|

|

Advertisements

Andrew OHagan Quotes

High culture isn’t what it used to be Picture Quote #1

The working class of England today have no vision of society beyond the acquisitive - no version of themselves or their habits as anything other than transitional, on their way up or on their way out. The working class, at best, is a waiting room for people who aim to become middle class if possible Picture Quote #1

When I was growing up, there was a feeling in one’s living room as much as in one’s local gallery that a little elitism was good for the soul Picture Quote #1

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 Picture Quote #1

I wasn’t like other boys. At any rate, I wasn’t like my three elder brothers: they excelled at football and they were like other boys, going up to bed each night hugging annuals filled with stories about the glories of Pele and Danny McGrain Picture Quote #1

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 Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

The characters in ‘Be Near Me’ come from a genuine place, a Britain that is more than one country and more than one ideal Picture Quote #1

I always knew I would come to London. I loved Glasgow, but it seemed filled with echoes of my parents’ lives, and sometimes you just want a city of your own Picture Quote #1

A theatre is not a blank page for editorial, it is not a soapbox or a Tannoy system: it is a conscience that wakes with what is happening in the space, and wakes further still in response to what people are making of it Picture Quote #1

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 Picture Quote #1

When I look back at my childhood on the Ayrshire coast, I recall a basic devotion to the idea that human nature and national character are as unknowable as the weather’s rationale Picture Quote #1

When I was growing up, my idea of a writer was someone like Sven Hassel, that mysterious Danish author who wrote thrillers about men clambering over walls and getting tangled in barbed wire Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

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 Picture Quote #1

I don’t believe in the meteoric culture of anxiety, generally. Obviously, some people have it, some people are crippled by it, but most of the novelists I’ve ever known are in love with influence. They thrive on it Picture Quote #1

In Britain, the great hidden secret of talking animals and children’s literature is how political it was in its bones, beneath the obvious cuteness Picture Quote #1

Events in America show the extent to which democracy there is fuelled by populism - Barack Obama’s victory is a manifestation not of Washington’s need for change, but of America’s. That is not how democracy works in England Picture Quote #1

Long before the arrival of reality TV - before speed cameras, before recording angels on buses and lampposts - I felt I was living in a country that already knew how to watch itself. It was journalism that held the responsibility for seeing who we were and noticing what we did Picture Quote #1

Fans of football and fans of nationhood have a similar zeal. Read the fanzines: their contributors could find a needle-sized diss in a haystack of compliments, and their passions are fundamentalist Picture Quote #1

Advertisements

A living museum must surely see itself as a locus of argument. A breathing art institution is not a lockup but a moveable feast Picture Quote #1

The working class of England take their deracination completely for granted. Disenchantment is the happy code that informs every byway of the underclass: service jobs, celebrity dreams, Lotto wins, leisured poverty on pre-crunch credit cards, it’s all there, part of the story of an English people whose grandparents never had it so good Picture Quote #1

Writing a novel is an act of self-annihilation as much as self-discovery. You can kill whole appetites and flood whole depths while plumbing them, but if you are serious about it you also get to put something into the world that wasn’t quite there before Picture Quote #1

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 Picture Quote #1

In Britain, the great hidden secret of talking animals and children’s literature is how political it was in its bones, beneath the obvious cuteness Picture Quote #1

Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

Advertisements

Text Quotes

High culture isn’t what it used to be (Andrew OHagan Quotes) The working class of England today have no vision of society beyond the acquisitive - no version of themselves or their habits as anything other than transitional, on their way up or on their way out. The working class, at best, is a waiting room for people who aim to become middle class if possible. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) When I was growing up, there was a feeling in one’s living room as much as in one’s local gallery that a little elitism was good for the soul (Andrew OHagan Quotes) 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 OHagan Quotes) I wasn’t like other boys. At any rate, I wasn’t like my three elder brothers: they excelled at football and they were like other boys, going up to bed each night hugging annuals filled with stories about the glories of Pele and Danny McGrain. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) 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 OHagan Quotes) The characters in ‘Be Near Me’ come from a genuine place, a Britain that is more than one country and more than one ideal. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) I always knew I would come to London. I loved Glasgow, but it seemed filled with echoes of my parents’ lives, and sometimes you just want a city of your own. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) A theatre is not a blank page for editorial, it is not a soapbox or a Tannoy system: it is a conscience that wakes with what is happening in the space, and wakes further still in response to what people are making of it. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) 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 OHagan Quotes) When I look back at my childhood on the Ayrshire coast, I recall a basic devotion to the idea that human nature and national character are as unknowable as the weather’s rationale. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) When I was growing up, my idea of a writer was someone like Sven Hassel, that mysterious Danish author who wrote thrillers about men clambering over walls and getting tangled in barbed wire. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) 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 OHagan Quotes) I don’t believe in the meteoric culture of anxiety, generally. Obviously, some people have it, some people are crippled by it, but most of the novelists I’ve ever known are in love with influence. They thrive on it. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) In Britain, the great hidden secret of talking animals and children’s literature is how political it was in its bones, beneath the obvious cuteness. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) Events in America show the extent to which democracy there is fuelled by populism - Barack Obama’s victory is a manifestation not of Washington’s need for change, but of America’s. That is not how democracy works in England. (Andrew OHagan Quotes) Long before the arrival of reality TV - before speed cameras, before recording angels on buses and lampposts - I felt I was living in a country that already knew how to watch itself. It was journalism that held the responsibility for seeing who we were and noticing what we did (Andrew OHagan Quotes) Fans of football and fans of nationhood have a similar zeal. Read the fanzines: their contributors could find a needle-sized diss in a haystack of compliments, and their passions are fundamentalist (Andrew OHagan Quotes) 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 OHagan Quotes) The working class of England take their deracination completely for granted. Disenchantment is the happy code that informs every byway of the underclass: service jobs, celebrity dreams, Lotto wins, leisured poverty on pre-crunch credit cards, it’s all there, part of the story of an English people whose grandparents never had it so good (Andrew OHagan Quotes) Writing a novel is an act of self-annihilation as much as self-discovery. You can kill whole appetites and flood whole depths while plumbing them, but if you are serious about it you also get to put something into the world that wasn’t quite there before (Andrew OHagan Quotes) 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 OHagan Quotes) In Britain, the great hidden secret of talking animals and children’s literature is how political it was in its bones, beneath the obvious cuteness (Andrew OHagan Quotes)