Whether it's the Amazon Kindle, Oprah's book club or slam poetry, I never sniff at novel ways to get people to read (no pun intended, I swear). There are those (like myself) who can sit still for two hours on a rock-hard pew bench, in a freezing cold room, listening to the most abstract poetry imaginable with no powder room break. However, I realize that crowd is in the minority, both in their patience and in their literary tastes. So kudos to the folks who are initiating the new "Noir at the Bar" reading series, which kicks off on May 28:
"Like hard-boiled fiction? Like drinks? Join St. Louis writers Scott Phillips (The Ice Harvest, Cottonwood) and Jedidiah Ayers (screenwriter of Mosquito Kingdom) as they inaugurate a new series in St. Louis focusing entirely on the hard-drinking, crime-infested, down-on-their-luck genre of noir fiction. Writing doesn't get much bleaker than this.
This first installment welcomes Anthony Neil Smith (Hogdoggin', Yellow Medicine) and Frank Bill to town. Smith and Phillips will both read and Smith will sign copies of his books, provided by Subterranean Books.
Book signing and reading with Anthony Neil Smith for Hogdoggin' will be Thursday, May 28, 8pm, at The Delmar Lounge 6235 Delmar In the Loop. You may call Subterranean Books at 314-862-6100 for more information."
And for those who prefer the environment of the bookstore to the bar (and good coffee to good scotch), note that Smith and Phillips read at Pudd'nhead Books the day prior. --Stefene Russell
