I’ve done something a little different in my latest column for Kirkus Reviews. My topic today is crime-fiction reference books.
The three works I highlight are: Books to Die For: The World’s Greatest Mystery Writers on the
World’s Greatest Mystery Novels, edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke
(Atria/Emily Bestler); 100 American Crime Writers, edited by Steven Powell
(Palgrave Macmillan); and Masters of the “Humdrum” Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961, edited by Curtis J. Evans.
You’ll find my comments about all of those works here.
Showing posts with label 100 American Crime Writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 100 American Crime Writers. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
A Fresh Take on Crime Fiction’s Stars
(Editor’s note: As I’ve reported before, I am among the contributors to an encyclopedic work titled 100 American Crime Writers, which appeared last month in the UK and this month in the States, courtesy of publisher Palgrave Macmillan. My editor on that project was 
British scholar Steven Powell, who also wrote Conversations with James Ellroy, released earlier this year. In the following essay, Powell recalls the process of assembling 100 American Crime Writers and several of the difficulties he faced in completing that 392-page volume.)
I began working on 100 American Crime Writers as a contributor. Chris Routledge, the editor of the book at the time, asked me to write three biographical entries: James Ellroy, James M. Cain, and Mickey Spillane. I considered this to be an exciting and daunting task in itself, between uncovering new biographical details through researching and re-reading each man’s considerable collection. Despite this, when Chris asked me to take over as editor so that he could focus on other projects, I didn’t hesitate to say “yes.” As although it required researching and writing many more entries, communicating with 14 contributors, and dealing with the details of proofreading, bibliographies, editing proofs, and what-not, I was enthusiastic about the great wealth of interesting and engaging material and the opportunity to ensure it reached a broad audience.
100 American Crime Writers is published as part of Palgrave Macmillan’s Crime Files Series, which features some of the best contemporary scholarship on crime fiction. Previous volumes in the series include Lee Horsley’s The Noir Thriller and Death in a Cold Climate: A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction, by Barry Forshaw. The purpose of 100 American Crime Writers was to provide short critical biographies of (you guessed it) 100 of the greatest and most influential crime writers in American literary history.
The project was full of challenges. I had long been an admirer of anthologies such as William L. DeAndrea’s Encyclopedia Mysteriosa (1994) and the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection (1976), by Chris Steinbrunner and Otto Penzler. These books were mammoth reads, and it was difficult to imagine what they would be like to write and edit. Fortunately, I was blessed with a great set of contributors, some of whom I inherited off Chris and others I recruited myself. A few of the names will be familiar from the blogosphere: there is J. Kingston Pierce from The Rap Sheet, for instance, plus Juri Nummelin of Pulpetti and Chris himself, who wrote more entries than any other contributor.
One of the first tasks was to revise the list of authors to be included. Deciding which names would stay in 100 American and who to take off was always going to be a difficult task. There are some authors which no anthology of this kind can do without: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Elmore Leonard, etc. But I decided to add some relatively new names in the field, such as Megan Abbott, and take off John Grisham and Scott Turow, who--good as they are--just did not fit as neatly into any crime genre. However, some authors such as William Faulkner and Truman Capote, who would not traditionally be considered crime writers, are included for their influence on the genre through such works as Sanctuary (1931) and In Cold Blood (1966).
The entries themselves are a combination of a writer’s biography and an analysis of his or her key works. I was struck by the writers whose lives seemed as remarkable as their novels. Authors such as Harlan Coben and Janet Evanovich seem as emotionally fulfilled as they are professionally successful, while others carry an air of tragedy about them. It’s hard not to be moved when reading about the hardships Edward Bunker or Iceberg Slim endured in prison, or about Ross Macdonald’s slow mental decline. These guys wrote their legend, and a few of them lived it too, but they paid a high price.
