NoirCon 2012, Nov. 8-11 in Philadelphia
NoirCon 2012 is coming up in Philadelphia, Nov. 8-11. I hope you'll be there with distinguished folks like Lawrence Block, Otto Penzler, Vicki Hendricks, Joyce Carol Oates,
Megan Abbott, and Duane Swierczynski, and not so distinguished folks, like me.Click on the NoirCon link for more information and a registration form. In the meantime, I'll count down the days until the convention with a few special posts including this one from the first NoirCon, in 2008.
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If you'll indulge me for one more post before I send NoirCon 2008 fondly into the sunset, I'd like to share a few remarks that Ken Bruen, one of the event's two guests of honor, made over the course of the convention's four days.Most pertinent to this blog was his statement, and I don't remember the context, that Irish readers seem to lack pride in the country's wonderful crime writers. This was a surprise to me on my side of the Atlantic, considering the wealth of Irish talent about which one can read on Crime Always Pays, Critical Mick, Crime Scene NI and elsewhere.
Bruen also said that "All my influences are American. That's how I learned to read. That's how I learned to write. For an Irish person to say that is a heresy." Perhaps this accounts for his stated love for the U.S.
Finally, thanks to Bruen, I fulfilled a long-held dream of hearing an Irishman say "shite."
© Peter Rozovsky 2008
Labels: conventions, Ireland, Ken Bruen, NoirCon, NoirCon 2008, Noircon 2012
posted by Peter Rozovsky at 1:09 PM
10 Comments:
Peter, did you read Bruen's "Priest". One of its topics is the influence of the US-American culture in Ireland.
And I have to confess that I'm not sure how "shite" is pronounced. Could you give me an idea.
I haven't read Priest yet, but Bruen talked more about that book than about any other. He was far more sympathetic to priests and religion than one might expect from his reputation. No priest- and church-bashing from Bruen.
The best thing about shite is that its spelling and pronunciation are straightforward. The word rhymes with bite, rite, cite and site. The sh- is pronounced like the sch- in Scheiße.
Did you ask Ken Bruen how you recognise the Kerry man in the queue for the car wash?
You discussion of the word "shite" reminded me of a dear Irish friend now sadly long departed who kept me laughing with his tales of rural Ireland. The Irish can laugh about themsleves and that makes them wonderful companions on a night out.
I wish I could have been there.
America has a big influence in a lot of Irish fiction, crime and beyond. Joseph O'Connor's Sweet Liberty stands out in my memory as a great non-fiction Irish perspective of the States.
And thanks for the shout-out, Peter. Much appreciated.
And shite.
gb
You should read Priest, Peter.
My review is at:
http://camberwell-crime.blogspot.com/2007/12/och-oconwoe-is-me.html
"He was far more sympathetic to priests and religion than one might expect from his reputation. No priest- and church-bashing from Bruen."
If you take a look at his regular murderati posts, you will see that this is not a big surprise.
I second that recommendation for Priest. It left me eager to track down and invest in everything the man has ever written. And I will too.
gb
Krimileser: Some of Bruen's most touching and beautiful writing is to be found in those short Murderati essays. I urge anyone who sees this to read them here.
Uriah, I did not ask Bruen that particular question. Perhaps you could fill me in lest I run into any Kerrymen in car washes before I see Bruen again.
Thanks, too, for the link to your review of Priest. Nothing Ken Bruen said or did at NoirCon contradicts what you said about the Irish being wonderful companions. The Irish government ought to put the man on salary. I can think of no better ambassador for any nation.
The last panel of NoirCon, called, appropriately, "Last Call," consisted almost entirely of Bruen, Reed Farrel Coleman and Scott Phillips up on stage, laughing their asses off and telling stories. I feel sorry for convention-goers who had to catch early flights out of town. It was a joyous occasion.
Gerard, thanks for typing "shite." I hope to hear you say it at the next NoirCon. And I'll keep those thoughts about American influence on Irish writing in my mind, just to see where they lead.
Everyone knows about the American influence on French crime fiction and movies, but such influence on Irish crime writing is less often discussed. Perhaps that may change now that said crime writing is exploding in prominence and popularity. I plan lots of research on this subject in bookshops when I make my first trip to Ireland late this summer.
I have doubts about your proposal to track down and invest in everything Ken Bruen has written. He can write faster than you can buy.
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