I was 10 when I realised I couldn't stand football. I'd tried, obviously, before this - no one wants to give in to social pariah-hood without a fight. I had stood frozen on pitches, done some running about and shouted a lot, as though I cared. Andrew O'Hagan carefightfootball share on social
As an old creative industry full of cruelty and moral sense, British journalism once flourished on the imperative that people required the truth in order to survive. But people don't require that now. They want sensation and they want it for nothing. Andrew O'Hagan britishcreativecruelty share on social
We sometimes forget that human invention can also be a subject of human invention: that might seem a modern notion, or a postmodern one, but novelists have taken time - sometimes time out from their realist fixations - to source and satirise the speech and power we rely on. Andrew O'Hagan fixationforgethuman share on social
I had always been literary, in the sense of loving poetry and discovering novels, but I found my voice, as they say, in an office full of elderly people who looked after blind ex-servicemen. Andrew O'Hagan blinddiscoverelderly Change image and share on social
You'll find that no pride is greater than the pride that comes with being thick. Britain is filled with people who are really proud of their stupidity. Andrew O'Hagan britainfillfind Change image and share on social
Interviewing is not a democratic art. Andrew O'Hagan artdemocraticinterview Change image and share on social
As a writer I care about America, and care about its carelessness. Andrew O'Hagan americacarecarelessness Change image and share on social
A good nationalism has to depend on a principle of the common people, on myths of a struggling commonality. Andrew O'Hagan commoncommonalitydepend Change image and share on social
I've been asked which of the other arts novel-writing is most like, and I have come to believe it is acting. Of course, in terms of pattern it can be like music, in terms of structure it can be like painting, but the job to me is most like acting. Andrew O'Hagan actartask share on social
We now live in the era of fake consensus, or phoney populism, a condition in which galleries and homes are seen to succeed best where they manage feelings of non-difference. Andrew O'Hagan conditionconsensusdifference Change image and share on social