Monday, May 11, 2009

Maxim and Wootton on Chandler

I was sorry when Maxim closed Murder One bookstore earlier this year, but knowing how busy he is anyway, I knew he would be back writing, editing, publishing – but he is taking up teaching at Faber & Faber with Adrian Wootton.

How to Read: Raymond Chandler
with Maxim Jakubowski and Adrian Wootton [photo (c) 2004 Ali Karim]

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Raymond Chandler’s death, the Faber Academy presents a one-day course on the life and works of the man without whom crime fiction as it is today might never have existed. Chandler himself claimed that he had brought back mystery writing to the gutter where it belonged and almost single-handedly created the archetypal, imperfect private eye, the melancholy loner who roams the mean streets in search of justice or redemption. He was also the author who brought Los Angeles to life like no other in his books, anchoring a sense of place which is often unique to the best of crime writing. The course will examine Chandler’s place in the history of popular fiction, his major novels, his short stories, his often conflicted life which took him from Dulwich to California, his time in Hollywood and the way cinema has treated him as well as his illuminating letters and essays about the art of writing. The principal tutor will be writer and critic Maxim Jakubowski and guest lecturer will be film expert Adrian Wootton.The day will take place at the beautiful Georgian offices of independent publisher, Faber and Faber.

There are no hard and fast criteria for attendance, save the following:

To have read some or all of Chandler’s work
To come with a lively, open mind
To ask interesting questions and be prepared to have your opinions challenged

Saturday 12 September 2009
Faber and Faber
Bloomsbury House
74-77 Great Russell Street
London
WC1B 3DA
England

More Information on booking a place here from Faber & Faber

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