Sofia Ida Cestari on Writing, Eloquentia, and Artistic Passion

November 5, 2024

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“We are humans before artists and we are made to have many interests and passions, they literally make us.”

Sofia Ida Cestari is an Italian writer and editor. Fluent in Italian, English and Spanish, she currently resides in Spain and studies English Literature. She focuses mainly on poetry and screenwriting but also loves journalism. She’s also the founder and editor of Eloquentia Literary Magazine. You can find her on Instagram @sofiaidacestarii.

**What’s your story behind starting Eloquentia Literary Magazine?**

About a year ago I realised that if I wanted to work in the editorial field and as a writer I needed to start gaining experience in said field. So I started submitting my pieces and reading numerous online magazines. The more I read the more I started realising I really would’ve loved to own a magazine of my own, a place where I could help people achieve their dreams (like many others had done and do for me). I worked on the idea and the concept for a few weeks and I started looking for website designing sites and then I launched the website (https://eloquentiareview.wordpress.com/). The name of the magazine comes from my background: I was raised in Italy and I got to study Latin and Classic Greek, “Eloquentia” is a latin word that expresses the art of convincing or moving people with your words which I felt perfectly explained what I aim at when I write and what I feel when I read powerful pieces of literature. And that’s how Eloquentia was born!

Which poet or author whose work has had the greatest impact on you?

The list would be long! I am amazed at how writers manage to express abstract feelings through words so clearly that we just feel understood by someone we don’t even know. I have a list of poets and authors that I look up to but the most influential in my writing would probably be Canadian authors like Gwendalyn MacEwan for poetry and Margaret Atwood for prose. I also love Greek and Latin mythological stories.

Lastly, I am a huge fan of Italo Calvino’s work, prose, poetry and short stories; he probably is my favourite writer ever and I have the privilege of being able to read his works in their original language which obviously makes a difference.

As a screenwriter, what’s your favorite genre of film? Do they inspire you in writing your own drafts?

I love thriller and fantasy films and I believe they might be the hardest genres to write both on screen and in books. I also am a very big fan of coming of age films, probably because I am coming of age myself and I feel represented, they are hard to write avoiding cliches and unrealistic situations. I am most inspired by movie dialogues and monologues, they seem easy to write but they actually are not! Movies definitely inspire my own writing, especially if I get to read the screenplay of the movie (you can download some screenplays for free on the internet and yes, it is legal if the production company has allowed its release, they usually do once the film is out).

You also mentioned being interested in journalism, what drew you to it?

I always had a passion for writing and I had the luck of having a teacher in high school who really believed in me and introduced me to our school’s newspaper and the importance of journalism. Since then I’ve enjoyed writing a few pieces for that paper and some others that I wish one day may become part of a newspaper column.

When a creative block hits, what’s your go-to way of finding inspiration?

Oh I am really bad at this! Most of the time I just allow myself a few days of rest if I can to relax and read. If it doesn’t work I just force myself to start writing for 30 minutes, it usually works as my problem is always starting to write but when I do I can’t stop!

What is for you the most vital thing to have as an artist?

Probably passion. It does not necessarily have to be a burning passion for the entirety of your craft, all arts are made of different components and we can’t like them all the same; what we do need is a strong passion for the craft itself, some parts more, some less.

I feel that many times we risk thinking that to be artists we must be completely consumed by our craft and our craft only but I strongly disagree. We are humans before artists and we are made to have many interests and passions, they literally make us. The more things you know and like the more particular your personality and your abilities will become.

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