My name is Erik Hare – thank you for stopping by!

At my Lab at U of MN

Before we get started, you may want to read:

The FAQ
The Barataria Creed
My Favorite Quotations

I’m a hopeful romantic who believes that all things are possible when the heart and arm and brain are fully engaged. However, people like to enjoy life, meaning that they aren’t totally plugged into what’s happening around them. To me, a writer or an organizer exists to make connections and fire endless possibilities.

Everyone has a story, and I help people tell their stories for a living. I find what makes it memorable and craft it into a theme, using the details to slip it into the reader’s heart and mind. These new connections are similar in a grant proposal, a magazine or a community newspaper

I first gained access to the ARPAnet in 1985 while a student at Carnegie-Mellon, about 5 years before it became the Internet. I had a blog called “Columbus Day Riot” in 1999, before the word “blog” existed. Despite constant dabbling in this stuff, I find the internet to be nothing more than a tool that allows people to connect. The big deal isn’t the technology, it’s the hearts and brains of people.

I have lived in Buffalo, Miami, and Pittsburgh but I love Saint Paul enough to stay. I have been a Chemical Engineer, a salesman, and a manager but prefer to be known as a writer and a father. I make a point of watching the world closely enough that my life is a series of fun and intriguing small adventures.

Welcome to Barataria!

Jean Lafitte, Gentleman Pirate

Barataria itself means “cheap lands” or “swamp” in Spanish. This is the domain given to Sancho Panza at the end of Don Quixote in return for his loyal service. I have used this name for many reasons, the most important being that whenever I’m sick of bad writing, especially my own, I re-read Don Quixote to reinvigorate my faith in language and imagery. I grew up with figures of Don Quixote around the house because, frankly, it was the 1970s. My childhood hero was the “Gentleman Pirate” Jean Lafitte, who had his own benevolent “Kingdom of Barataria” in the swamps of Louisiana.

Won’t you please write?

I enjoy getting mail from readers, so please write to me as erikhare at gmail dot com if you want to exchange links, tell me what an idiot I am, or simply say Hello.

Please note that all posts from before August 2008 were imported from authorsden.com, so the formatting and links are horrendous. I’ll fix them as I can, at least on the posts I like.