DANE HUCKELBRIDGE was born and raised in the American Middle West. He holds a degree from Princeton University, and his fiction and essays have appeared in a variety of journals, including Tin House, The New Delta Review, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic. Castle of Water is his first novel, although he has also authored two historical works on American whiskey and beer, respectively. He lives with his wife in Paris, France, and New York City.
To you, my love, my Piment d’Espelette.
Thank you.
The cyclone ends. The sun returns; the lofty
coconut trees lift up their plumes again; man
does likewise. The great anguish is over; joy
has returned; the sea smiles like a child.
—PAUL GAUGUIN
Moi je t’off rirai des perles de pluie
Venues de pays où il ne pleut pas.
Je creuserai la terre jusqu’après ma mort
Pour couvrir ton corps d’or et de lumière.
—JACQUES BREL
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