Michael wrote;
"somewhere in there will be a whole section on America's love
affair w/ the serial killer (featuring Hitchcock's _Psycho_,
Thompson's _Killer Inisde Me_, Westlake's _The Ax_, and the
film of _American Psycho_)"
Have you thought about a book by Robert Ressler or John
Douglas to show them what real serial killers are like, to
highlight the mythmaking in that love affair?
"I'm teaching a grad course on same subject next Spring, but
that course will almost certainly be on black (that is,
African-American) crime fiction, esp its relationship to
American History/Politics. The course will feature black
writers, obviously, though I'm thinking of putting
Pelecanos's _Right as Rain_ in there (haven't read it yet)
just to throw a curve. That should force people to reconsider
what the "Black" in
"Black Crime Fiction" means (you're not black, are you
George? Because that would fuck up my little plan)"
The great Lew Griffin books by James Sallis would also make
the point. Because of his black first person narrator, just
about everyone assumes Sallis, himself, is black. And his
publishers seem to perpetuate this misunderstanding,
neglecting to put his picture on his books. In no way
questioning George's "black" voice, his white face is on his
book jackets, so if you really want to blindside them, you
might want to try Sallis, if his Lew Griffin books are still
in print.
Mark
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