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The first general nonfiction title in thirty years from a giant of American letters, The Search for the Genuine is a sparkling, definitive collection of Jim Harrison's essays and journalism—some never before published
New York Times–bestselling author Jim Harrison (1937–2016) was a writer with a poet’s economy of style and a trencherman’s appetites. Praised as a “national treasure” (Chicago Tribune) and published in twenty-seven languages, he was one of this country’s most beloved and critically acclaimed authors. Best known for his poetry and fiction such as Legends of the Fall, Dalva, and Returning to Earth, Harrison was also a prolific nonfiction writer, with columns running in Sports Illustrated and Esquire, and work in Outside, Field & Stream, and others. The first collection of Harrison’s general nonfiction in thirty years, The Search for the Genuine is a sparkling, definitive volume of essays and journalism—from the near-classic to the never-published.
With his trademark ribald humor, compassion, and full-throated zest for life, The Search for the Genuine pays tribute to writers from Bukowski to Neruda to Peter Matthiessen, and examines the distance between literary reputation and the work itself; he attains something like satori in the field hunting grouse; he reports on Yellowstone for the park’s hundredth anniversary, when he was merely a tourist to the part of Montana he would eventually call home; he takes to the open sea in pursuit of roosterfish, marlin, tarpon, and, once, to observe a scientific mission tagging sharks; he delivers a heartbreaking essay on life—and, for those attempting to cross in the ever-more dangerous gaps, death—on the US-Mexico border. Always he comes back to the spirit and to connection with the natural world and the people who sustained him; throughout the book his feeling for the American landscape rings out.
Lovingly introduced by acclaimed novelist, poet, and essayist Luis Alberto Urrea, The Search for the Genuine is a feast that captures a lifetime of reading, writing, and living to the fullest, from a true “American original” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Praise for The Search for the Genuine:
“Harrison may be gone, but his writing speaks to a force larger than life: it continues to teach and inform years later, which is all a writer could ever really dream of.” —Literary Hub
“Spanning 45 years, this new bevy of essays and musings bursts with insight, adventure, and well-lived experiences . . . his writing is always and truly ‘genuine.’ Forthright, perpetually curious, and compassionate, Harrison remains wholly compelling and readers will be grateful that this buoyant, observant, and caring writer took time away from his sublime poetry to create these enriching essays.” —Booklist, starred review
“Endlessly charming . . . An essential installment in the Harrison canon.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Harrison devotees will eat this up.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A rollicking but sentimental tribute to a life wholly lived.”—CJ Lotz, Garden & Gun
“Harrison’s poetic voice and storyteller’s gift are strong in each of these pieces. With sections on writing and writer friends; hunting and hunting dogs; Michigan, Montana, and other favorite haunts; and, of course, fishing, the book makes the reader feel like they are sitting on the next barstool, listening to a master raconteur weave his tales. Harrison’s voice is, as always, filled with such a passion for living that it’s difficult to believe he’s gone. This collection is a welcome addition to the disbelief.” —Marc Beaudin, Big Sky Journal
“[The] great chronicler of America and her natural beauty . . . [Harrison] lived a singular life, a true American original, and The Search for the Genuine offers a glimpse into a life lived on the margins but at the center of what matters.” —Alex Perez, Return
“Over the course of his long career as a writer, Jim Harrison wrote eloquently about the American outdoors in countless ways. The Search for the Genuine assembles 45 years’ worth of his nonfiction, covering subjects ranging from Yellowstone National Park to searching for sharks. Looking for a lyrical, meditative take on the grandest subjects out there? Look no further.” —Tobias Carroll, InsideHook
“Rich with Harrison’s consummate humor and characteristic empathy.”—Jana Hoops, Jackson Clarion-Ledge
“Harrison was one of America’s most genuine writers and his “Search” ruminates about love, literature, hunting, fishing, border life and the magic of place.”—Bruce Dinges, Arizona Daily Star
“You will see the world in a different light and soon realize you are reading the work of a genius. Many readers will also learn he was a lot like you (and me).” —Bill Castanier, CityPulse
“The Harrison who emerges here is recognizable, but also useful, reminding readers of the value of curiosity and range, whether in miles or mindset.” —Glen Young, Petoskey News-Review
“Exuberant, startlingly original nonfiction . . . I’m taking its essays one by one . . . just to have his inimitable voice in my head for as long as possible.”—Colette Bancroft, The Tampa Bay Times
Praise for Jim Harrison:
“Among the most indelible American novelists of the last hundred years.”—Dwight Garner, New York Times
“Harrison is truly one of those writers whose books are hard to put down.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
“One of the few truly high-test males who’ve passed through the eye of the needle.”—Louise Erdich, MS.
