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Q&A
Which philosophy or philosopher most aligns with your own beliefs?
I like to piece myself together from different belief systems, and this is an ever-evolving process. I am a patchwork of nihilism turned into existentialism, pieced together with the thread of hope.
Is there any standard publishing or writing advice that you disagree with? Or any standard advice that you feel is too often neglected?
I used to believe that to be a good writer, you have to live and suffer in this world. Later, I found out suffering might actually get in the way of good writing or art in general. Being too personal in your sadness and suffering can estrange your audience. Not everyone has your experience, but as David Lynch said, you need to have a buffer between your personal experience and your art.
“An artist doesn’t have to suffer to show suffering. You need to understand it, but you don’t have to live it.”
What is the greatest compliment you have received as a writer? The most stinging criticism?
Somebody on Substack called me the Romanian Madame Psychosis -- a character from David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest who isolates herself and hosts a late-night radio show, using her airtime to read strange texts aloud and offer her opinion on obscure pop-cultural subjects.
The second-best thing was when a fellow Romanian said that my articles on Romanian authors had taught him more than he was taught in school about the same authors. That is my current mission on Substack, and this made me very happy.
Of course, the praise is balanced by friction. The most stinging criticism usually comes from within, courtesy of my own lazy perfectionism. From the outside, some find my writing (and perhaps my personality) to be a bit “too much”.
Which authors or books would you recommend to those who want to challenge their own thinking?
I believe anyone should read something that contradicts their belief and biases from time to time.
For people in Western Europe and America, I recommend exploring literature from ex-communist states to challenge views on democracy and better understand the other side of the world.
Substackers you’d recommend?
Bence Adok- The Great Beyond.
Rasmus Rosenkrantz- Arthouse Poetry.
Josh Datko- Bitpunk.FM
Author Bio:
Luciana Moroianu is a Romanian translator and poet, running a series of articles on her Substack publication, Language of Limbo, focused on author mini-biographies and poetry translations. The mission is to unearth obscure authors and bring them and their work into the spotlight to the English-speaking public. Her own poetry could be placed under the Surrealist, Experimental, and Symbolist genres, sometimes dabbling into Dada, Mythology and Theology.
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