Poet of the Loser

            One of the most gifted of all the great underground Noir writers Goodis was out of print in America for decades after his early death at age 49. He is looked upon as the 'Doomed Poet' amongst Hardboiled writers and critic Dave Moore describes how Goodis used many devices to enhance his books such as something Moore describes as 'thing' language - quoting examples such as ' The empty room looked back at him'  and 'quiet came in and sat down'.
            Possibly one of the most chilling parts to any Noir novel is the celebrated dialogue sequence between Parry and his dead friend Felsinger which took place in Dark Passage.

           Goodis also spent time in Hollywood attempting to break into screenwriting but after some successes his legendary status remains in the novel of the misfit who's down on his luck.

Best source of info for fans of Goodis is http://www.davidgoodis.com/