JIM HARRISON AN UNSUNG AMERICAN WRITER . MERCI BEAUCOUP MES AMIS YVES ET MP EN BRETAGNE

 In France intellectuals have a special place in the society. In my early days living there I was amazed that talk shows featured intellectuals inviting people into their homes for dinner and drinks and conversations. 

In the New World countries, especially the English speaking ones, the intellect is not that much valued as the central theme of the society is not Happiness but Money. Happiness you can find in the thousands of self help books lining Barnes and Nobles Book Store. 

My good friends Yves and MP (Nantes, Quiberon and Azammour) talked about Jim Harrison, the quintessential american writer 

There are many american writers that I have liked but having grown up in Australia and exposed to an european world at an early age (London with its colonial literature), my reading had been concentrated on non english literature 

I remember being enamored with Alberto Moravia of Italy (Jewish) and later with Agnar Mykle (Norway). During my medical student days i read voraciously the literature of Africa. VS Naipaul gave hours and hours of pleasure (he wrote beautifully in English) and many other writers not well known in the world stage such as Wendt from Samoa. Haruki Murakami was introduced to me by Mr Shanbag of ex-Premier Bookstore in Bangalore, who introduced me to Pramoedya Ananta Toer ( I think I arrived at his books via Holland?)

As soon as I was in Miami, I ordered Jim Harrison's Dalva  as recommended by my friends from Nantes, Quiberon and Azammour.

In france where he seems to be a well known figure, there was even a documentary film about him making the rounds of French villages.

The French are avid readers and I saw that they had reissued the book with a modern Indian artwork in the cover. Jim Harrison who lived amidst the Indians in the part of the world I am familiar with. Nebraska -South dakota border areas, had great respect for Native Indians of America and the characters appear to be deeply revealing (of Indians) and not the caricatures the americans are used to .

When I mention the name of Harrison to my american friends, they remember him from the movies of his books 

or WOLF 

I felt ashamed how this american literature, so close to the subjects of my work in the Nebraska/South Dakota area has escaped my attention. Better late than Never and I am so much enjoying this book. one can savour Jim Harrison's philosophy of life.

Merci beaucoup Y and MP 

When I am reading his book Dalva at the moment, i can relive the multiple times i had visited the scenary he describes, people he writes about. Thank you for the memories .