100 American Crime Writers should fit comfortably onto the bookshelf of any student, scholar, or fan of crime fiction. My aim was to produce a book which could be either read in sequence or dipped into at will, with many pleasing return visits. Covering writers from Edgar Allan Poe to James Ellroy, the volume of material we were dealing with was immense, and Palgrave gave me a wide berth to explore the subject. At 130,000 words the book is almost twice the length of an average scholarly text, and we had to make sure that every word mattered. The volume also contains two essays, “‘Out of the Venetian Vase’: From Golden Age to Hard-boiled’” and “After These Mean Streets: Crime Fiction and the Chandler Inheritance,” which I wrote to contextualize the entries in terms of developments in the genre and literary themes. One recurring theme of the genre is the dynamic between fantasy and realism. In his entry on Ed McBain, Martin Lightening wrote of McBain’s contribution to this debate:
Speaking of which ...
READ MORE: “Extract from 100 American Crime Writers,” by Steven Powell (The Venetian Vase); “100 American Crime Writers, Steven Powell, Editor,” by Barry Forshaw (Crime Time).
British scholar Steven Powell, who also wrote Conversations with James Ellroy, released earlier this year. In the following essay, Powell recalls the process of assembling 100 American Crime Writers and several of the difficulties he faced in completing that 392-page volume.)I began working on 100 American Crime Writers as a contributor. Chris Routledge, the editor of the book at the time, asked me to write three biographical entries: James Ellroy, James M. Cain, and Mickey Spillane. I considered this to be an exciting and daunting task in itself, between uncovering new biographical details through researching and re-reading each man’s considerable collection. Despite this, when Chris asked me to take over as editor so that he could focus on other projects, I didn’t hesitate to say “yes.” As although it required researching and writing many more entries, communicating with 14 contributors, and dealing with the details of proofreading, bibliographies, editing proofs, and what-not, I was enthusiastic about the great wealth of interesting and engaging material and the opportunity to ensure it reached a broad audience.
100 American Crime Writers is published as part of Palgrave Macmillan’s Crime Files Series, which features some of the best contemporary scholarship on crime fiction. Previous volumes in the series include Lee Horsley’s The Noir Thriller and Death in a Cold Climate: A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction, by Barry Forshaw. The purpose of 100 American Crime Writers was to provide short critical biographies of (you guessed it) 100 of the greatest and most influential crime writers in American literary history.
The project was full of challenges. I had long been an admirer of anthologies such as William L. DeAndrea’s Encyclopedia Mysteriosa (1994) and the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection (1976), by Chris Steinbrunner and Otto Penzler. These books were mammoth reads, and it was difficult to imagine what they would be like to write and edit. Fortunately, I was blessed with a great set of contributors, some of whom I inherited off Chris and others I recruited myself. A few of the names will be familiar from the blogosphere: there is J. Kingston Pierce from The Rap Sheet, for instance, plus Juri Nummelin of Pulpetti and Chris himself, who wrote more entries than any other contributor.
One of the first tasks was to revise the list of authors to be included. Deciding which names would stay in 100 American and who to take off was always going to be a difficult task. There are some authors which no anthology of this kind can do without: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Elmore Leonard, etc. But I decided to add some relatively new names in the field, such as Megan Abbott, and take off John Grisham and Scott Turow, who--good as they are--just did not fit as neatly into any crime genre. However, some authors such as William Faulkner and Truman Capote, who would not traditionally be considered crime writers, are included for their influence on the genre through such works as Sanctuary (1931) and In Cold Blood (1966).
The entries themselves are a combination of a writer’s biography and an analysis of his or her key works. I was struck by the writers whose lives seemed as remarkable as their novels. Authors such as Harlan Coben and Janet Evanovich seem as emotionally fulfilled as they are professionally successful, while others carry an air of tragedy about them. It’s hard not to be moved when reading about the hardships Edward Bunker or Iceberg Slim endured in prison, or about Ross Macdonald’s slow mental decline. These guys wrote their legend, and a few of them lived it too, but they paid a high price.
