The Jim Harrison letters to John Ciardi, Poetry Editor, are fiery letters from 18-year old Harrison expressing his views on poetry. 2 holographic letters and 1 typed letter reply by Ciardi. 6 typed letters signed "Jim Harrison," "Jimmy Harrison," and "Jim" to novelist Thomas Berger dating from December 1972 through July 1974. 7 pages on 6 leaves, 8vo, on Harrison's letterhead with holograph notes by Harrison. Folded for mailing. Witty, sometimes vulgar, brutally honest correspondence to Berger centering around Harrison's work-in-progress, "A Good Day to Die," that "dark morsel of fibs, my tale of woe-wor, my bucket of fish heads..." Harrison requests "O Berger King" to write a "pre-galley statement for his "burnt out Huck Finn saboteur romance. Berger did in fact supply a blurb which reads as follows, "Jim Harrison is a fine poet who from time to time demonstrates for those of us condemned to prose how a novel should be written. A Good Day to Die is the product of a love of language and a passion for experience." A revealing group of letters written early in Harrison's fiction career. (Description by Raven Editions)