The tearoom was built in 1936, one year before my birth. The weather is bleak and rainy, I have my woolen cap on. He takes the photos. Head a little higher, no, back just a little, now turn, can you look more toward Van Eeghenstraat. I look and wonder which window it was. I tell the photographer: my mother fell out of a window there in 1912.
From the short story Years.
Lydia Davis is a legendary short story writer. But her translation work should be heralded as well. Her translation brings Dutch writer A.L. Snijders’ stories to life in English.
One of my favorite books of this year. Snijder’s short stories read like jokes + poems + journal entries + essays. Wicked combination.
Must find more.
Snijders, A. L.. Night Train. United States, New Directions, 2021. pg 33
Floodlights and Goalposts 