100 American Crime Writers should fit comfortably onto the bookshelf of any student, scholar, or fan of crime fiction. My aim was to produce a book which could be either read in sequence or dipped into at will, with many pleasing return visits. Covering writers from Edgar Allan Poe to James Ellroy, the volume of material we were dealing with was immense, and Palgrave gave me a wide berth to explore the subject. At 130,000 words the book is almost twice the length of an average scholarly text, and we had to make sure that every word mattered. The volume also contains two essays, “‘Out of the Venetian Vase’: From Golden Age to Hard-boiled’” and “After These Mean Streets: Crime Fiction and the Chandler Inheritance,” which I wrote to contextualize the entries in terms of developments in the genre and literary themes. One recurring theme of the genre is the dynamic between fantasy and realism. In his entry on Ed McBain, Martin Lightening wrote of McBain’s contribution to this debate:
Unlike Chandler’s Philip Marlowe and other charismatic private eyes, the policemen McBain created are just people coming into work every day to earn a living. They are people trying to do their job well despite the attendant frustrations, such as lack of monetary rewards, physical dangers and the psychological effect of continually dealing with the darker side of human nature. The detectives, who alternate as the main characters, are a microcosm of the ethnic mix of New York, here renamed Isola which translates as ‘island’ in Italian. The most regular character, Steve Carella, is Italian, Meyer Meyer is Jewish, Bert Kling and Cotton Hawes are all American WASPs, Arthur Brown is black, Peter Byrnes is Irish, Frankie Hernandez is Puerto Rican and there is even a Japanese detective named Takashi Fujiwara. McBain deftly trod the path between mystery fiction and social realism. ‘A mystery should be exciting, believable and entertaining,’ McBain said. The problem was that crime is not this way in real life.It was a problem that McBain would successfully overcome. Indeed, in their distinct styles, whether they strived for realism or not, the most memorable crime writers--Patricia Highsmith, James Crumley, Joseph Wambaugh, Walter Mosley, etc.--never failed to entertain. With any project this size there are usually snags along the way which can lead to anxious moments, but my overwhelming feeling now that the book, as finished, is one of gratitude and pride. More than anything else, I hope anyone who reads 100 American Crime Writers will feel compelled to find the time to pick up a good crime novel.
Speaking of which ...
READ MORE: “Extract from 100 American Crime Writers,” by Steven Powell (The Venetian Vase); “100 American Crime Writers, Steven Powell, Editor,” by Barry Forshaw (Crime Time).
Monday, June 20, 2011
More Than the Usual Suspects
My mention here last week that I’d just completed a year’s worth of work on a crime-fiction encyclopedia project caused a number of Rap Sheet readers to ask for more information regarding that venture.
As I’ve written previously, the book is called 100 American Crime Writers and is being edited by Steven Powell, who’s also the author of another forthcoming work, Conversations with James Ellroy. 100 American Crime Writers will be brought out by British publisher Palgrave Macmillan, along with a companion book, 100 British Crime Writers, edited by Esme Miskimmin. There’s no scheduled release date yet, but Powell tells me that the manuscript is due this coming December. Given the glacial pace of academic publishing, 100 American Crime Writers might find its way to bookstores in late 2012, or some time in 2013.
Entries in this encyclopedia range from 500 words in length to 2,500 words, and have been broken up among a variety of contributors. I wrote seven of the author biographies. Below is a complete, alphabetized list of the entries, with my seven in boldface type:
“As I’m sure you’re aware,” writes Powell, “the hardest part about doing an anthology like this is to keep the number of authors down to 100. I’ve tried to represent a wide range of subgenres and time periods, but it is always going to disappoint some people that some names have to be excluded.” Indeed, had I been in charge, I might have dropped a few novelists--such as Truman Capote and William Faulker--who are better known for their work outside the crime-fiction realm. I might also have left out Roy Huggins, who, despite having penned a rather winning 1946 novel called The Double Take, was considerably more prominent as a TV writer and producer. And I’d have fought to fit in wordsmiths such as Thomas B. Dewey, Brett Halliday (aka Davis Dresser), Stuart M. Kaminsky, Stanley Ellin, Arthur Lyons, Martin Cruz Smith, Joseph Hansen, Linda Barnes, John Shannon, David Dodge, Robert J. Randisi, and Earl Derr Biggers. Of course, by the time I was done trying to include everybody I thought belonged into this encyclopedia, I might have had to change its title to 150 American Crime Writers.
