Joseph Hansen

1923–2004

1 series 12 books in order 1970–1991

Joseph Hansen was an American crime writer and poet who published almost forty books across a wide range of genres. He is best known for his groundbreaking series of crime novels featuring Dave Brandstetter, an openly homosexual private eye who combined the traits of a classic hardboiled protagonist. His first Brandstetter novel, Fadeout, was published in 1970, and eleven more books in the series followed over the next twenty-one years. Hansen published his first work, a poem, in The New Yorker in 1952. He also wrote poetry for other magazines and had part-time jobs in bookstores and magazines. Early in his career, he wrote under the pseudonyms James Colton or James Coulton, and also wrote two gothic novels under the name Rose Brock. He wrote poems, taught workshops, and hosted a 1960s radio show called Homosexuality Today. In 1970, he helped found the first Gay Pride Parade in Hollywood. Hansen preferred the term "homosexual" over "gay."

Born

1923

Active years

1970–1991

Known for

Dave Brandstetter mysteries

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