Raymond Chandler’s debut novel, and the classic film version with Humphrey Bogart, both have scenes set in Realito, apparently a disguised version of Rialto. Also: three modern novels, and a current comedy film, have Inland Empire references. I recount all of these in my Wednesday column.
Category Archives: Inland Valley in Books
Column: Pomona edges into Tarantino’s ‘Hollywood’ novel
There’s some Pomona dialogue in the “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” novel, in which Quentin Tarantino completely rethought his movie and screenplay in print form. That’s the lead item of Wednesday’s column, which continues with two more examples of Inland Empire dialogue in fiction, a hit song that namechecks some San Gabriel Valley cities, and graffiti news from Palm Springs.
Column: Local cities got name-checked in ‘Inlandia’ anthology
The “Inlandia” literary anthology was a recent column topic. In reading the book, a few amusing quotes jumped out at me. I collect ’em, with commentary, in Friday’s column.
It’s been a while since I wrote a column of fiction quotes about the region. A bunch more such quotes are saved up, and I’ll try to present those in the near future, now that this column lays some groundwork.
Column: ‘Inlandia’ put IE in a new, literary light
Ever read, seen or heard of the 2006 literary anthology “Inlandia”? I put off reading it for nearly 15 years, until I was covering the whole enchilada of the Inland Empire. And it’s proved quite useful. I write about the book, how it came about and its continuing influence in Sunday’s column.
Column: In new mystery, Easy Rawlins finds it hard to like Pomona
It’s been a while since I presented any literary references to the Inland Valley, but Sunday’s column brings two, plus some Culture Corner items and a Valley Vignette.
Column: Science fiction story’s alien touched down in San Dimas
Sunday’s column begins with a couple of items that will warm the hearts of the nerds in my audience, as I find local references in two stories by Harlan Ellison. After that, two Pomona-related stories from the past, one about a 1959 robbery that involved the star of TV’s Wyatt Earp, the other about the 1938 filming in town of a Bing Crosby movie.
All the above items, by the way, were written last year for use during either a dry spell or a vacation. I finally got to use them during the latter. Hooray! I’ll be back at my desk Monday.