Meet NUNUM's Contributor: Steven Ostrowski

NUNUM

Blending Flash Fiction & Art

Interview with ​Steven Ostrowski

Which artists have influenced your current artistic direction?

Picasso, deKooning, early Pollack.

What advice would you give someone just starting to send their work to journals?
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Don't take rejection as rejection, but instead as motivation. Don't change your style to fit what you think editors are looking for. Become more and more yourself. Eventually, they'll recognize your gift.

What is the relationship between your written work and your painted work?
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Everything I do comes from a deep need for self-expression and connection with others. 

Artist's Statement

Flannery O’Connor said, in essence, that the task of the artist is to deepen mystery. I concur.

Steven Ostrowski is a widely-published poet, fiction writer, painter and songwriter. His novel, The Highway of Spirit and Bone, was published in 2023 by Lefora Publications and has been called “…a literary road trip for the ages.” His poetry chapbook, Persons of Interest, won the 2021 Wolfson Chapbook Prize and was published in 2022. Steven and his son Ben coauthored a full-length collaboration called Penultimate Human Constellation, published in 2018 by Tolsun Books. Steven’s newest book of poems, Life Field, was published in early 2024. His paintings have been published in Lily Poetry Review, William and Mary Review, Stone Boat, Another Chicago Magazine, and many other literary journals. He is Professor Emeritus at Central Connecticut State University. You can view and order copies of his work at www.stevenostrowski.org.

NUNUM

Blending Flash Fiction & Art