BY KAREN BOSSICK
Todd Goddard will do a deep dive into the life of author Jim Harrison on Thursday, March 5, at the Community Library in Ketchum.
Goddard is the author of the newly published “Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, a Writer’s Life,” and he is also a March Writer-in-Residence at the historic Ernest and Mary Hemingway House owned by The Community Library.
He will discuss “Devouring Time” in a free event at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5.
Goddard’s book is the definitive biography of Harrison, who wrote such books as “Legends of the Fall,” a tale of two Montana sons who fall for the same woman that was transformed into a movie starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. Harrison also wrote “Dalva,” about a woman who journeys back to the bosom of her family, and “True North,” about a Michigan man who grapples with his family’s destructive legacy as wealthy timber barons in the Upper Peninsula.
His 21 books of fiction and 14 books of poetry influenced a generation of writers and revitalized the novella form, said Martha Williams, the Community Library’s director of programs and education.
“Todd’s book is beautifully written, drawing us into Jim Harrison’s fascinating life – from his childhood days in Michigan, to dropping out of college and hitchhiking to New York, to his marriage and writing and many, many adventures that spawned a long life of telling stories,” said Williams.
As Goddard shows, Harrison's literary achievements were matched only by the literary persona that he cultivated in the company of such friends, writers, actors and artists as Thomas McGuane, Peter Matthiessen, Jimmy Buffett and Jack Nicholson. His articles for magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Esquire, and Outside won him a loyal readership.
But, for all his notoriety as a writer of prose and the adaptations of his novels to screen, poetry remained Harrison’s first and longest-abiding love. He cherished his geographic remoteness from what he called the "dream coasts" of New York City and Los Angeles, preferring to hunt, fish, and drink in the backwoods of Michigan, Arizona and Montana.
Goddard based “Devouring Time” on more than a hundred original interviews and Harrison's collected papers. It’s the first and only literary biography of Harrison, whose playful, irreverent and spiritual work continues to delight new readers.
Said Carl Hiaasen, New York Times bestselling author of “Fever Beach:” “Devouring Time will stand as a complete and moving portrait…Raw and revealing, yet with a sensitive eye for both the pain and the talent that made Jim one of modern America’s most intriguing poets and novelists.”
“Todd Goddard tells the story of this bon vivant, outdoorsman, hellion, and great poet from his ancestors to his end with grace, momentum, generosity, and insight…and what a great American life it was, wreckage, glory, gifts, and all,” said Rebecca Solnit, author of Orwell’s Roses.
Goddard is an associate professor of literary studies at Utah Valley University who divides his time between Utah and Montana, where he is a member of the Board of Trustees for Elk River Arts & Lectures in Livingston. A Philadelphia native, he earned his bachelor’s degree from New York University, a J.D. from the University Connecticut School of Law, and a Ph.D. in literary studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
To save a seat, go to https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/15880975. The program also will be livestreamed at https://vimeo.com/event/5736991 and available to watch later on the Library’s Archive.
A book signing with Iconoclast Books will follow the on-stage conversation between Goddard and Martha Williams.