Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Red Wind & Noir


JOURNALIST/ESSAYIST, Joan Didion understood the Santa Ana Winds as a season in and of itself. She hauntingly articulated their impact on the region. But it was Raymond Chandler who started the conversation for the hard-boiled poet in all of us:

"There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge"
-- Raymond Chandler
from "Red Wind" from the collection, Trouble is My Business

What happens when the winds come around for you? What other L.A. natural phenomena (ritual, cyclical, infrequent) inspires deep emotion in you?

-- L.G.

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writing l.a. . . .

writing l.a. . . .