“What did I write the other morning: You have to pull out the plug of the TV forever and cut your telephone cords because it’s not proper that you should spend your life with your ears stuffed with merde, as they say.”
Jim Harrison, in Conversations with Jim Harrison, Revised and Updated, Robert DeMott
_________________________________________________
“Oh, I see, I remember realizing, you write out of your own experience. You write in your own voice and don’t try to write literature per se. I don’t know why I needed to learn this, but I did. And if part of your childhood was spent watching Get Smart [on TV], it’s okay to mention that; don’t pretend you grew up in France.”
David Shields, Reality Hunger
_________________________________________________
I love Jim Harrison.
I love the major themes in his writing.
I love his voice.
I love his attitude.
But I didn’t grow up in the 1940s and 50s like he did.
I did not grow up on a farm.
I am a product of my times.
I grew up on Thundercats and Transworld Sport on Saturday morning TV.
I was unduly influenced by Reagan era commercial film and television.
I came late to the world of words and big ideas.
I love Jim Harrison.
I don’t pretend to be like him.
The only thing I can try to emulate is in his being himself.
This is evident in all his work.
I must remind myself to be myself at all times.
Conversations With Quotations 