“There’s Nothing Sadder than a Bunch of Prematurely Discharged Seamen”

I’m too young to have listened regularly to crime dramas on what my grandfather frequently referred to as “the wireless.” But I do remember with fondness an old-time radio drama revival series in the 1970s called the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. It got me interested in the potential of dramatic presentations on the radio, and led to my experimenting with a similar broadcast series in college. The Sapphire Phoenix Theater of the Air, as we called it, wasn’t quite up to Mystery Theater standards (I remember trying to capture the sound of an automobile running over a body in the road, but winding up with something that sounded more like a deep-throated turkey gobble). However, it was loads of fun.

Which all leads up to my noting a recent dramatic reading of the humorous first chapter from Mark Coggins’ latest P.I. August Riordan novel, Candy from Strangers, as part of the podcast series “Writers’ Block,” prepared by San Francisco public-radio station KQED. I normally eschew commenting on what appear to be promotional efforts for individual writers. However, the connections of fact with fiction relative to this broadcast seem to merit my mentioning it here. As Coggins explains in an e-note:

The first [connection] is that the actor (Bill Arney) who read the piece is the voice of Eddie Muller’s San Francisco Noir Festival. ...

What is even more interesting, perhaps, is that Bill Arney currently resides in Dashiell Hammett’s old apartment [at 891 Post Street downtown]. ...

I’ve also placed my detective August Riordan in that apartment in all the books, although I’ve never said what the connection is to Hammett, etc. I think it’s very appropriate that the guy who “plays” Riordan in the piece actually lives in his apartment.One last tidbit is that Kurt Riback, who provided the music, is a San Francisco-based jazz-bassist. Riordan also plays jazz bass and the chapter that’s read describes one of his gigs.

It’s kind of nice when so many intriguing pieces fall into place this way. Of course, most folks who listen to the “Writers’ Block” presentation of Candy from Strangers will never know about such links. They’ll just appreciate listening to Arney’s 18-minute reading, which comes complete with noirish atmospherics and a wonderfully seductive disclaimer at the opening. “Please note,” warns Arney. “This podcast is a little racy in spots. If you have a delicate constitution, and choose to continue listening, good for you.”

To hear this KQED podcast, click here.

By the way, one of the previous “Writers’ Block” podcasts is a selection from One Good Turn, the second private eye Jackson Brodie novel by Kate Atkinson.