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Bill Heath's avatar

I had no idea that an author I enjoyed was so devoted to the public library. But, it makes sense. Before one becomes a writer, one has to become a reader. Where else did one go? There was no following links; one had to follow citations or clues. I was lucky. I lived in the DC suburbs and had access to the National Archives and the Library of Congress. Doing original research feels nothing like reading someone else's screed wrapped up in a URL.

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Kathleen McCook's avatar

You are so right. I think Ellroy's speech at Library of Congress was quite spectacular, but I think the audience was a little shocked as their applause seemed subdued to me. I added this to his Wikipedia page.

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elm's avatar

"In the Q.& A. he shouts out that people should read and use the public library."

Well, I agree with that. It is a shame, but not a surprise that certain folks are so dedicated to killing libraries.

elm

truly screwy

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Koshmarov's avatar

God bless Ellroy and his unapologetic pervertedness. Maybe the L.A. library stacks smell like soiled panties.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-30-tm-ellroy31-story.html

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Kathleen McCook's avatar

Yes, he talks about that, but I think in the Kirn interview not the LoC one.

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Bill Heath's avatar

Whose? Inquiring minds want to know.

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Kathleen McCook's avatar

He told Walter Kirn how he would break into women's homes and still their underwear. It's a wild interview on youTube.

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Koshmarov's avatar

I don't know whose. Ellroy has never been shy about his sexual proclivities or his past activities as a juvenile petty criminal -- to his credit, in my opinion.

https://tinyurl.com/yfpa528v

But we're all here for the dirt. The dust. In the stacks.

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elm's avatar

Well. That was certainly something, wasn't it?

elm

my my

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