Alexandra Magearu

What was your favorite book as a child?

When I was a child, I spent a lot of time indoors on long, sweltering summer days, reading Romanian translations of epic Russian and French novels from my grandparents’ small library. I discovered Tolstoy, Balzac, Dostoevsky and other classic writers then, but my favorite book was probably Alexander Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers”. I remember being charmed by this other mysterious world of seventeenth century France and thrilled by the book’s sense of humour and adventure.

Do you remember the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?

I began writing poems in college and my language of choice was English. I majored in American Studies and I was, thus, reading texts primarily in English. The impulse to write probably came from my experiments with creative work and my desire to express myself. I experimented with photography, language games, humor writing, and poetry. Although I did not have a clear artistic vision then, I felt the need to give shape to the disorganized jumble of thoughts, intense feelings and impressions I was collecting on a daily basis.

What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?

It was probably my work on a short experimental film I wrote and directed in Paris in the summer of 2012. It was called “Wait”.

Do you listen to music while reading or writing?

Sometimes, I listen to contemporary minimalism, bossa nova, or eerie Icelandic music. Though, I find that I focus better in absolute silence.