When We Were Nearly Young - The
inspiration for Mavis Gallant’s short story, entitled ‘When We Were Nearly
Young’ was a diary she kept during the 1950’s. The backstory goes that Gallant
was living in Madrid, forced to pawn her typewriter, while waiting for a check
from her agent. She did what every writer does by turning a real-life situation
into fiction. The short story deals with a woman on a quest for self-discovery,
living with three friends, all of whom are waiting for money. They eat cheap,
loaf around and try to enjoy life on a budget. Gallant is a prolific
contributor to The New Yorker, featuring publication of more than one hundred
stories in the magazine. I wonder, now that handwritten journals are obsolete,
how will writer’s notes be remembered?
