I don't pare down much. I write the beginning of a story in a notebook and it comes out very close to what it will be in the end. There is not much deliberateness about it.
Lydia DavisI don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.
Lydia DavisI think the close work I do as a translator pays off in my writing - I'm always searching for multiple ways to say things.
Lydia DavisThere seemed to be three choices: to give up trying to love anyone, to stop being selfish, or to learn to love a person while continuing to be selfish.
Lydia Davis