'The hardest thing I know'

 

“Writing is the hardest thing Iknow, but it was the only thing I wanted to do. I wrote for 20 years andpublished nothing before my first book.” – KentHaruf

 

Born in Pueblo, CO, on this date in1943, Haruf finally broke through the barrier in 1984 with The TieThat Binds, not only establishing his writing credentials but also earningboth a Whiting Award and a Hemingway Foundation/PEN citation for excellence.

 

His novel, Plainsong, ahuge bestseller published in 1999, is considered one of the best ever writtenabout Western U.S. small town life.  And his last novel, OurSouls at Night, completed just before his death in 2014, was adapted into apopular film starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.

 

The son of a Methodist minister,Haruf first started writing in high school and further studied writing atNebraska Wesleyan University and at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he earnedhis MFA.   All of his novels are set in thefictional town of Holt, CO, based on the small Western plains’ town of Yumawhere he resided in the early 1980s.

 

“I write in a journal first,briefly,” he said of his writing process.  “Then (I) read somethingI've read many times before, for about half an hour, then rework what I wrotethe day before.   You have to believe in yourself, despite theevidence.”