I was sitting at Marko’s with Rudi Handjal when Nives Valenta walked by. She just wanted to greet us, and so she stopped next to my chair. As I turned toward her, I noticed a book peeking out of her bag, which hung from her shoulder. “Kharms,” I read on the cover. “Hey,” I almost shouted, “let me see that!” She was startled. “Gosh,” I raved as I was leafing through the book, “Daniil Kharms in Motovun!” I explained that he was one of my favorite writers. “Wonderful,” sighed Nives, “for no-one here understands why I read such a book.” There was much merriment, and Nives eventually sat with us. I kept leafing through the book, which contains the bulk of Kharms’ opus. Translated into Croatian, it was published in 2001. “I found it at the book fair in Rijeka a couple of years ago,” Nives said. I just kept shaking my head: “Daniil Kharms in Motovun!” And Nives was born in the hilltown, where she grew up with her grandparents. “They loved books,” she explained with a smile.