Harrison taught in the English department at
Dawson College in
Montreal, Quebec, and was chair of the creative writing department at
Malaspina University-College in
Nanaimo. He continued to teach at the same institution, which became
Vancouver Island University. His novels include
Eyemouth (1990), a story of four characters from a Scottish fishing village around the turn of the 19th century. Told entirely in the form of letters, the novel was a finalist for the
QSPELL Awards, which recognize books written by English-speaking Quebec residents.
Furry Creek, his 1999 "true-life novel", recounts the story of the murder of British Columbia poet
Pat Lowther. In a generally positive review, writer
Mark Anthony Jarman said, "The best parts of Furry Creek ... are fascinating and evocative ... Lowther's troubled shadow looms behind the text ... This is a kind of magic trick on the part of Keith Harrison, a labour of love, a monument to a writer's memory ..." It was nominated for the
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. He edited the 2001 anthology
Islands West, a compilation of short stories authored by writers from the west coast of Canada. == Novels ==