THE BEAUTIFUL DARK

Barry Gifford and the Noir Revival

- Joseph Goodrich

Long before the poets of the pulps were canonized, the work of such masters as David Goodis, Cornell Woolrich, and Horace McCoy was almost impossible to find. Noir-hungry collectors haunted used bookstores and rummage sales, hoping that a coveted title might turn up. It came down to speed and the luck of the draw —get there first and buy it now, because it might not be there when you come back.

In 1977 Barry Gifford—a young novelist, poet, and noir devotee—met Don Ellis, founder of the Creative Arts Book Company in Berkeley, California. The two joined forces to form the Black Lizard imprint. Their goal was to bring obscure, neglected, or forgotten works back into circulation. The result was a flood of books by such writers as Helen Nielsen, Charles Willeford, and Jim Thompson.

Black Lizard’s advocacy for Thompson created a groundswell of interest in his roughhewn tales of lowlifes and losers, which led to several film adaptations, including The Grifters and the criminally underrated After Dark, My Sweet (both released in 1990), as well as a number of biographies and critical studies. Gifford and Black Lizard initiated the process that brought attention, respect, and academic legitimacy not only to Thompson but to classic noir fiction in general.