4,673 words
To understand the man you have to know what was happening in the world when he was twenty.
— Napoleon Bonaparte
I grew up in the final years of the Cold War. If you aren’t old enough to remember the Cold War, let me tell you that it was a trip.
1,528 words
On this day in 1977, a band from Salford, England called Warsaw took to the stage for the very first time in their career. They were supporting the Buzzcocks at the Electric Circus concert in Manchester.
“Warsaw” was the name chosen by a group of young men, namely Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Terry Mason, and Peter Hook, (more…)
2,433 words
These fought, in any case,
and some believing, pro domo, in any case. . .
. . .some in fear, learning love of slaughter;
Died some pro patria, non dulce non et decor. . .
walked eye-deep in hell (more…)
Banana Yoshimoto and Yukio Mishima.
2,725 words
Banana Yoshimoto
Kitchen
Translated by Megan Backus
London: Faber and Faber, 1993
Yukio Mishima
Thirst for Love
Translated by Alfred H. Marks
New York: Random House, 1999 (more…)