Dec 08, 2025
Please join us as the National Writers Series welcomes Todd Goddard, who has written the first and only literary biography of author Jim Harrison. Goddard, an associate professor at Utah Valley University, will join guest host Doug Stanton, a #1 New York Times bestselling author who counts Harrison as one of his early mentors.
Born in Grayling, Michigan, Harrison was widely considered one of the finest voices of his generation. His journalism, 21 books of fiction, and 14 books of poetry helped shape the course of modern American literature. He is known for revitalizing the novella form of which he was a recognized master. Hollywood adapted several works of his fiction into movies, including Legends of the Fall, Revenge, Wolf and Carried Away (Farmer).
Writing for magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Esquire, and Outside in the 1970s, Harrison gained a loyal readership that reveled in his high spirits and prodigious appetites. Among his remarkable cohort of friends, writers, actors, and artists were Thomas McGuane, Peter Matthiessen, and Jack Nicholson.
For all his notoriety as a writer of prose, poetry remained his 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 bars of Northern Michigan, Arizona, and Montana.
Based on more than one hundred original interviews and drawing upon Harrison’s collected papers, Devouring Time captures the spirit of this legendary author, whose playful, irreverent, and spiritual work continues to find and delight new readers.
“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.” —Carl Hiaasen, New York Times bestselling author of Fever Beach.
Doors open at 6 p.m. The event begins at 7 p.m. and includes a Q&A and author signing. Tickets do not include a book. Books can be purchased at nationalwritersseries.org. Please note: signed books are only available at the live event. You can get your book personalized after the show.
Performances
Monday, December 8, 2025 - 7:00pmSustaining Sponsor: The Green Brick Foundation
Season Sponsor: NorthGuard Technology Group
Event Sponsor: TBA
Arts Benefactor: Mary and Ward Gillett
Media Partner: Interlochen Public Radio
Media Sponsor: Traverse City Record-Eagle
Supporting Sponsors: Image 360, Cambria Suites
Official Airport: Cherry Capital Airport