downtownla.com
I am of the belief that
noir extended through the '60s, and even into the '70s, through the writings of Joan Didion. Worth reading, or rereading, are
Slouching Toward Bethlehem and
The White Album, both of which contain essays evocative of the era in noirish terms--I think her descriptions of the effects of the Santa Anas in "Los Angeles Notebook" and of such incidents as the Tate-LaBianca murders are mesmerizing. Not specific to L.A., but still intensely felt, are her feelings about growing up in & around Sacramento in
Where I Came From--like her earlier essays, an incredible literary delineation of the meanings of California.
She has a new book out,
Blue Nights, which, though not about California, prompted this post. I notice that, as part of a week the
Los Angeles Review of Books is devoting to her, is "An Evening With Joan Didion" on November 16, here:
USCDL
St. Vibiana's, 214 S. Main
More info:
http://www.laobserved.com/intell/201...oan_didion.php