In this interview, we had the pleasure of meeting Oskar Grosch, also known as ‘ordineri‘ to his Instagram followers. We sat down with him on a humid Saturday in a cozy café in Vienna’s seventh district.
As we observed the young Oskar ordering a white wine Spritzer at 3:30 pm, he casually mentioned, “I used to be quite shy, you know,” while lighting up a cigarette.
“No, you weren’t. We read your poems!”
To our delight, he grinned back and nodded, affirming, “No, for real though. I’m not joking.” Oskar recently published his first poetry collection, titled “From Cringe To Based And Back,” in April 2021, after amassing over 2000 followers on Instagram through his poetry page. The Amazon reviews laud him as “the son of Bukowski, lost in Austria,” a description we found fitting enough to consider using as our article heading. After all, where could one be more lost than on a hot day in Vienna, Austria? The thought brought a smile to our faces. Although we laughed a lot during the interview, a small part of us regretted not filming it in retrospect. However, considering our distaste for hearing our own laughter out loud, perhaps it was for the better.
Throughout our conversation, we delved into various topics, starting with Oskar’s preferences and inspirations. From being both a morning and evening person to his inclination toward the city over nature, coffee over tea, and weed over cocaine, Oskar revealed his multifaceted nature. When asked about his sources of inspiration, he attributed it to his reading of Charles Bukowski’s “Women,” which sparked the idea that he could create similar content in his own style. Additionally, he mentioned the influence of a friend who started sharing pictures on Instagram, motivating him to do the same. However, his greatest inspiration and admiration lay with Stefan Zweig, a renowned writer.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I read “Women” by Charles Bukowski and it was just so easy and entertaining, that I thought, that I could easily do the same but in my style. Also, when on the other hand, a friend of mine started posting his pictures on Instagram and I figured why not try to do the same? But for writing, my biggest inspiration and the best writer ever is Stefan Zweig.
Also just watching people, movies, books, going out. Another thing that’s really important is to be able to be by yourself. For movies I love Tarantino, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, Gaspar Noé and many many more.
Which poetry collection by Bukowski and which Book by Stefan Zweig is your favourite?
I don’t really know the name of Bukowski’s poetry collections but for Zweig it would be “Phantastische Nacht”. It’s the very best thing you can ever possibly read. After finishing this book, I wondered whether I had never seen or felt anything before. I was blind and numb my whole life.
When did you start writing?
In general, I started writing four or five years ago, but more stories back then because I wanted to imitate Stefan Zweig.
Why did you then switch from stories to poetry?
Because it’s easier. Also, I think people don’t like to read stories anymore. I want to connect with people. Poetry feels to me like the easiest connection to people. Only if you already are a famous writer, people will read your book consisting of a couple hundred pages. But for the start I think poetry is the easiest way that people will actually read and get to know you. Especially for Instagram or Tik-Tok: stuff needs to be 10 seconds or less. People can’t focus anymore.
What does your writing process look like?
I use my notebook and my new MacBook. Of course, for editing and longer stuff the computer is easier. I usually carry a notebook around with me wherever I go. Also, I don’t really have a fixed writing routine. If I get inspired somewhere I just sit down and pour it out.
If you could only write poems about one topic. Which one would it be?
Sex. Women.
You said you give great life advice. Therefore, what do most people lack in their lives?
Generalizing life again. In our complex world, pretty obvious connections are not obvious anymore. Simplify life and stereotype to make sense of this world.
What is your biggest dream?
Getting by moneywise by what I do on Instagram through my art and generate a regular income. Anybody who says that money is irrelevant is a f***ing phony.
How do we stay relevant or is the goal to never be relevant in the first place, to not lose this privilege?
I’m not really relevant yet. But I’d say one key factor is to not take yourself too seriously and if you really care about your followers or readers, you should always challenge them, provoke them, at least that’s what Goethe said, I think.
What is your biggest fear?
Not necessarily to be cancelled, but to be a major cringe. Jake Paul-cringe-worthy, even worse than Riff Raff.
Three things you would like to do before you die?
I don’t know, I can’t answer that. Maybe do a backflip, I was able do to it before, so I would just have to re-learn it. Or porn, I feel like artists do everything but porn and the best people have porn out, for example Colin Ferrel.
Describe yourself in three words
Weird. I want to say asshole, but that’s not true. Weird and sometimes funny.
What’s your favourite poem of your book?
Pleasure, it’s one of the first ones I wrote, but it’s just so fitting
If humanity will start to look for someone to identify a whole generation through someone’s art again in 20 or 30 years, they might come back to him. He embodies the spirit of trying to be un”ordinary” just to be “ordineri” again. But also, someone who figured for himself that the norms are there to be broken, if they get acknowledged to be existent in the first place.
He will probably hate this part, but Bukowski did too, so it’s not that bad, right?
Everything he did you can also do in a fine rib undershirt, just in your own “ordineri” way.
If you are reading this, we should do an Internet TV-Show, we would be f***ing hilarious.
