Jennifer Croft, "Anaheim"

It’s December 23. Jennifer Croft, author of The Extinction of Irena Ray, has not prepared an acceptance speech.

How would you describe your story?

JENNIFER CROFT: “Anaheim” is a tribute to waste—especially the luxury of wasted time—and a fantastical, bilingual exploration of loss on all different levels.

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

JC: I wrote it at the tail end of a Jan Michalski Foundation residency in the Swiss village of Montricher, the day after visiting Zermatt, the village at the foot of the Matterhorn. I’d been thinking about Alex for a while, but taking those Swiss trains up out of the ever-present fog and into sight of that mountain crystallized his story for me.

What kind of research went into this story?

JC: Not so much research as an apprenticeship in writing short stories as I translated Federico Falco’s impeccable collection A Perfect Cemetery. I didn’t want to let go of the book when I finished my translation, so I started thinking of ways I could respond to it in my own writing, and in that way, make it continue.

What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other kinds of writing can’t?

JC: The short story is such a special form that I almost never engage in it. It’s so difficult to build a world, even if it’s just the world of one person, in a few thousand words, let alone lead the reader on a journey through that world that also culminates in a satisfying and memorable experience.

Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?

JC: croftwork.net.

What's the best gift you've ever been given?

JC: My twins, Nina and Charlie (aka Noah).

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