Scrawled mostly on yellow legal pads in black felt tip pen, author Jim Harrison wrote everything from letters, to poetry and drafts of manuscripts. Placed carefully into acid-free boxes and organized into folders, the collection containing all of these writings is stored in the university archives at Grand Valley State University.

In his home in Patagonia, Arizona, Harrison died at the age of 78 on March 26. The legacy of his career is left in the complete collection of his works stored in the Seidman House for students and the public to utilize and learn from.

“(The Jim Harrison collection) tells the story of a writer’s life,” said Nancy Richard, university archivist. “Not just Jim, but a typical writer. From his first thoughts of random scribbles on post-its to the final publication. The way that he wrote, the notes that he took, the ideas that he had, (the collection) documents the process.”

Best known for his novella “Legends of the Fall,” which was made into a movie in 1994, Harrison wrote in a variety of styles about a variety of topics. In addition to his fiction writings, Harrison also wrote poetry, reviews and essays on topics such as food, hunting and fishing.

In 2005, the full collection of Harrison’s works was left to GVSU. Harrison had a relationship with GVSU and visited campus to give readings of his work or to speak in classes. This year, Harrison collaborated with art professor Jill Eggers in the “Great Lakes: Image and Word” exhibit. He wrote a poem for the collaboration entitled “Moon Suite.”

Richard said Harrison chose to sell his writings to Hank Meijer to ensure the collection could remain together, be cared for and used.

“It is a treasure of manuscripts, correspondence, photos and memorabilia from one of Michigan’s greatest and prolific writers,” said Stanley Krohmer, affiliate professor of liberal studies. “Harrison scholars will visit and use this collection for many years to come.”

One of the more interesting parts of the collection for Richard is the letters of correspondence Harrison wrote. The correspondence section contains letters to and from Harrison’s family, fellow writers, fans and even actors. Included in the collection are letters with Bill Clinton, Jack Nicholson, Jimmy Buffet (and his mother) and Mario Batali.

“The correspondence is very informal, especially the correspondence with his friends,” Richard said. “It’s very bawdy and out there. He didn’t want his materials censored at all. He didn’t pull any punches; he talked about his life and his private life. He didn’t want any restrictions.

“He was always testing language or ideas. He would write to five or six different people with the same language or the same phrases to test out the things he was thinking about writing. You get a real sense of his relationship with people.”

In addition to learning about Harrison’s life and career, Richard said projects involving the Harrison collection will help students at GVSU to practice archival research.

“Researching in the archives is different from doing research in the library because you can’t just go and say ‘give me everything about Native Americans,’” Richard said. “It’s all over the place in every part of the collection. It takes some more time. Using this collection is a good way to get some experience with primary resources with letters or manuscripts.”

In a liberal studies class called American Visionary Thinkers: Jim Harrison, Krohmer asked to use the Harrison collection to write research papers.

“(Having a collection like this at GVSU) could change how students understand a great mind like Harrison—a man of the Earth, who lived life on his own terms,” Krohmer said. “It may be too early to tell (what students learned from the collection), but a few of my students learned that it takes many revisions sometimes to make great literature.”

For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/gvnow/2016/gvsu-remembers-legends-of-the-fall-author-9295.00000.htm.