By Margaret Atwood I have no business reprinting this, but "In Love with Raymond Chandler,” Canadian author/poet/lforce of nature Margaret Atwood’s peculiar valentine to Raymond Chandler (furniture?) is just too good to let slip by. It was originally collected in Good Bones (1992), an eclectic grab bag of her parables, monologues, snippets, prose poems, reconfigured fairy tales, recipes and … Continue reading “In Love with Raymond Chandler”
Tag: Raymond Chandler
From Spenser to Yeats: Jane Yeats, That Is
Feminism's Version of the Hard-boiled Sleuth is on the Wagon and Rides a Harley An Essay by Jill Edmondson Start with one serving of fingertips severed during a rather unfortunate version of Miller time. Blend in a blinding hangover buttressed by a British beer. Add the roar of a Harley drowning out the raspy hacking … Continue reading From Spenser to Yeats: Jane Yeats, That Is
My Scrapbook: “I’ll Be Waiting”
My Scrapbook Chandler Cracks The Saturday Evening Post Illustrations by Hy Rubin Chandler's short story “I’ll Be Waiting” marked the first—and only—appearance of pudgy house dick Tony Reseck. It appeared in the October 14, 1939 issue, and was Chandler's first—and only—sale to the “slicks.” Afterward, Chandler claimed he did it for the money, and at his agent's insistence, … Continue reading My Scrapbook: “I’ll Be Waiting”
My Scrapbook: “By Heart” by Emily St. John Mandel
My Scrapbook "By Heart" by Emily St. John Mandel "By Heart" is a recurring feature in The Atlantic in which authors, usually highly respected "literary" types, share and discuss some of their all-time favorite passages in literature. Which is why I got such a kick out of Emily St. John Mandel's pick, which appeared in the … Continue reading My Scrapbook: “By Heart” by Emily St. John Mandel
The Twenty-Year Death Trilogy
Created by Ariel S. Winter "I had on my good suit, a navy blue so deep it looked black, with a pressed white shirt, a red-and-blue-striped tie, a red handkerchief, and freshly polished loafers. I'd had a shower and a shave." -- Dennis Foster calls on his client, in The Falling Star "Yeah, I'd always … Continue reading The Twenty-Year Death Trilogy
Heavier Than Broken Hearts
The 2013 Raymond Chandler InterviewConducted by Ben Solomon BEN SOLOMON: Mr. Chandler, I thank you for granting this interview. I'm sure readers everywhere are plenty grateful, not to mention awful surprised. RAYMOND CHANDLER: Dead men are heavier than broken hearts. SOLOMON: I understand you didn't go for it at first. I mean the first time … Continue reading Heavier Than Broken Hearts
Looking for the Connections
Reconsidering Altman's "The Long Goodbye" I think Altman's rendition of The Long Goodbye gets a bad rap. Fans of Raymond Chandler's poetic novels and Bogart's iconic portrayal find Elliot Gould as a smart-ass, sleepy "Rip Van Marlowe" too much of a change in character. Gould's Philip Marlowe is a man who fell asleep in the … Continue reading Looking for the Connections
Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Erle Stanley Gardner (The Black Mask Boys)
Created by William F. Nolan Pseudonyms include Frank Anmar, F. E. Edwards & Warren Kastel (1928-2021) "All that talent -- and all that booze. A bad combination." -- Dashiell Hammett in The Black Mask MurdersTalk about resting in pieces. Of course, William F. Nolan didn't "create" Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, or Erle Stanley Gardner. They … Continue reading Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Erle Stanley Gardner (The Black Mask Boys)
Dashiell Hammett (Rest in Pieces)
Fictionalized by Joe Gores and others Joe Gores' fictional, but affectionate, take on former Pinkerton man DASHIELL HAMMETT, the creator of Sam Spade and The Continental Op, pushing aside the typewriter and getting "back on the game", as a favor for a pal. Set in San Francisco in 1928, it's part biography and part novel. … Continue reading Dashiell Hammett (Rest in Pieces)
Ted Malvern/Ted Carmady
Created by Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) “Ted Carmady liked the rain; liked the feel of it, the sound of it, the smell of it. He got out of his LaSalle coupe and stood for a while by the side entrance to the Carondelet, the high collar of his blue suede ulster tickling his ears, his hands … Continue reading Ted Malvern/Ted Carmady