My name is Hugh Cochran, and I am a writer. My writing crosses several categorical boundaries; stories, articles, advertisements, commentary, reports, and music. I don’t do journalism, though, I have an inexplicable disdain for journalism. This WordPress site is meant to serve as my online portfolio, a portfolio which I have entitled, Sprezzatura Writing. I am not Italian, I have no special connection to Italy, and, despite my linguistic prowess, I can barely stumble my way through an Italian conversation. No, I chose this particular title because it represents what I feel all good writing should entail.
The term Sprezzatura was coined by Baldassare Castiglione in his most excellent work, The Book of the Courtier. He defines sprezzatura as, “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it”. This is, in his opinion, the ultimate goal for a courtier in Renaissance Italy; it is, in my opinion, the ultimate goal for a writer in any time period. Writing is time consuming, hard work, and, at times, exhausting; it should never appear so to one’s readers. Writing is also exhilarating, rewarding, and enlightening; this should also be hidden from one’s readers. The writer’s job is to move his audience, to subtly nudge their emotions, to run his fingers, ever so delicately, through their subconscious minds. When a writer reveals to his audience how much work is involved in this process, his emotional state, or his opinion on a particular writing assignment, he reverses this process; allowing his audience to enter freely into his mind. Glimpses of the writer’s mind and hints of his emotions can be extremely effective, but only in purposeful, limited, and controlled fragments; such as this paragraph.
Advertising copywriting especially benefits from sprezzatura. A client’s trust in his or her copywriter is key; there should be a sightly mystical wonder surrounding the copywriter. The client meets with the copywriter to discuss her product and receives a beautiful slogan or ad at the next meeting. The sleepless nights, bar napkins filled with scratched out ideas, and frustrated pacing of the office need not be mentioned. We are writers, our synapsis are strangely connected, we have your back; the rest is insubstantial.
So there you have it. My name is Hugh Cochran, I am a writer; I promise to approach all projects with the utmost professionalism, care, and, of course, sprezzatura.
Sprezzatura Writing 