Jim Harrison

Poet and author will read from his work

NYS Writers Institute, Wednesday, October 30, 2002
4:15 p.m. Seminar | Stanidsh Room, Science Library, Uptown Campus
8:00 p.m. Reading | Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, Uptown Campus

PROFILE
Jim Harrison is the author of nine collections of poetry, seven novels, four volumes of novellas, two nonfiction collections, several screenplays, and a children's book. He began is writing career as a poet, publishing his first collection Plain Song in 1965. Wolf: A False Memoir launched his fiction writing career in 1971, but it wasn't until 1979 that he gained commerical and critical success with the release of Legends of the Fall, a trio of novellas. The stories in Legends of the Fall deal with American legends and myth, wild landscapes and images of nature, and primal acts by strong characters within a demanding and harsh world, all themes that Harison has continued to explore throughout his work. Legends of the Fall was adapted as a major motion picture in 1995 starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Aidan Quinn.

In addition to Legends of the Fall, several other novels and novellas by Harrison have been made into movies including Carried Away (1996), starring Denis Hopper and Amy Irving (based on the novel Farmer), Wolf (1994) starring Jack Nicholson and Michele Pfeiffer, and Revenge (1990) starring Kevin Costner and Anthony Quinn.

"I can't begin to do justice to the nuances of character and honest complexity of plot in his work. The writing is precise and careful--and sings withal." - Raymond Carver on Legends of the Fall

Harrison's most recent collection of novellas is The Beast God Forgot to Invent (2000) and was named a "Notable Book" by the New York Times Book Review and "Best Fiction of 2000" by the Los Angeles Times Book Review

"[Harrison is] a national treasure." - The Washington Times on The Beast God Forgot to Invent

"[proof] that Jim Harrison is a master of the genre." - Booklist on The Beast God Forgot to Invent

Harrison's latest publications include the nonfiction food book The Raw and the Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand (2001) and a memoir Off to the Side (November 2002), which chronicles his formation and growth as a writer--from his upbringing in Michigan, where, as a teenager, he discovered the power of writing, through the austerity of the Depression, to his success as a Hollywood screenwriter and world-renowned novelist.

Other Books by Jim Harrison:

Related Links:
BookShow Transcript
Writers Online Magazine Article

For additional information, visit New York State Writers Institute on Facebook, online at https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst, or email [email protected], or call 518-442-5620.