Guest Post

Books that helped Kent Haruf become more fully human

In a recent issue of the Century, I interview Kent Haruf, whose novel Benediction has garnered a nomination for the newly minted Folio Prize in the United Kingdom and recent reviews in The Guardian (by Ursula Le Guin) and the Telegraph. Haruf has made a life out of fine and careful reading, as well as writing. I asked him for recommendations on five books that have helped him become more fully human. Here is his list:

    • Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl

    • “The Bear,” William Faulkner

    • Stories by Chekhov, including “Peasants,” “Anyuta,” “The Hunter,” “The Student,” “The Lady with the Pet Dog,” “About Love”

    • Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee

    • Winter in the Blood, James Welch

Amy Frykholm

The Century senior editor is the author of five books, including Wild Woman: A Footnote, the Desert, and my Quest for an Elusive Saint.

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