Dear Readers --
This is not the way I wanted to come in, after years of
lurking, but events dictate otherwise. I've spent nearly
thirty years trying to tie veteran crime writers to my tape
recorders and then find a comfortable, quiet place to talk,
to pull up a couple of couches and watch the clouds. I've sat
down with everyone from W.R. Burnett and Jonathan Latimer to
William Campbell Gault and most recently, Dennis Lynds. I was
surprised last year to note that Dennis was turning 80. In so
many ways he seemed a generation younger than that. I'd known
Dennis for a long time before that, but only casually.
Questions become redundant when you already know the answers
and I didn't want to know Lynds too well before we ran the
tape. t I admired him from afar, then close up, and now I
miss him.
On a day when many will be thinking of Dennis Lynds I'd like
to keep his voice echoing a little longer, to share a little
bit of his perspective. After a lengthy, thorough interview
he finished with: " There's a key to my writing. It's
different from most everyone else's, and I don't quite know
how to explain it. There's an awful lot of good writers who
say pretty much the same thing that I do about humanity,
people, the system, about who are the villains and the heros.
who is a victim, and who isn't. But in general, they have a
tendency to blame what's wrong with the world - call it evil,
if you will, on individuals. I don't. I blame it on the
system. And that's a big difference. Really a big
difference."
Dennis thought that the crime novel should matter, that those
who wrote them should try to make a difference in people's
lives. Despite his challenges he still had an undiminished
intellectual vigor and a literary elegance that lead him away
from cynicism. He had a substantial list of books he wished
to finish, two more Dan Fortunes and a lot of short stories.
His commitment to his art kept him alive, and he filled as
many pages as he was permitted. He will inspire this writer
for a long, long time.
Thanks, Dennis. You belong with the Masters.
David L. Wilson Downieville, CA
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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