Passing Along Stories for You

 I knew of Yukio Mishima from a time long ago. He publicly committed seppuku when I was a kid, and it made the news. I finally read him while in prison. Now The Paris Review has published one of his stories, True Love at Dawn. I think it would be a good start for anyone wanting to read him, a place to get acclimated to what is to us his strangeness. His strangeness is a combination of spirituality and brutality that I do not think comes easy to Americans.

 Because they were beautiful and real. That’s it. That’s why. I didn’t have a single other reason to kill them.

Apex Book Company released LH Moore's Roots on Ya from the collection they are selling. This story is as far removed from Japan as Virginia 1906 could be. A roots doctor saves a young girl.

Just happened to be that I had a notion of how this one started: Li’l Miss Gal in Yellow—Heddy—liked that Gillis boy way too much for Millie’s—Harris and Mabel’s gal’s—liking. So, that Millie probably got ahold of some of her hair and baked it in a cake. Wonder she ain’t go mute too. Probably got some of that gal’s water too, dabbling around in things she shouldn’t have without no protection. If she knew better, she could’ve just gone on and tried to get that boy direct—a little blood of hers go a long way. Least I hope she didn’t. Lawd only knows what kind of crossing Millie done put on that poor Heddy, but she was now hacking up her insides and then some. I got to get it off her. I ain’t got much time. 

sch 12/19/24