Grand Valley State University has acquired the papers of internationally acclaimed writer Jim Harrison, a Michigan native.
Harrison, an international best selling author, has been published in twenty-two languages. He is the author of five collections of novellas, including Legends of the Fall, eight novels, 10 collections of poetry, a children's book, three works of nonfiction, and his memoir, Off To The Side.
He is a winner of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Spirit of the West Award from the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association, as well as many other literary awards. Harrison's appearance at Grand Valley for Poetry Night 2003 drew a capacity-filled audience to Loosemore Auditorium. Grand Valley President Mark Murray said the acquisition will be a strong boost to an already strong writing program at Grand Valley. The purchase was aided by funding from the Meijer Foundation. In recognition of this gift, the University will establish the Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors.
"This collection will give our students an opportunity to better understand the path a writer takes from idea to publication," said Murray. "It also is a valuable tool for scholars for generations to come. I am very grateful to the Meijer Foundation for their generosity."
The $600,000 collection, which will be housed in the Special Collections of the University Libraries, currently comprise approximately 200 linear feet of shelf space. They consist of manuscripts, unpublished material, correspondence, notebooks, screenplays, photographs and artwork, and the works of others. Of this, one of the more interesting--and valuable--parts is the very large section of correspondence with noted American writers, including Gary Snyder, Robert Bly, Dan Gerber, Ted Kooser, Tom McGuane, and Peter Matthiessen. The university will be receiving all future accumulations of similar Harrison papers. The author will also spend one week on campus each year providing an opportunity for students, faculty, and the Grand Rapids community to attend meetings and seminars with Harrison.
"Jim's writing stands at the forefront of contemporary American literature," said Hank Meijer. "This is a unique opportunity for students to explore not only the career of Michigan's most distinguished author, but the act of literary creation itself."
Harrison was born in Grayling, Michigan in 1937, earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan State University, taught for a year at Stony Brook in New York, then returned to Michigan in 1966. He and wife Linda sold their farm in Leelanau County and his writing cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to be near their children and grandchildren in Montana. The Harrisons now reside half the year in Montana and the other half on the border of Arizona though he is a frequent visitor and vacationer in Michigan.
"During the critical years of my childhood our family lived in Reed City where my father was the county agricultural agent," said Harrison. "Grand Rapids was our almost mythological 'capital city.' As a child I spent nearly a month in Blodgett Hospital due to an eye injury. Grand Rapids is thus part of the landscape of my past and of my imagination." Harrison's Michigan roots run deep; his father came from Paris, Michigan, and his mother from a farm near Rodney. His appreciation of the natural outdoors, hunting and fishing also grew from childhood. "I'm still wondering why, at age eight, I spent fifty cents on a handkerchief at Herpolsheimer's rather than buying a bass plug or a trout fly," said Harrison. "What I am saying is that I'm happy that my papers have found an altogether appropriate home at Grand Valley. My deceased brother John, who was a librarian at Harvard, Yale, and finally Dean of Libraries at University of Arkansas, insisted to me that my papers stay in Michigan. I'm sure he would be as pleased as I am."
The Harrison literary collection will give scholars and the creative writing students in Grand Valley's Department of Writing an opportunity to study the creative process from the early stages of drafts through revision and publication. Student interns may have an opportunity to begin studying what is available in this collection and talking directly with the author when he is available on campus.
The Harrison literary collection is not limited to one area of study. For example, his "Legends of the Fall," which was made into a major motion picture, could be used by film students as an educational tool to study how scripts are developed from manuscripts. Jim Harrison will become a teacher for Grand Valley students both through his writings and through his work directly with them, during his yearly one-week visits to campus.
The Writing Center is a part of the College Interdisciplinary Studies. The Center is an integral component of the University and supports students, faculty and staff working on any kind of writing project. They provide instructional support and resources for writers along with other services to enhance the writing field.
The new Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors will be housed in the new Lake Ontario Hall scheduled to open in August of 2005. The center will be one of the anchors with a prime location on the first floor. The facility will be used by students, faculty, staff and visitors. The center site is well-suited for workshops, classes, writing retreats and other opportunities for instruction.
The Special Collections of the Grand Valley State University Libraries, located in Seidman House on the Allendale campus, comprise rare books, personal papers, and archives. The venue provides a reading room where students, faculty, staff and individuals may view and use the materials. It has substantial holdings of Michigan authors and poets, and its collection of novels set in Michigan is the finest of any library.
