2 of 10: George Pelecanos

Second on my continuing list of my top ten influences of 2005 is George Pelecanos, a local mystery writer. His particular flavor of contemporary hard boiled mysteries take place in the DC of the 20th century and the present, and address many of the continuing issues that the nation's capital has with crime and the conflicts between classes and races.

As a native of the DC metro area, these are topics that are relevant to me both in understanding the mindset that constitutes my home and in understanding how I function as part of it - as a product of an nth generation White American, upper middle class, white collar family and having had the exceptional privileges of education at the top high school in the country and living my whole life in the relative safety of the suburbs of DC, how do I fit into the picture when I consider DC my home and embrace things native to the city as being part of my heritage, while my parents are from the Midwest and a farm in Maryland? Am I an inhabitant or an immigrant to this city, and how should I consider that in the sense of privilege - as a white male Caucasian, have I appropriated the city as my home with a sense of entitlement or am I naturally a product of the city?