Tuesday, November 13, 2012

What they said at Noircon

Your humble blogkeeper talking
 about noir songs at the
Philadelphia  Mausoleum
 of Contemporary Art
 during Noircon. Photo courtesy
 of Cullen Gallagher.
More wise, entertaining, and interesting things that people said at Noircon 2012:

"It's like modern folklore, really."
Alison Gaylin, on true crime

"It's increasingly impossible to tell an American noir story."
 Kent Harrington, on the globalization of crime

"Noir is "the beating heart of yearning. It's not about `problems.'"

Fellow Noircon attendee: "Are you a dog person or a cat person?"

Me: "Neither. I'm a vegetarian."
— Exchange at hotel bar Saturday night
  © Peter Rozovsky 2012

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4 Comments:

Blogger Kelly Robinson said...

True crime is absolutely modern folklore. Look at Jack the Ripper --the most-repeated things about JtR aren't even true. (There wasn't any fog in London during the times of the murders, he probably wasn't a gentleman in a top hat and definitely not a member of the royal family, and most crime historians agree that he didn't have any medical knowledge.) Those stories persist simply because they make good stories, and they get embellished along the way.

(I may not have made it to NoirCon, but I've made it to a few JtR conferences --and hosted one myself.)

November 14, 2012  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Here's a list of favorite true-crime books as chosen by members of the panel:

The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer (Alison Gaylin)
Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger (Alison Gaylin)
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Megan Abbott)
Murder Machine by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci (Wallace Stroby)
My Dark Places by James Ellroy (Megan Abbott)
People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate of Lucie Blackman by Richard Lloyd Parry (Megan Abbott)
The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall (Dennis Tafoya)
True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa by Michael Finkel (Dennis Tafoya)
Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi (Wallace Stroby)


You should keep in touch with Noircon's organizer, Lou Boxer. Maybe he'll invite you to the next Noircon, in 2014.

November 14, 2012  
Blogger Unknown said...

The cat v. dog v. vegetarian quip is superb! I hope that I someday have an opportunity to steal it and use it.

November 27, 2012  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Thanks! The quip was mine, and you can't steal it. I'd be proud to have you borrow it, though.

November 27, 2012  

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