HOME | G E O R G E H A G E N | George Hagen

tombedlamcvr

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:01:59 -0500

PAINTINGS

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:10:22 -0500

I've always loved James Gillray's political caricatures. Some time ago, New York had a mayor who made a name for himself after 9/11 as figure of unity although his performance in the city's highest office was a mixed blessing. Regardless, he was a great painting subject.

RUDY I

RUDY 2

RUDY 3

FAVORITE SITES

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:01:28 -0500

A few interesting places to go. . .

Kevin Baker, writer of the fabulous New York, City Of Fire trilogy.

Peter Blauner, author of many great books, including Slow Motion Riot and The Intruder.

Gabriel Cohen, a fellow Brooklyn writer, author of the recent novel, The Ninth Step.

Simone Dinnerstein, a pianist of extraordinary talent. Listen to her brilliant interpretation of the Goldberg Variations.

Emma Donoghue, I recently discovered her great novel, Room.

Juris Jurjevics, author of the new Vietnam adventure mystery, Red Flags, and the ice-station thriller The Trudeau Vector. His blog entries about Vietnam are deeply engaging.

Annik LaFarge's website is an amazing resource for authors on building websites. I highly recommend her book, The Author Online.

Kerry Madden, author of Up Close: Harper Lee, Offsides, and the Maggie Valley children's series.

Everyone must know about Brian Selznick's book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by now, but you'll find his website to be as much of a collection of wonders as his books. Check out his collection of weird sites!

A WRITER'S TOOLS

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:04:39 -0400

First, a cheer for readers, because the more readers we have, the more writers there will be.

Personally, I want to see writers headline at rock stadiums, duel on the front page of the Daily News and the New York Times. Imagine if candidate debates were exciting volleys about ideas instead of snarky put downs? Imagine writers decking it out on X-Factor, imagine if Snookie had something to say. . .

WHY WRITING IS CHEAP

So many activities require permission, money, references or parental approval before you can start. Actors need a show and an audience, musicians need instruments, acrobats need the big top, but writers have it easy.

They need a pencil and paper. That's all. Oh, and time . . . plenty of time.

Wait, you say. What about a computer? Well, yes, if you insist. But I know writers who can only write a first draft longhand. Later, when they need to revise and refine, they put it on a computer, but at the beginning, a pad will do.

So, with nothing but a blank page, you conjure wonders out of thin air (another thing almost no other profession does).