couple times.