An Unofficial 'The MeatEater Podcast' Reading List
Ep. 802: The Life And Death of Jim Harrison
December 08, 2025
Description
Books Referenced
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Described as Harrison's 'final book of essays' containing hunting and fishing writing combined with food writing and literature essays. Steve specifically mentions it as a collection of Harrison's Sports Illustrated writing from the seventies.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Described as 'a false memoir' about a guy wandering around Michigan's Upper Peninsula trying to catch a glimpse of a wolf. Steve mentions it as one of his favorites and discusses its abrupt, sad ending.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Mentioned as one of Harrison's Michigan-focused works that Steve and his friends were 'way into' when young.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Referenced as the greatest point of contact for people unfamiliar with Jim Harrison, and later mentioned as where many readers begin with Harrison and what made him wealthy.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Mentioned as one of Harrison's 'more complex works' and later praised as an example of Harrison writing sensitively in a woman's voice.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Briefly mentioned as one of Harrison's more complex later works.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Described as a children's book by Harrison that serves as an origin story about his experience with eye injury and retreating into nature.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Todd mentions doing a deep dive into Harrison's work including going back to Wolf, Warlock, and Farmer.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Mentioned alongside Warlock as one of Harrison's early novels that Todd read when getting into Harrison's work.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Mentioned as Harrison's memoir, titled in reference to his feeling of always being 'off to the side' due to his eye disfigurement.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
A collection of poetry where Harrison wrote letters to dead Russian poet Sergey Yesenin. Todd explains this book helped pull Harrison out of a deep depression in his thirties.
Author: James Joyce
Context:
Steve mentions trying to read this when going to writing school, thinking he should 'figure out what people actually write about,' but gave up on it.
Author: Richard Brautigan
Context:
Steve discusses this book, noting it's 'not about trout fishing in America' but contains 'one of the greatest fishing lines ever' about a stream being so narrow you'd 'have to be a plumber to fish that creek.'
Author: Larry Brown
Context:
Mentioned in discussion of Larry Brown, a Mississippi fireman who became a novelist. Steve describes Brown as someone who taught himself to write between calls at a fire barn.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
A collection of poems published right before Harrison died. The softcover edition includes the last poem Harrison was writing when he died.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
An unfinished novella Harrison began before his death, described as being about his wife Linda.
Author: Jim Harrison
Context:
Mentioned alongside Dolva as an example of Harrison writing novels in women's voices in a sympathetic way.