I shall keep Rap Sheet readers apprised of the progress of this book, as it approaches its pub date. But you can also look for updates in editor Powell’s own fine blog, The Venetian Vase.
Coming on the heels of last year’s Following the Detectives: Real Locations in Crime Fiction, to which I also contributed, working on 100 American Crime Writers was not only a welcome opportunity, but a most satisfying experience, as it invited me to read or re-read stories by all of the authors I was profiling. I hope to take advantage of other such opportunities in the near future.
As I’ve written previously, the book is called 100 American Crime Writers and is being edited by Steven Powell, who’s also the author of another forthcoming work, Conversations with James Ellroy. 100 American Crime Writers will be brought out by British publisher Palgrave Macmillan, along with a companion book, 100 British Crime Writers, edited by Esme Miskimmin. There’s no scheduled release date yet, but Powell tells me that the manuscript is due this coming December. Given the glacial pace of academic publishing, 100 American Crime Writers might find its way to bookstores in late 2012, or some time in 2013.
Entries in this encyclopedia range from 500 words in length to 2,500 words, and have been broken up among a variety of contributors. I wrote seven of the author biographies. Below is a complete, alphabetized list of the entries, with my seven in boldface type:
1. Megan Abbott
2. Paul Auster
3. W.T. Ballard
4. Ann Bannon
5. Robert Bloch
6. Lawrence Block
7. Leigh Brackett
8. Gil Brewer
9. Fredric Brown
10. Howard Browne
11. Edward Bunker
12. James Lee Burke
13. W.R. Burnett
14. James M. Cain
15. Paul Cain
16. Truman Capote
17. John Dickson Carr
18. Vera Caspary
19. Raymond Chandler
20. Harlan Coben
21. Max Allan Collins
22. Richard Condon
23. Michael Connelly
24. Patricia Cornwell
25. Robert Crais
26. James Crumley
27. Carroll John Daly
28. Norbert Davis
29. Mignon G. Eberhardt
30. James Ellroy
31. Janet Evanovich
32. William Faulkner
33. Kenneth Fearing
34. Rudolph Fisher
35. Kinky Friedman
36. Jacques Futrelle
37. Erle Stanley Gardner
38. William Campbell Gault
39. David Goodis
40. Sue Grafton
41. Davis Grubb
42. Frank Gruber
43. Dashiell Hammett
44. Thomas Harris
45. Carl Hiaasen
46. Patricia Highsmith
47. George V. Higgins
48. Tony Hillerman
49. Chester Himes
50. Dorothy B. Hughes
51. Roy Huggins
52. Day Keane
53. Jonathan Kellerman
54. C. Daly King
55. Jonathan Latimer
56. Dennis Lehane
57. Elmore Leonard
58. Ira Levin
59. Elizabeth Linnington
60. Eleazar Lipsky
61. John Lutz
62. Ed McBain
63. Horace McCoy
64. William P. McGivern
65. John D. MacDonald
66. Ross Macdonald
67. Dan J. Marlowe
68. Margaret Millar
69. Walter Mosley
70. Marcia Muller
71. Frederick Nebel
72. Barbara Neely
73. William F. Nolan
74. Sara Paretsky
75. Robert B. Parker
76. George Pelecanos
77. Edgar Allan Poe
78. Melville Davisson Post
79. Richard S. Prather
80. Bill Pronzini
82. Arthur B. Reeve
83. Mary Roberts Rinehart
84. James Sallis
85. George S. Schuyler
86. Viola Brothers Shore
87. Iceberg Slim
88. Mickey Spillane
89. Rex Stout
90. Jim Thompson
91. Ernest Tidyman
92. Lawrence Treat
93. Joseph Wambaugh
94. Carolyn Wells
95. Donald E. Westlake
96. Raoul Whitfield
97. Charles Willeford
98. Charles Williams
99. Cornell Woolrich
100. Willard Huntington Wright (aka S.S. Van Dine)
“As I’m sure you’re aware,” writes Powell, “the hardest part about doing an anthology like this is to keep the number of authors down to 100. I’ve tried to represent a wide range of subgenres and time periods, but it is always going to disappoint some people that some names have to be excluded.” Indeed, had I been in charge, I might have dropped a few novelists--such as Truman Capote and William Faulker--who are better known for their work outside the crime-fiction realm. I might also have left out Roy Huggins, who, despite having penned a rather winning 1946 novel called The Double Take, was considerably more prominent as a TV writer and producer. And I’d have fought to fit in wordsmiths such as Thomas B. Dewey, Brett Halliday (aka Davis Dresser), Stuart M. Kaminsky, Stanley Ellin, Arthur Lyons, Martin Cruz Smith, Joseph Hansen, Linda Barnes, John Shannon, David Dodge, Robert J. Randisi, and Earl Derr Biggers. Of course, by the time I was done trying to include everybody I thought belonged into this encyclopedia, I might have had to change its title to 150 American Crime Writers.
