Welcome to Solvitur Ambulando, which means "Solve It By Walking." On this journey, we explore the alchemic potency of walking for sorting through life's puzzles, exploring our world, and transforming ourselves. Like a good walk, you will encounter distinctive ideas, remarkable people and gorgeous scenery. I hope you will enjoy a beautiful walk today. And if you like what you read and hear, please
On this episode of “Walks of Life,” I am delighted to be joined by Sarah Landenwich, whose debut novel The Fire Concerto was published earlier this summer. Sarah is a friend and fellow Louisvillian, and I was very excited to have the chance to discuss her novel with her.
In fact, here's what I wrote about it a few weeks ago:
“This will go down as one of my very favorite books this year. I stayed up past 1:00am three nights in a row to finish the book. And let me say, I am no night owl.
”The story, masterfully crafted by debut novelist Sarah Landenwich, kept me seeking more and my heart racing. What will happen next? And next? And next?“My wife, also powerfully drawn into the story, sprinted through it too.
“The novel is about music, mastery, loss and renewal. Mostly, to me, it sang about love. Can we love who we were, and no longer are, and never will be again? And can we love who we are and who we might become? Can we reach out to something — or someone — to walk that tense tightrope, the weaving of past, present and future, with us? Can we love what we find inside of us, and also open our eyes in love to what we discover outside ourselves?
“Beyond beautiful, I cannot recommend it highly enough!”
Since our conversation, a few thoughts have kept returning to me:
In the episode, Sarah tells the story of her long journey to getting the book published. It was arduous, but Sarah used it to good effect, learning and improving the steps she was taking. I admire her persistence. It may seem like a simple point, but in the moment, keepin’ on keepin’ on does not always appear as the obvious or correct choice.
I love her sticking to her guns about where she saw her novel fitting in the market. She believed it had a broader appeal than upscale fem lit. She sought to work with an agent who also viewed it more expansively. And I agree — it is a book for a broad audience. Again, Sarah showed remarkable persistence.
In her writing, Sarah uses tools that work for her — a legal pad and pen. I did not take her point as "analog tools are better than digital ones for everyone." I took it as analog works for her — and the lesson is to experiment in finding the right tools that work for you in your specific workflow, with your unique proclivities.
We discuss some forgotten female composers and musicians, such as Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska. (Also read Sarah’s essay about some of them, “What If Your Biography Was Just a Footnote to Somebody Else’s?”) Like Sarah, I found it sad that so many stunningly talented female artists have been lost or nearly faded from history. I also took away another consideration — how beautiful that someone cares about them and their work — enough to write a beautiful story based on them — centuries later!
I can’t speaking highly enough about Sarah’s book and this conversation was a total blast for me! Enjoy!
Episode Links
Sarah Landenwich’s website
Other media coverage of The Fire Concerto
A playlist of music that helped inspire The Fire Concerto
Information about some forgotten female musicians:
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