“[Harrison] can sweep a reader off her feet with his wordplay, even if he is just describing the weather.”—Bernadette Murphy, Los Angeles Times
“Extravagantly talented, critically adored, more famous than most literary novelists . . . Jim Harrison gave his life to [writing], and American literature is richer as a result.”—Gregory Cowles, New York Times Book Review
JIM HARRISON (1937-2016) was the author of thirty-nine other works of poetry, nonfiction, and fiction, including Legends of the Fall, The Road Home, Returning to Earth, and The English Major. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, he had work published in twenty-seven languages.
Introduction
The Man Who Ate Books (Télérama)
Playful “memoir” of voraciousness for books, beginning with a (probably fictional) scene where as a baby the unnamed third-person narrator chewed on a family Bible
Dogs in the Manger: On Love, Spirit, and Literature
Why I Write (written for France, unpublished in English, possibly not published at all)
Short early piece, likely unpublished, dated to 1970s
Sitting Around (Tricycle)
On Zen and meditation
Dogs in the Manger (unpublished)
Literary reputation, very funny section on the anxieties of “regional” writers. Originally written for the NYTBR, never published
My Leader (In Search of Small Gods)
A memorable meeting with a goat in a Mexican cemetery, originally published in In Search of Small Gods (as a prose poem)
Nesting in Air (Northern Lights, anthology)
First Person Female (New York Times Magazine)
Essay for the New York Times Magazine on writing in the voice/head of female characters
Great Poems Make Good Prayers (Esquire)
Peter Matthiessen and a Writer’s Sport (unpublished)
Unpublished interview/fanboy love letter to Peter Matthiessen
The Pleasures of the Damned (New York Times Book Review)
Charles Bukowski review, for the NYTBR
Steinbeck (Steinbeck society anthology)
Short essay on reading Steinbeck, Jim’s dad, and his own youthful hitchhiker travels in California
Lauren Hutton’s ABCs (Playboy)
Love letter to Lauren Hutton
Introduction to Residence on Earth by Pablo Neruda (New Directions edition of Residence on Earth)
Why I Write, Or Not (Why I Write: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction ed Will Blythe)
Essay for Will Blythe anthology on writing, motivation, craft
Thoreau (written for Yves Jolviet in France, never published in English)
Dream as a Metaphor of Survival (Psychoanalytic Review)
An examination of dreams and compendium of some memorable ones, for the Psychoanalytic Review
Blue Panties (unpublished)
A whimsical meditation on the mysteries of sex and attraction, written after finding a pair of panties on a walk
Wisdom (written for France, unpublished as far as we know)
Dog Years: On Hunting
Dog Years (Field & Stream)
A life through the dogs he owned and hunted with, for Field & Stream
A New Map of the Sacred Territory (Esquire Sportsman)
On hunting and seeing one’s familiar territory anew
Delta Hunt (for Esquire, never published?)
Hunting wild turkey in the Mississippi Delta
The Misadventure Journals (Field & Stream)
Funny, thoughtful accounts of some major scrapes Jim got into in the great outdoors
Hunting with a Friend: On Good Friends and Foul Weather (For a Handful of Feathers intro, first serial to Sports Afield)
Essay about his long friendship with Guy de la Valdène, originally published as introduction to For a Handful of Feathers
Marching to a Different Drummer (Sports Illustrated)
Hunting grouse, who “drum” (a sustained burst of wing beating without flying, done as a display by the males)
Meditations on Hunting (unpublished)
Spring Coda (Esquire Sportsman)
On the coming of spring and a meditation on hunting in general
Michigan, Montana, and Other Sacred Places
A Prairie Prologue in Nebraska (New York Times)
Written for the New York Times, an homage to one of his favorite places, immortalized in Dalva and The Road Home
Not Quite Leaving Michigan (These United States)
On his decision to leave Michigan for Montana
Old, Faithful, and Mysterious (Sports Illustrated)
Written for the 100th anniversary of Yellowstone Park, reportage and personal account of a fishing trip there with Tom McGuane and others
Safely without Portfolio in Key West (Outside)
Classic piece on Key West and the excesses and transcendence it inspires simultaneously
Pie in the Sky (Esquire Sportsman)
The Beginner’s Mind (Heart of the Land, anthology benefiting )
Learning Montana, or Turn Me Loose
Getting to know Montana as a relatively new transplant
Life on the Border (Men’s Journal)
Written for Men’s Journal, a moving essay observing the folly of our border policy, inspired by the death of a young Mexican woman
The Beginner: and Other Journalism
The Beginner Meets the Eight Samurai (unpublished)
Covering a local tennis championship
A Delicate Creature (unpublished)
Reportage on sharks, including an interview with one of the founders of the American shark-tagging research project
Real Big Brown Truck (Automobile)
Car journalism mingled with Harrisonian concerns about place
Floating: On Fishing, and on the Water
On the Water (Sports Afloat, Time Life Books anthology)
Starting Over (Men’s Journal)
The Mad Marlin of Punta Carnero (True Magazine)
Fishing a Watershed (unpublished)
The Beauty of the Jump (Men’s Journal)
A River Never Sleeps (Esquire)
Floating (Sports Illustrated)
Early Fishing (In Search of Small Gods)