Harrison who died in 2016 at the age of 79 is one of my favorite writers.  Poet, novelist, memoirist–in each of these genres, his unique nature and talent showed forth.  He was a big man, blind in one eye since a childhood accident, who lived close to nature in Montana, Arizona, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  He ate and drank to excess, loved walking among the birds and animals, was a lusty pursuer of women, had close friends including the Nebraska poet Ted Kooser, and wrote more than a dozen volumes of poetry,

“Saving Daylight” is a wonderful example of his work.  Much of it in blank or free verse, he wrestled with what it meant to briefly be a human on this earth.  His topics were his dogs, women and most prominently his wife Suzanne, the birds, bears, coyotes, wolves, and moose that were his neighbors near his rural homes, and most of all time, its passing and the mysteries of mortality and a possible reincarnation.

I heartily recommend this book which unlike most books of poetry, I read at a single sitting, returning several times to re-read a particularly beautiful line, stanza, or entire poem.  If you find his poetry compellling, you might want to go on to read his very engaging memoirs filled with wine, good food, and good friends. You can find my reviews of those books by using the search engine on the Book Journal page.

When Harrison died, I felt the loss of a friend similar to the deaths of Bellow, Updike, and even Mailer.  Try him.