Posted on July 17 2006
One could describe poet and author Jim Harrison as a master of obsessive behavior, but the neo-Victorians among us are sure to misinterpret: Harrison has lifted his obsessions to a fine art and done as much to vindicate them as anyone of his generation. New West writer Allen Jones gives us more of a good thing with his interview of Harrison, who in the opinion of many — anglers and non-anglers, writers and non-writers — is as gifted a writer as we have. “He likes his things. Four shelves in his writing shed are devoted to mementoes, including a garish, ceramic human skull (something maybe from Mexico’s festival of the dead) as well as an array of gourd rattles. A jawbone. Photos. He handed me an antique bronze metal tag, stamped with a number and the words, Bureau of Indian Affairs. He said, ‘That was a body tag. I guess they liked to keep track of the people they killed.'”