Jim Harrison, considered one of the great writers in contemporary American fiction, has died at age 78 at his home in Patagonia, Arizona.
Harrison, author of the novella Legends of the Fall, made a prolific career with his descriptions of outdoor life – often through the lens of history – and was unconcerned by the limits of genre. The outdoorsman and bon vivant published more than 30 books over 50 years – and penned poetry, essays, interviews, screenplays, criticism, and reviews in addition to his fiction.
Harrison spent much of his time in a rural cabin near his Michigan hometown and often found himself compared to Ernest Hemingway, who also hailed from the midwest and cultivated a reputation for seeking adventure.
Harrison was not fond of the comparison, writing once that Hemingway seemed to him “a woodstove that didn’t give off much heat”.