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
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
There's a horrible fallacy that exists in the popular discussion of fiction these days: the idea that a successful central character need be 'likeable' or 'sympathetic'. It is surely more important that they be human, no? More crucial that they breathe? Andrew O'Hagan breathecentralcharacter share on social
Novelists are no more moral or certain than anybody else; we are ideologically adrift, and if we are any good then our writing will live in several places at once. That is both our curse and our charm. Andrew O'Hagan adriftcharmcurse share on social
Long before I was a writer, when I was just a haphazard reader and a dreamer of stories, I learnt about an influential book by Harold Bloom. 'The Anxiety of Influence', published in 1973 when I was five years old, is taken up with the terrifying influence of poets on each other. Andrew O'Hagan anxietybloombook share on social
A living museum must surely see itself as a locus of argument. A breathing art institution is not a lockup but a moveable feast. Andrew O'Hagan argumentartbreathe Change image and share on social
Like children all over the world, by the age of 10 I'd come to believe that most of the really humane creatures were not really human at all. Andrew O'Hagan agechildcreature Change image and share on social
Every literary culture has among its first bearings the 'blether' of animals who seek to make sense of human existence. Andrew O'Hagan animalbearingblether Change image and share on social
When you grow up by the sea, you spend a good deal of time looking at the horizon. You wonder what on Earth the waves might bring - and where the sea might deposit you - until one day you know you have lived between two places, the scene of arrival and the point of departure. Andrew O'Hagan arrivalbringday share on social
