Jim Harrison, Michigan native and icon of American literature, visited campus last week. Harrison's papers were acquired last year, thanks to the efforts of past President Mark A. Murray and the Meijer Foundation, as part of the Special Collections and University Archives of Grand Valley's Libraries.
University Archivist Nancy Richard met with Harrison to clarify some items in the collection, which contains more than 300 boxes of original manuscripts of his poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays, as well as photographs and extensive correspondence. The collection will continue to amass materials as long as Harrison continues to create them. To assist researchers, Richard has compiled a 96-page list of items in the collection.
Harrison also spent time in classes, speaking with students about what a writer needs to know.
"I didn't believe my father when I was 14 that the most valuable thing to have is curiosity," he said. "When you get older, the most interesting thing you can do is change your mind and abandon old perceptions."
Jim Harrison, left, talks to students in Stan Krohmer's Liberal Studies class / Photo by Courtney Newbauer
