A canoe and a quest led Eddy Harris to success

Eddy L. Harris has a unique approach to curing writer’s block. At 30, with a degree in… Eddy L. Harris has a unique approach to curing writer’s block. At 30, with a degree in communication from Stanford, Harris temporarily abandoned his struggling writing career to canoe the Mississippi River, despite having no money, no experience as a canoeist and no canoe.

The result was the critically acclaimed “Mississippi Solo: A River Quest,” published in 1998 and instantly hailed as an American classic.

On Wednesday night in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, Harris spoke to a crowd of more than 100 Pitt students and faculty as part of Pitt’s ongoing Contemporary Writers Series.

Harris, now 49, author of four critically acclaimed books, read select passages from one of his books, as well as from “My Father ‘ Me,” a memoir set to be published in France.

“Each [of his books] is a passionate quest into a place resonant with myth and meaning, an unflinching investigation into culture and what it is to be human, a generous offering of self,” remarked Faith Adiele, an assistant professor of English at Pitt, in her introduction.

In his work, Harris, who is black, often confronts issues of race in America and the search for identity, framed in the context of landmark historical cases like the Dredd-Scott decision.

Some students observed that Harris’ writing stands apart from many of his better-known contemporaries, like Paul Theroux.

“He works in history and research in a way that isn’t preachy,” said Shawn Johnnides, a senior studying media and communications, “and he seems to have so much fun traveling and writing about it, while others like Theroux don’t always feel as if they’re enjoying it.”

Prior to his appearance, Adiele assigned two of Harris’ books, “Mississippi Solo” and “Native Stranger,” to her senior seminar in nonfiction class.

“When I taught ‘Native Stranger,’ alongside these others, there was no contest,” Adiele said.

“Our central concern was, ‘How does someone capture a continent so vast and diverse, so long mythologized and misunderstood, so contradictory in its beauties and horrors? Which writer will let us hear African voices for ourselves?'”

Accustomed to a field traditionally dominated by white writers, other students expressed their gratification in hearing from such a rare and distinguished minority voice.

“It was inspiring just to see a black man of a successful caliber talking about his work,” said Herbie Tinsley, a CAS freshman. “He made no excuses for the racism he spoke about.”

Harris returns to France this week to begin work on his next book.

“Paris is the next project,” he said.

The Contemporary Writers Series resumes on Feb. 21 with poets Eric Pankey and Jennifer Atkinson.