Lydia Davis Overview

Lydia Davis is a consummate translator and one of the foremost contemporary short and short-short story writers; her influence within the short-short story medium seems immeasurable, as nearly every literary magazine pumps out 250-word story after 250-word story, each attempting – but... [more]

Lydia Davis is a consummate translator and one of the foremost contemporary short and short-short story writers; her influence within the short-short story medium seems immeasurable, as nearly every literary magazine pumps out 250-word story after 250-word story, each attempting – but few, if any, matching – to mimic the tremendous compaction of pathos, wit, and formal experimentation that Davis manages to breathe into seemingly anything her acutely observant and curious brain latches on to. Her wide-ranging literary output often finds her wending in some loose and exciting space between short fiction, prose poetry, poetic prose, philosophy, and literary theory. Some of her stories arise from experience, some from abstract consideration, some – like "Oral History with Hiccups" – from interaction with the technical methods of her stories' creation. Her mind seems foremost drawn toward exploring unresolved issues in literary practice and further teasing out their various implications; her work often reads as an anecdote to the thought process, further prodding the reader into his or her private considerations and personal beliefs. Her work operates like another brain fastened to that of its reader; it speaks to, challenges, and amuses the reader's mind, offering or hinting at subtly new ways to interpret the world. [show less]