James Ross (American author)

James Ross was an American fiction author. His only published book, They Don't Dance Much (1940), is an early example of what Daniel Woodrell identifies as "country noir", or a noir novel with a rural setting.[1]

Life

James Ross was born in rural Stanly County, North Carolina in 1911. He worked as a writer briefly for the Savannah Morning News and then for the Greensboro Daily News (now News & Record), covering North Carolina politics and legislation. He died in 1990.[1]

They Don't Dance Much

Ross's novel is set in a Western North Carolina roadhouse in the fictional crossroads town of Corinth. It is narrated by a failed farmer who, upon taking a job at a filling station, becomes involved in a murder.

The novel, despite its being praised by people like Raymond Chandler, William Gay, and Flannery O'Connor, has been largely forgotten.[1] This is, in part, due to a tumultuous publication history; since its release, the book has been printed by five different publishers, most recently by Mysterious Press.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "ESSAY: James Ross :: Oxford American - The Southern Magazine of Good Writing". oxfordamerican.org. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  2. ↑ "New luster for a hard-boiled gem - The Washington Post". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
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