Despite knowing he couldn't go on forever, the news of Elmore Leonard's death is truly
saddening, partly because he went on so long, partly because he did it so well, and partly because he was so matter-of-fact, humble, and good humoured about his success. He was the perfect of example of a writer who laboured at his craft until the world caught up to his talent, and then kept labouring, unspoiled by his success. It was a marvelous run, the kind every pulp writer might have dreamed about. And if he were underappreciated in his early
years, he was perhaps over-hyped as mainstream literary people caught up. But if that were true, he certainly deserved it.
I met
him at the NFT. 'Call me Dutch', he said, and after his lecture when he signed my copy of his
Complete Western Stories, I hadnt yet realised that it would be the best book
I'd read all that year. The last thing I wrote about him was this essay on Hombre, here on New Year's Day. He will be sorely missed.
'And are they shooting down the angels? You can bet your life they are They're irresistible targets, yeah For any shooting star' -John Stewart (1939-2008)
IRRESISTIBLE TARGETS
Cultural commentary reaching critical mass with Michael Carlson, author (Pocket Essential Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, & Oliver Stone); journalist (Guardian, Indy, FT, Telegraph, IHT, Lobster, Newstalk Ireland); critic (Spectator, TLS, Headpress, London Mag, Kamera, LRB); afterword: M.Connelly's Crime Beat; intros: Sjowall & Wahloo's Murder At The Savoy, Octopus Collected Melville; appreciation: John Harvey for Windmill Books; essays in Following The Detectives, Encly. Of British Crime Writers; poet (Winter Lovers, Mucho Mojo, Chump Change, By The Sound,Zombie Footwork); film ed. Crime Time, books ed. Petrolhead, Xtreme; Shots' American Eye column; radio pundit (Sat. Review, Front Row, Open Book, Film Prog., Weekend, Brief Lives, Last Words, etc); & as Mike Carlson, sports journalist all over the place & commentator for BBC Super Bowl & Olympic basketball; OBS Olympics & Paralympics; Channels 4 & 5, Talksport & BBC radio NFL; Eurosport, Screensport & Sky baseball, football, basketball, ice hockey, lacrosse; heel commentator for TransAtlantic Wrestling Challenge; podcaster at Crime Vault Live, Carlson & Coombs, Americarnage, Betfair, ESPN
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