D.C. Noir 2: The Classics

by George Pelecanos (Editor)

Overview

Pelecanos assembles an enchanting array of dark and subversive stories, following up the best-selling first volume of DC Noir, this time selecting the very best of Washington’s historical literary legacy.

Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book.

Featuring stories by: Edward P. Jones, George Pelecanos, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, James Grady, Julian Mayfield, Marita Golden, Elizabeth Hand, Julian Mazor, Ross Thomas, Ward Just, Benjamin M. Schutz, Jean Toomer, Rhozier “Roach” Brown, and Larry Neal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933354583
Publisher:	Akashic Books, Ltd.
Publication date:	09/01/2008
Series:	Akashic Noir Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

GEORGE PELECANOS is the author of twenty-two novels and story collections set in and around Washington, DC, and has been the recipient of numerous international writing awards. He is a screenwriter, essayist, and television writer/producer whose credits include The Wire, Treme, The Deuce, and We Own This City. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Hometown:

Silver Spring, Maryland

Date of Birth:

February 18, 1957

Place of Birth:

Washington, D.C.

Education:

B.A., University of Maryland at College Park, 1980

Website:

http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/georgepelecanos/

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I: The Old School

“A Council of State” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (R Street, NW 1900)

“Avey” by Jean Toomer (Potomac River 1923)

“Trouble with the Angels” by Langston Hughes (National Theatre 1935)

“The Man Who Killed a Shadow” by Richard Wright (National Cathedral 1946)

Part II: Burning Down the House

“The Last Days of Duncan Street” by Julian Mayfield (Kingman Park 1960)

“Washington” by Julian Mazor (Shaw 1963)

“Cast a Yellow Shadow” (excerpt) by Ross Thomas (Downtown 1967)

“Reflecting” by Rhozier “Roach” Brown (Lorton, VA 1969)

“Nora” by Ward Just (Connecticut Avenue 1971)

“Our Bright Tomorrows” by Larry Neal (Georgia Avenue 1973)

Part III: The Shadows of Federal City

“Kiss the Sky” by James Grady (Lorton, VA 1996)

“The Dead Their Eyes Implore Us” by George Pelecanos (Chinatown 2002)

“A Rich Man” by Edward P. Jones (Claridge Towers 2003)

“Wonderwall” by Elizabeth Hand (Hyattsville, MD 2004)

“Christmas in Dodge City” by Benjamin M. Schutz (6th and O Streets, NW 2005)

“After” (excerpt) by Marita Golden (Woodmore, MD 2006)

Editorial Reviews

Dark as many of these stories are, there's light in them yet, and it's the layering of the two that helps the collection to dazzle.
—The Washington Post

Art Taylor

By broadly interpreting what constitutes noir, Pelecanos has been able to include writers as diverse as Langston Hughes and Ward Just in this high-quality reprint anthology. In his introduction, Pelecanos describes his vision of "a century-long overview of D.C. fiction that would focus on issues of race, ethnicity, politics, class, and the attendant struggles and changes that occurred in various eras of our history." Paul Laurence Dunbar, an African-American poet, opens the book on a powerful note with "A Council of State," a story of political intrigue first published in 1900 that will still resonate with contemporary readers. The equally powerful final selection, an excerpt from Marita Golden's novel After(2006), presents the agonizing moments just before and after a black police officer fatally shoots a fellow black man, who turns out to have been holding not a gun but a cellphone. Other contributors include Ross Thomas, Jean Toomer and Richard Wright. (Sept.)

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