Can't say he's a new writer, or that he was completely unknown to me but I just read my first Ian Rankin novel and I was very impressed. I'm going to try and space out the Inspector Rebus novels, which really carry the grit and subtleties of Edinburgh. Rankin knows the city well and makes me want to see more of the city, in the same way Denise Mina knows the streets of Glasgow.
Rebus seems to be a complex character, a heavy drinker, smoker, philanderer and Christian with a lot of issues. There are sixteen more books in the series to go. Maybe I'll get to the end of the series by 2012, if we all live that long.
Last night was another poetry slam at Writers Block for IWPS qualifying. It was another low energy crowd, despite MC Rachel's efforts at getting reactions.
I Drew second in the first round, just like last week. Now I'm going to start complaining about drawing that slot! And just like last week, Scott went first. And just like last week, Scott ended up winning the night.
I wanted to take a cattle prod to the crowd, and did my best in round two as I did Folsom Clothing Blues: Fall 2009. It's a piece about NFL convicts and a fashion show and it keeps updating itself. I put Vick in this edition and forgot all about Plaxico Burress. Next time.
So how does a guy get two years in jail for accidentally shooting himself with an unregistered gun while a drunk driver kills a guy with his Bentley gets thirty days?
Anyway. Back to slam. I ended up in third last night, which I believe puts me in the Grand Slam next Wednesday night. It's going to be a night of intensity as the grand slam poets bring out their best. I went to bed last night and ended up getting up to write a new poem.
That's how it's going to be!
2 comments:
You know my other half is a crime writer, right? So he's really gotten me into genre fiction since we got together. He's not the biggest fan of Ian Rankin admittedly, but one of the things I love about that sort of writing is exactly what you point out - the setting is as much a character as the criminals or PIs.
You might be interested in Stringer's recent piece on just this topic, from the collaborative crime fiction blog he writes with some other writers.
Yes I know he's a crime writer. He's not published over here though is he? I'm sure I've looked.
Thanks for the link, one of the reasons I love Pat Conroy is that he's made Charleston such a strong character in his books, and I've never been close to there. And Thurber was able to write so well about Columbus.
Oddly enough I've put this city in one of my lastest poems.
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