I'm going to freeze your face.
A mile outside the City Between Two Rivers, January Cold came in, formed four walls around them and closed in on the Thirteen. Gathered to remember the Prince of Noir, they read from his works, told tales, and raised his Shade from the bleak grave.

On January 25, 2009, just hours before the 42nd anniversary of the death of David Goodis according to the Hebrew calendar, 13 militant Goodisheads gathered at Roosevelt Cemetery to remember Philadelphia's Prince of Noir.

Goodisgrave
(Photo by Aaron Finestone)

After David Goodis' 1967 funeral, friends gathered at the Toddle House at Broad and Belfield Streets in Logan. The Toddle House is now a vacant lot. To re-enact the apres-funeral, we met at the Club House Diner in Bensalem, minutes from the cemetery, to exchange tales of Goodis and his writing.

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Those attending included Harold "Dutch" Silver who taught David Goodis how to shoot pool, and Andrew Kevorkian, who visited David Goodis at his house in East Oak Lane and attended the funeral.

In September 1966, David Goodis' mother died. Harold Silver sent David Goodis a basket of fruit. David Goodis sent the following note to Harold Silver. (Photos by Louis Boxer)

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LINKS

Portions of Goodis' writings selected for ceremony

Larry Withers' You Tube on the ceremony

Duane Swierczynski's blog on the ceremony

You Tubes by Duane Swierczynski

Duane Swierczynski's blog on "Relics of a Noir Writer"

Peter Rozovsky's blog on the ceremony

Louis Boxer's photos of the ceremony

"January Cold came in from two rivers,
formed four walls around Hart and closed in on him."
--Black Friday

See you next year.


shoot-the-piano-player1

These webpages publish readings from Goodis which were selected, but not necessarily read, at the ceremony.

See you next year.