After a lifetime of world travel I've been fascinated that those in the Third World don't have the same perception of reality that we do.

— Jim Harrison

Age focuses you. You are much better concentrated. There's more time when you travel less, don't do book tours, avoid interviews or public appearances. You walk the dogs, fish, hunt, cook and write.

— Jim Harrison

A poet must discover that it’s his own story that is true, even if the truth is small indeed.

— Jim Harrison

Everybody has a gun in their car in Detroit.

— Jim Harrison

Given free rein, our imagination can get infinite.

— Jim Harrison

His own life suddenly seemed repellent formal. Whom did he know, or what did he know and whom did he love? Sitting on the stump under the burden of his father's death and even the mortality inherent in the dying, wildly colored canopy of leaves, he somehow understood that life was only what one did every day.... Nothing was like anything else, including himself, and everything was changing all the time. He knew he couldn't perceive the change because he was changing too, along with everything

— Jim Harrison

His own life suddenly seemed repellent formal. Whom did he know, or what did he know and whom did he love? Sitting on the stump under the burden of his father's death and even the mortality inherent in the dying, wildly colored canopy of leaves, he somehow understood that life was only what one did every day.... Nothing was like anything else, including himself, and everything was changing all the time. He knew he couldn't perceive the change because he was changing too, along with everything else.

— Jim Harrison

I don't trust anybody that doesn't do good work. I don't give them any credibility. If they can't write, why should I believe anything they have to say?

— Jim Harrison

I'm afraid that eating in restaurants reflects one's experiences with movies, art galleries, novels, music - that is, characterized by mild amusement but with an overall feeling of stupidity and shame. Better to cook for yourself.

— Jim Harrison

I prefer the skyline of a shelf of books.

— Jim Harrison