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Re: RARA-AVIS: New member introduction
James Stephenson wrote:
>
> 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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Tyrone Power's greatest role in film version of _Nightmare Alley_. If
you're doing a catalogue of your exhibit, could you send me one? Welcome
to Rara-Avis.
David Skene-Melvin
email = ann.melvin@sympatico.ca
pmail = 225 Carlton Str., Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5A 2L2
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