1 1/2 Inches by kiddharma
"Scientists say the moon grows 1 1/2 inches
farther away each year. I'll fight
this cosmic terrorism hand to hand."
Harrison/Kooser
Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry

Last week the New York Times published An Interview With Jim Harrison: Pleasures of the Hard-Worn Life. The article provides an extended visit with one of Michigan's most prolific authors (and gourmands) and includes a great video. Here's an excerpt for that inevitable day when the article retreats to the Times archive:

Like many of his books, Mr. Harrison's newest novel, "Returning to Earth," published this month by Grove/Atlantic, is set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he used to have a cabin. It's about a man of Finnish and Chippewa descent who is dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, and wants to end his days and be buried in traditional Native American fashion on a hillside overlooking Lake Superior. The book, his 28th, is wrenchingly sad in places, and Mr. Harrison recently acknowledged that writing it wasn't always easy, explaining that the death a year ago of his beloved older brother, John, was partly behind the story. He had recently found a quote in his journal, he said. "What cannot be said will get wept," it read.

You will also want to check out...

• Recipes for Jim's Mesquite Roasted Doves and Linda Harrison's Egg and Gruyère Polenta.
• Jim Harrison on Wikipedia includes a full listing of his works
• Returning to Earth from Grove Press and/or order Returning to Earth from Amazon