Colum McCann Remembers Jim Harrison
He always resisted the temptation to become part of the structure
I met the words first and then I met the man. Both were the best they could ever be. Chain lightening to everything around him.Big enough to tamp down the rain. No rust on him. He’d break your heart with a gentle word and take your head off with the next. He shot our comfortable balance all to hell and then he restored our hearts. He said it himself: “Death steals everything from us, except our stories.” It doesn’t come to me like a burning bush or a pillar of light, but I wish he’d decided to stay.
Watch: A few months before Jim Harrison’s death, Grove Atlantic associate publisher Judy Hottensen was able to spend the day with the award-winning writer.