In a message dated 5/14/2004 1:39:41 PM Eastern Daylight
Time,
owner-rara-avis@icomm.ca writes:
> The guy who classified prose fiction as noir, and
who
> coined the term to describe a particular type of
crime
> fiction, was Gallimard's mystery editor
Marcel
> Duhamel. He started Gallimard's crime
fiction
> imprint, Serie Noir. Three of Serie Noir's
earlist
> offerings were Marlowe novels by Chandler. So, in
the
> view of the man who coined the term "noir" to
describe
> a particular kind of crime fiction, Chandler was
a
> practitioner of that kind of crime
fiction.
>
> Since Duhamel coined the term, Duhamel gets to set
the
> parameters. And he decided Chandler, and Hammett,
and
> Burnett, and a host of other American
hard-boiled
> writers, were within those parameters.
>
> That leaves it to us to discern the common
elements.
> The common elements were atmospheric qualities
that
> were dark and sinister. Consequently, those must
be
> the defining elements, both in prose and in
film.
>
> JIM DOHERTY
One thing I like about you Jim is the absolute certainty you
have in your opinions. But I have a question about the above
post.
You state that a)Mr. Duhamel coined the term and therefore he
has "the right to set the parameters" and the right to decide
which writers are included. Given that, his opinion, in other
words, is beyond challenge.
Okay, but then we have b)Doherty's ironclad certainty that
noir is defined by a dark and sinister atmosphere.
I need to check the Siere Noir list again but certainly it
includes novels that do not have a dark and senister
atmosphere. If some of those were chosen by Mr. Duhamel, are
they noir by Duhamel fiat? Or, are they ruled out because
they do not have the only characteristics you deem as
defining?
And, by the way, it was good to meet you at Malice Domestic
and I am enjoying your book.
Richard Moore
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