Hannah on Noir

Mississippi author Barry Hannah, the nightwatchman, writes about noir and teaching the genrein the new issue of The Oxford American.

“In noir, doom rules the mood. It is perhaps the one consistent noun of the literature, running wild over both the good and the shady. The apt weather is one of destruction, with characters staring at a void, hands empty and reaching without a tool to confront the oncoming night where more grief and terror lurk.”