Pete Hamill Has Died

Pete Hamill by David Shankbone from Wikipedia, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Pete Hamill was one of the best. A dogged journalist with ink in his veins—and no small amount of alcohol—he found sobriety and discovered a rare ability for long-form writing. His memoirs should be read and his fiction shows a love for not just writing, but his native New York City.

As the New York Times writes:

“Pete Hamill, a high school dropout who turned a gift for storytelling, a fascination with characters and a romance with tabloid newspapers into a storied career as a New York journalist, novelist and essayist for more than a half century, died on Wednesday in Brooklyn. He was 85.”

It’s impossible to conceive of a writer—no matter their talents—having the career he had in this day and age, especially as a high school drop out.

No vaunted journalism school credential—Columbia, Harvard, etc.—then no way you can work here.

No MFA, then very little chance we’ll care about your book.

But he did it, man, he really did it, and did it well.

We need more like him.