On Tuesday the 11th of October, the renowned English author Jon McGregor made the trip to the 30CC/Schouwburg in Leuven for the 2022 Herman Servotte Lecture. Previously, KU Leuven has welcomed authors such as Nadine Gordimer, Derek Walcott and Jennifer Egan. McGregor is without a doubt a splendid addition to the list. Together with Loverman Trio, McGregor took us by the hand to tell us more about the importance of improvisation in writing. An evening with Jon McGregor was a fascinating and intriguing, yet intimate experience.
Improvisation
Jon McGregor knows how to capture the attention of his audience: it was clear from the very start that he’s not only good with words on paper – he also knows how to play with them when speaking. The lecture was well thought through and structured from the very start. It was easy to follow, as if one were just having a natural conversation, helped by the fact that there was one main topic: improvisation, in the broadest sense. While McGregor’s words themselves were clearly not improvised, having that one main topic that served as a background made the entire evening feel very coherent. The audience was almost taken on a journey that flowed naturally without disruptions.
Loverman Trio, a project from the local talent Loverman (James de Graef), provided live music throughout the evening. In line with the main theme of the evening, these guys did not play from sheet music either. They improvised on the double-bass, keys and drums. The music was a perfect fit with McGregor’s refined way with words. It made for an intimate and cosy atmosphere in the audience, yet again making everything feel very coherent and well thought out.
The only part where McGregor unfortunately lost sight of improvisation as the main theme was at the very end, during the interview. While the interview was still very interesting on its own, with its focus more on McGregor’s novels, it was a tad unfortunate that it very much felt like a rupture from the main part of the lecture.
Distilled and refined, yet lyrical prose
While the Loverman Trio improvised, McGregor took on the challenge of writing a short story in seven minutes. Based on five randomly generated words, he started writing – not once, not twice, but no less than three times throughout the course of the evening. It felt as if the audience, already intrigued by McGregor and his exposition on improvisation, was truly mesmerized by seeing actual improvisation happening before their very eyes.
Based on five randomly generated words, McGregor started writing a short story. He set himself the challenge of doing so in under seven minutes.
The author is especially known for his simple, yet lyrical way of writing. While describing ordinary life and everyday things in his novels – Reservoir 13 being one of his best known -, he manages to continue to move his readers, making ordinary life seem not so ordinary through his striking observations. He focuses his attention not so much on the internal world of his characters, but on small things that many wouldn’t notice.
Read one of his short stories We Wave and Call here.
“Birds hang still in the warm currents of air drifting up the side of the hill. The grasshoppers sound out their steady scraping shriek. The air is thick with the scent of crushed pine needles and scorched rosemary, heavy with heat.“
Those improvised short stories were also very much McGregor.. His way of writing that his readers have loved and continue to love in his novels were just as present in the improvised short stories as they are in his other publications. Even when improvising, McGregor’s style is still very consistent and recognizable. McGregor came across as a man who clearly has a very distinct style that he made his own. McGregor’s way of speaking, his style of writing while being challenged to do it in seven minutes and even the tones of Loverman: the evening was a coherent masterpiece that fascinated the audience from the very start. We can certainly state that we had the unique opportunity to get to know a remarkable man and familiarize ourselves with his unique way of words.
Listen to Jon Mcgregor reading from Reservoir 13 here: