Tag Archives: Roanoke

Retail Ruins.

October 22, 2024 Eric Robert Nolan Leave a comment

The Sears people were a proud mercantile empire that dominated much of the 20th Century. The civilization’s ruins still evoke the opulence of a past age.

Uncategorized

The Little Gallery on Market Street, Roanoke, Virginia

October 12, 2024 Eric Robert Nolan Leave a comment

October 2024.

Uncategorized

Nope, no northern lights for Nolan.

October 10, 2024 Eric Robert Nolan Leave a comment

Why do these things never work out for me?

I have friends in Charlottesville who posted a bunch of really nice pictures — and I’m seeing posts from elsewhere in Southwest Virginia too. It’s just too overcast here in Roanoke, maybe … and then there are the lights from the city which would diminish the effect.

Uncategorized

Roanoke channels Alfred Hitchcock.

October 9, 2024 Eric Robert Nolan Leave a comment

A cacaphony of birds announces its presence on Salem Avenue in Roanoke, Virginia. October 2024.

Uncategorized

“Salem’s Lot” hits differently if you’ve ever lived in a town named “Salem.”

October 5, 2024 Eric Robert Nolan Leave a comment

Yep — we’ve got one in Southwest Virginia; it’s right next to Roanoke, and I lived there for a little while.

The people there are awesome. There are no vampires. And the only weird, alarming newcomer in town was me.

Anyway, the new “Salem’s Lot” was damned good. I loved it. This movie successfully channeled the dark energy that made Stephen King’s 1975 novel such a feast for horror fans — how the vampires are portrayed. They are at their scariest when they are mindless, Satanic minions of a mysterious overlord — and perversions of their former human selves. (I love the “Blade” movies to no end, but their chic, cool, articulate monsters just aren’t as frightening.)

The directing was slick, the storytelling was rapid, and the newly tweaked plot elements worked for me. The acting was good too. If you are a genre fan, see if you can spot Pilou Asbaek (the mean-ass, ambitious pirate king from “Game of Thrones”), among others.

This was loads of creepy fun. I recommend it.

Uncategorized

Three of my poems published in Lothlorien Poetry Journal Volume 33: Vortex Voyagers.

September 28, 2024 Eric Robert Nolan Leave a comment

Things are looking up a bit in stormswept Roanoke. First, a break in the rainy weather allowed a sojurn today to Benny Marconi’s for pizza. Second, the mailman brought me my copy of Lothlorien Poetry Journal Volume 33: Vortex Voyagers.

It is a wonderful 237-page tome of outstanding work, and it is just the after-midnight reading that I need right now. (Insomnia strikes again.)

If you want to enjoy it too, you can order your copy right here. (And if you do happen to purchase a copy, I hope you peruse the three poems of mine there — “school shooter,” “This Windy Morning” and “The Rough Violet Stone.” These were published online by Lothlorien in February.)

Uncategorized

“Starry Night in Roanoke”

September 13, 2024 Eric Robert Nolan Leave a comment

An art teacher at Roanoke Catholic School painted the city in the style of Vincent Van Gogh, and it’s pretty neat. You can see here at the website for WFXR (Fox).