The Garland County Library will be closed Saturday, January 1st. Hopefully, you will have recovered from New Year's festivities in three weeks' time, so make a resolution to attend our Dashiell Hammett Extravaganza at noon on Saturday, January 22nd as a part of the Murder of the Month Club series. The event will feature a book discussion, film screenings, snacks, drinks, and prize give-aways.
Dashiell Hammett (1894 – 1961) was an American author of hard boiled detective novels and short stories, best known as the creator of characters such as Sam Spade from “The Maltese Falcon” (1929) and Nick and Nora Charles from “The Thin Man”(1934).
Dr. Clinton Atchley will lead a discussion. Atchley is an Associate Professor of English at Henderson State University, where he also serves as Director of the Masters of Liberal Arts program. Although he specializes in Medieval literature, hard boiled detective fiction is a passion.
“I’m happy to speak on Hammett any chance I get,” Atchley said. “I’ve loved his writing since I was a kid, and although he only wrote five novels, he has to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. He single handedly created the hard boiled detective genre.”
“We’re really excited about this event,” Karen Covey of the Garland County Library said. “Even though most people are probably familiar with Hammett’s work through the movies, I hope that our extravaganza will encourage people to read or re-read his books as well. Both ‘The Maltese Falcon’ and ‘The Thin Man’ are great examples of hard boiled fiction, or just fiction in general, and we hope to revive that spirit of moxie for one day at least.”
“We’ll pretend that our auditorium is an old time speakeasy and that we’re all fast talking dicks and dames,” Covey continued. “We will have drinks, but they will be non-alcoholic. We’re still under Prohibition at the library. I hope lots of people will come. It would be a crime to miss it.”
For more information or to register for the event, call the Garland County Library at 623-4161 or 922-4483. Happy New Year!
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