Sunday, November 7, 2pm – Group Reading

Philadelphia Noir
edited by Carlin Romano ($15.95 Akashic Books)

Philly finally enters the Noir Series arena: the City of Brotherly Love becomes a City of Brotherly Malice. Featuring brand-new stories by: Meredith Anthony, Diane Ayres, Cordelia Frances Biddle, Keith Gilman, Cary Holladay, Solomon Jones, Gerald Kolpan, Aimee LaBrie, Halimah Marcus, Carlin Romano, Asali Solomon, Laura Spagnoli, Duane Swierczynski, Dennis Tafoya, and Jim Zervanos

“America’s first great city, first capital, and first industrial metropolis contained from the beginning the mix of poor workers and elite culture, of ethnic enclaves and religious intolerance, of easy skullduggery and flesh-pot possibilities, that led Lincoln Steffens in 1903 to famously rule it “corrupt and contented.” Colonel William Markham, deputy governor of Pennsylvania from 1693 to 1699 (and William Penn’s cousin), was the first official on the take, hiding pirates at one hundred pounds a head, including Captain Kidd himself. We’ve had many similarly devoted public servants since . . . Per capita, Philadelphia matches any city, weirdo incident for weirdo incident. But we trump everyone on history . . . With apologies, you won’t find the obvious here. Having served as literary critic of the Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty-five years, and written more stories on “Philadelphia literature” than anyone living, I thank my contributors for their very limited references to hoagies, cheesesteaks, water ice, soft pretzels, and waitresses who call their customers “Hon.” There’s no glimpse of Claes Oldenburg’s Clothespin or the rowers by the Waterworks, and only one passing mention of Rocky. Truth is, we don’t talk much about those things. We just live our lives.” Carlin Romano, Critic-at-Large of the Chronicle of Higher Education and Literary Critic of The Philadelphia Inquirer for 25 years (1984-2009), is now Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Ursinus College. In 2006, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism, cited by the Pulitzer Board for “bringing new vitality to the classic essay across a formidable array of topics.” He lives in University City.

Noircon 2010 – Philadelphia – November 4 to November 7 – In the purest sense of the word is a forum where all those who appreciate noir can come together to debate, plot, boast, or simply part5y with like minded individuals. It is a four-day journey into that abyss that offers everyone involved an opportunjity to have a helluva good time looking into the bottomless, downward void that is noir!

For more information: www.noircon.info