This Is Not Dalí's House

A estas alturas, Michael se siente menos como un huésped y más como alguien a quien esta casa se ha acostumbrado a tener por aquí. En la primavera de 2026, me contó que un relato corto que había escrito, titulado "This Is Not Dalí's House" como homenaje a este lugar, había sido seleccionado para su publicación en Conjunctions, una de las revistas literarias más importantes de Estados Unidos, junto a escritores como Joyce Carol Oates, Rick Moody y Sandra Cisneros. Me conmovió profundamente ver este lugar, que he cuidado con tanto esmero, perdurar a través de las palabras de otra persona. Es un honor para mí compartir aquí parte del relato de Michael.
Conjunctions 85: ANEW, cover
Conjunctions 85 — "ANEW," editado por Bradford Morrow

El relato se abre entre el sueño y la primera luz sobre la bahía de Portlligat — un lugar al que el narrador insiste en que no vuelve porque Dalí vivió allí, sino porque ahora casi nadie vive aquí.

The Dalí House and Museum opens at 10AM. Those who stumble on a list of the Top things do to in Cadaqués will find it. They will then attempt to find it. They will escape the ice-cream parlored esprit of Cadaqués, sun-screened and guided by phones. They will huff and puff over a ridge patrolled by spiteful cats. They will navigate an awkward downhill crawl to the sea, past a blue door set in stratified stone, and, on its silver handle, they will read black words on a white sticker. This is not Dalí's house. It pushes as it pulls.

The blue of the door is the blue of the Cadaquesencs. Charged with assertion and caution. A swaggering flash of go away. As flourish, it succeeds. As ward, historically less so. It is blue that is neither royal, cerulean, nor azure. In our meetings, it would be made certain. In our meetings, we would match, assign, and refer to it by its hex. We would call it #0b04d6.

There's a comfort in being behind a door that's not yours. A wall that's not yours. The approaching footsteps. The knock. Not for you. She's woken. I can hear her getting ready inside the hut. The telltale water through pipes. The clattering of potions and lotions. An elegant bull pawing the earth.

Among Dalí's various inventions, there were those without a place. Devised as such. To be unplaceable. Attempts to find their fit would be met by an anxiety that persisted until the object was discarded. This is not Dalí's House. It is simple, intuitive, everything with its purpose. The hut contradicts the garden and neighboring sprawl of whimsy. There are no cricket cages, lip sofas, or stuffed polar bears. There is a hammock that serves as hammock, water that tastes of water, an oven that cooks food.

Una página de "This Is Not Dalí's House" en Conjunctions 85
"This is not Dalí's house. It pushes as it pulls."

El relato completo aparece en Conjunctions 85: ANEW, junto a obras de Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Lethem, Sandra Cisneros y otros..

Leer el relato completo →
Fragmento publicado con el permiso del autor, Michael Murphy. Conjunctions 85: ANEW, editado por Bradford Morrow. Más información en conjunctions.com.

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