I shall keep Rap Sheet readers apprised of the progress of this book, as it approaches its pub date. But you can also look for updates in editor Powell’s own fine blog, The Venetian Vase.
Coming on the heels of last year’s Following the Detectives: Real Locations in Crime Fiction, to which I also contributed, working on 100 American Crime Writers was not only a welcome opportunity, but a most satisfying experience, as it invited me to read or re-read stories by all of the authors I was profiling. I hope to take advantage of other such opportunities in the near future.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
“A Writer of the Old School”
If you were wondering over this last lazy weekend what had become of me, I hope your questions were answered by last evening’s posting, in my Killer Covers blog, of my rather lengthy (and thus hard to put together) profile of once-renowned author William Campbell Gault.
After being asked to write about Gault and half a dozen other wordsmiths for an upcoming encyclopedic work, 100 American Crime Writers, I started gathering and reading Gault’s novels, most of which feature one of two Southern California private eyes: Joe Puma or Brock Callahan. In addition, I began researching this author’s background, which is interesting in its own right. (He apparently managed a hotel in Wisconsin before embarking on a literary career.) When I found that my knowledge of Gault could never be contained within the limited space of the piece I had been commissioned to write, I decided to try my hand at a longer article for Killer Covers, and then use that as the starting point for my shorter encyclopedia entry.
One thing I haven’t been able to find out about the author, and which I hope somebody reading this post can supply, is the correct date of Gault’s death. It’s supposed to have been sometime in 1995, probably after March of that year, but I don’t find the date anywhere. If you know the answer to this question, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me here.
Meanwhile, why don’t you take a detour over to Killer Covers to learn more about an author who, though now largely forgotten, was once touted by Bill Pronzini as “a living legend.”
After being asked to write about Gault and half a dozen other wordsmiths for an upcoming encyclopedic work, 100 American Crime Writers, I started gathering and reading Gault’s novels, most of which feature one of two Southern California private eyes: Joe Puma or Brock Callahan. In addition, I began researching this author’s background, which is interesting in its own right. (He apparently managed a hotel in Wisconsin before embarking on a literary career.) When I found that my knowledge of Gault could never be contained within the limited space of the piece I had been commissioned to write, I decided to try my hand at a longer article for Killer Covers, and then use that as the starting point for my shorter encyclopedia entry.
One thing I haven’t been able to find out about the author, and which I hope somebody reading this post can supply, is the correct date of Gault’s death. It’s supposed to have been sometime in 1995, probably after March of that year, but I don’t find the date anywhere. If you know the answer to this question, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me here.
Meanwhile, why don’t you take a detour over to Killer Covers to learn more about an author who, though now largely forgotten, was once touted by Bill Pronzini as “a living legend.”
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