RKS Literature: “The Decline of the Japanese Man” (Yukio Mishima)

“In the present day-when places called cafés are springing up everywhere, drawing thousands of idle people with money to spare, when male and female students behave so shockingly in streetcars that it has become necessary to segregate them-men have lost all trace of that fervor that drove their ancestors to accept the most frightening challenges.Continue reading “RKS Literature: “The Decline of the Japanese Man” (Yukio Mishima)”

RKS Literature: Kiyaoki’s Nasty Letter to Satoko (Yukio Mishima)

“And perhaps you are smiling contemptuously, secure in the knowledge that my lust for paid women will only serve to enhance my esteem for pure ladies like yourself. No, let me disabuse you of any such notion. Since that night (enlightenment being exactly what it says) I have broken through all these standards into territoryContinue reading “RKS Literature: Kiyaoki’s Nasty Letter to Satoko (Yukio Mishima)”

RKS Literature: Marriage and a Noble Japanese Family on the Decline (Yukio Mishima)

“I wonder what’s the matter with her? Or did they think he was too much beneath her? No matter how noble a family the Ayakuras once were, their present fortunes hardly allow them to turn down a young man like that, with a bright future ahead of him with the Ministry of the Interior. TheyContinue reading “RKS Literature: Marriage and a Noble Japanese Family on the Decline (Yukio Mishima)”

RKS Poetry: “Canadian Toronto Blue Jay Fans Caught on Kisscam”!

 Toronto Blue Jay Fans Caught on “Kisscam” On televised broadcasts of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball games At stadiums in the United States Happy Canadian fans in attendance and on camera Guilt free? EXPOSED! Caught in the act violating the majority rule to combat the unspoken one You’ve been caught in the Kisscam but resigningContinue reading “RKS Poetry: “Canadian Toronto Blue Jay Fans Caught on Kisscam”!”

RKS Literature: The Virus of Elegance (Yukio Mishima)

“A mere 50 years before, the Matsugaes had been a sturdy, upright samurai family, no more, eking out a frugal existence in the provinces. But in a brief span of time, their fortunes had soared. By Kiyoaki’s time, the first traces of refinement were threatening to take hold on a family that, unlike court nobility,Continue reading “RKS Literature: The Virus of Elegance (Yukio Mishima)”

RKS Literature: American Media’s Obsession with the Cult of Personality

“You are literally, then, one amongst countless millions. You are news. Whatever you do is news. But it does not take long to realize, at least assuming that one wishes to live, that to be news is really to be nothing; that the attention paid to one’s vicissitudes is merely the most cunning way yetContinue reading “RKS Literature: American Media’s Obsession with the Cult of Personality”

RKS Literature: The Happy and Prancing Negroes! (James Baldwin)

“I saw with a particular shock, the root of the despicable and tenacious American folklore concerning the happy, prancing niggers. Some of the people were moving, indeed, and the jukebox was loud; their movements followed the music which their movements had produced; but prancing scarcely described the use of their vigor. Only someone who noContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Happy and Prancing Negroes! (James Baldwin)”

RKS Literature: Not Realizing I Was Colored (James Baldwin)

“They disliked Jerry because he was Italian, they disliked Barbara because she was not, and therefore, had no excuse, and they disliked me because I did not appear to realize both Barbara and Jerry were white. I did not, in fact, appear to know that I was colored and this filled them with such balefulContinue reading “RKS Literature: Not Realizing I Was Colored (James Baldwin)”

RKS Literature: Searching for the Daylight in Harlem (James Baldwin)

“We were cold and frightened, and we were hungry, but, except for our father, we were not in despair. Our mother was holding on-grim silent and watchful, but not cheerless; she was determined to bring us to the daylight. But she had a lot to watch, a lot to carry. She was watching our father,Continue reading “RKS Literature: Searching for the Daylight in Harlem (James Baldwin)”

RKS Literature: What to Expect at Swiss Customs (James Baldwin)

“Within seconds, the time it takes to cross a small backyard (French customs), one has left this outpost, the last witness to this indisputably dour and extraordinarily interesting people and one is facing the apple faced Swiss. Their quarters are impeccable, as are their uniforms. The Swiss do not smoke their cigarettes but leave themContinue reading “RKS Literature: What to Expect at Swiss Customs (James Baldwin)”