Pete Dexter

Recent Posts

A few words on the Montana of Jim Harrison

Harrison

In an AP story about the death of Jim Harrison that ran in the Billings Gazette this morning, there is no mention of Livingston, though the headline does say, “‘Legends of the Fall'” author Jim Harrison, formerly of Livingston, dies at 78.'”

I might be wrong, but I don’t think he was a “former” resident of Livingston. I believe he had residences in Michigan, Arizona and the Paradise Valley, and that for the past 14 years he spent much of his time near Livingston. To give proper weight, then, to the influence of Montana on one of the great writers of our age, you could start with this Wall Street Journal article from 2009, which goes into considerable detail about Harrison’s house and its setting in the Paradise Valley. It includes this priceless paragraph:

“Sun drenches the big open kitchen, where Mr. Harrison and guests occasionally cook elaborate, multi-course meals—many featuring birds and game he’s hunted himself. Earlier this summer, Anthony Bourdain, chef and host of the Travel Channel’s food show ‘No Reservations,’ visited Mr. Harrison’s home during a trip to Livingston. Continue Reading →

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Prairie Lights: A tragedy, a book, a family connection

Notes

I hope you all read Brett French’s story in the Billings Gazette last Sunday about the connections between Norman Maclean and a Billings couple, Tom Tollefson and Jane Moses, and Tom’s brother Pete Dexter. I’d go into more detail, but you can read the story yourself. The thing is, the piece was so interesting (it helps that I know Brett, Tom and Jane and have read all of Dexter’s books) that it made me want to write about my own connections with the author of “A River Runs Through It.” (more…) Continue Reading →

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