Missing Links? Try These.

I think I've got the hang of this, so I'll begin with mentions of the links on the right of your screen. The first movies and books to spark my interest were of the private eye genre. In recent years I've gotten to pursue these passions through e-mail discussion lists:

DetecToday discusses up-and-coming private eye and crime fiction writers, while also reflecting on the tradition started by Hammett, Chandler, and Macdonald. (If you're really gung-ho, we have a chat scheduled for today from 3:30-5:00pm ET. Hey, why not?)

Spenser's Sneakers offers critical discussion (in the academic sense) of the works of Robert B. Parker, one of the most noted private eye novelists for the past thirty years.

CrimeSeen is a place to talk about crime movies, TV, and radio as they relate to crime fiction.

I've also had the privilege of editing the fiction section of Kevin Burton Smith's Thrilling Detective Web Site since June 2001. Someday I might even publish P.I. fiction of my own.

To date, I've had the most success with poetry. I wrote the usual high-school sappy stuff, focused on fiction in college, and took one workshop in grad school. Even now, having contributed to What's Your Anthem (Hofstra English Faculty Poetry) and seen my work in print mags, I don't think of myself as a poet. I guess that's because I see poetry as an always-new process of discovery, and the word poet seems established, resting on its laurels.

Anyway, go ahead, sample those there links and leave me some comments.