@writing
A space for writers to create, connect and share.
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:05
Discovering Eloquence | A Convo with Writer Steven Gambardella
Steve, I first discovered your work as I told you through one of your most recent articles on Medium, which is titled, Most Writers Lose Their readers because they're lacking one ingredient, and it immediately grabbed me as a writer that's currently deep in a book and revising a book I should say, and I thought, okay, well, I need to see what this is about. And you write that missing ingredient is eloquent
Apologies if not helped me be able to negotiate ideas and unpack them and slowly kind of split them into granular into a granular form for my readers to kind of take on board in a way that was really effective. Philosophy is rife with terrible writing because there's no incentive to write well in the academic community. I think people actually prize difficult writing in the academic community for all kinds of reasons around innovation and things like that. So that's really the story behind this particular piece
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:01
I was reading a lot in my literature classes, and it wasn't until I started reading more contemporary fiction and learning about different schools of thought around fiction and writing that I think I felt a little more freedom to explore. And I think I stopped trying to emulate a voice that wasn't mine, and it made me have a question for you around this. Who are your inspirations? I know you mentioned Brianna Wiese, who I actually was familiar with her writing before your article, too
And some people say that's why a lot of Anglophone academics write in this really kind of obscure way because they're actually imitating translations of the original French and German authors. I mean, that's a fear, at least. So I went through all of that. It's very recently that I went through this process of discovering simplicity. And it was through looking at Brianna West, and it was also through just taking tips from authors who want to communicate simply. I actually work in marketing
Hi. Sorry I got cut off there, but I was just gonna finish off by saying that's a key tip that I would give any aspiring writer. But actually, I just thought of one more is using what blank space like what, you know, to hit the return key as much as you can as well. So one of the things this is stylistic, by the way
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 3:08
And it was pretty powerful to realize that as an adult, it is now up to me how I continue to write my story. And part of that for me was changing my name. So it ties into writing for me in that way. And when you were talking about uncomfortable pauses or using periods more frequently and creating shorter sentences, it felt tied to me and the discomfort we can feel when sitting with a feeling or desire or problem for a while
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:26
Another thing I was really curious to hear your thoughts on is just your how your journey evolved as a writer, particularly you write so prolifically on medium about so many different things, between opera, yoga, all kinds of philosophers, like even just scrolling now, obviously writing and craft. There's just so many things I feel like anyone could get something from what you write about. And I'm curious how that started for you. When did you decide that you wanted to start writing more frequently on medium?
Hi Bowie with regards to the question about how I write about a lot of different stuff. I guess it's because I just take an interest in a lot of stuff. It's just really a reflection of my reading habits and my kind of consumption habits. I'm lucky enough to live in a big city where there's a lot of culture available. So I'm exposed to that kind of thing and I just take to write about it
So I'd write it in kind of free Penny romantic novel, or he would write in the style of a Catholic Catechism. I can't remember how you pronounce that even though I'm Catholic, that's quite embarrassing. Or he does like a whole chapter where it's all headlines and copy like their adverts or that kind of old style. And that's really interesting. And there's that novel, a visit from the Goon Squad as well, where an entire chapter is a PowerPoint document
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:46
And that's fine because I feel so nourished by it as a practice and getting to talk about it and sharing it with others is just such a joyful thing for me. Constantly discovering new writers and voices and perspectives. It constantly reminds me that it gives me an appreciation for life even when things are difficult. And I think that's something I really connected to within your work overall is I feel like there's this joy in your writing and also the sense of humor
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:39
So I'm curious as maybe we wrapped the conversation up. You mentioned some writers that I absolutely loved. Joyce's short story, The Dead is still probably one of my favorite short stories I've ever read. And I was so happy to hear you mention a visit from the Goon Squad because I think that novel is absolutely brilliant and the PowerPoint is amazing. I remember when I read it. I just was so delighted to see, like you said, that Jennifer Egan set up this challenge for herself
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
It's absolutely profound with regards to what I've been reading. It's an interesting question because I've got quite a bizarre answer. Basically, I've been reading The Iliad. I've just finished reading The Iliad, so it's one of those bucket list kind of pieces of literature. It's like War and peace and stuff like that and Ulysses and all those kinds of books
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:20
Steve, thank you so much for such a lovely conversation. It was so wonderful to get to connect with a fellow writer and talk about craft and process and also the books you're currently reading. I loved hearing about your journey with these different translations of the Iliad, and your recommendation had me go and read a bit more about Alice Oswald and the Memorial translation that you spoke of specifically. So thank you. I have not read the Iliad in full