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Monday, July 27, 2009

Goodbye and Thanks to E. Lynn Harris

It was shocking to hear about the death of author E. Lynn Harris. I first met him about a decade ago, when he was kind enough to speak at the first Midwest Poets & Writers Conference in Detroit. I was a part of the planning team, and was nervous about how to deal with a famous author. Having heard about diva-esque authors and their tantrums, I was concerned. We wanted to make a good impression, but didn't want any trouble. Upon his arrival, to my pleasant surprise, the first thing I saw was Mr. Harris' smile: it was bright, warm and gracious. Mr. Harris was that way the entire time he was there, and I learned alot from him about the publishing industry. When Mr. Harris returned for another conference years later, even more famous, he still had his friendly manner. He made us laugh more than once and was willing to share his process with aspiring writers. His famous story of fame, selling one book at a time out of his car, will always be an inspiration to me. It is sad that he had to leave this world so soon, but he made good use of his time.

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