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RARA-AVIS: New member introduction
Greetings to all from a new list member; Kathy Harper, another list
member, suggested that I join this list, so here I am. My name is Jim
Stephenson, and I'm the rare books and special collections cataloger for
the University of Maryland at College Park libraries; more importantly
to this list, I'm a collector and fan of hard-boiled and noir
literature, focusing primarily on the 30's-mid-60's (although I read and
collect on either side of that range as well). I don't limit myself to
crime fiction, however--I find enjoyment in hard-boiled westerns (such
as Ed Gorman's "Guild" series) and the "realistic" school of American
literature (writers such as James T. Farrell, John O'Hara and Budd
Schulberg). Naturally I'm also a fan of film noir and gangster movies.
Since all of my obsessions fall into the perview of this list, I think
I've come to the right place!
List members may be interested to hear that I'm the curator of an
exhibit which will be going up at the University of Maryland early next
month, focusing on four hard-boiled and noir authors with a link to the
state of Maryland: Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, William Lindsay
Gresham, and George Pelecanos. Hammett was born in St. Mary's County,
Maryland, and first joined the Pinkertons in Baltimore (the building he
worked out of in Baltimore was named the Continental building); James M.
Cain was born and raised in Annapolis, and after some unsuccessful years
in Hollywood, returned to spend the rest of his life in Hyattsville,
Maryland. He was a familiar face on the UMD campus, and was occasional
adjunct faculty. William Lindsay Gresham was born in Baltimore, and is
primarily remembered for one brilliant novel: _Nightmare Alley_. He
wrote one other novel (_Limbo Tower_, about the inmates of a hospital
cancer ward) as well as a couple of books about circus life; Gresham
really doesn't fit easily into this exhibit, but I've shoehorned him in
because I love _Nightmare Alley_ so much. George Pelecanos, as most of
you probably know, is one of the best of the new hard-boiled
authors--his books are about as hard and grim as they come these days.
He's a graduate of UMD, and lives in Takoma Park, Maryland. We hope to
have him in for an event in April, when his new novel is published.
It's our intention to put this exhibit up permanently on the library's
website sometime, so look for my announcement of the address later.
Jim Stephenson
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