A Spider Thread

Let us suppose the Buddha Sakyamuni was taking a morning stroll in paradise one day and happened by a lotus pond whence the flowers shone brilliant white as jewels, their golden centers effusing an ineffable perfume everywhere thereabouts. Presently, as the Buddha stood on the bank gazing at the crystal waters beneath the leaves, he clearly saw as if through a spyglass the River of the Damned and Hill of Spikes there below...


Ryunosuke Akutagawa

(1 March 1892 – 24 July 1927) 

Ryunosuke Akutagawa was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan.Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named for him.


Alfred Birnbaum

Alfred Birnbaum was born in the United States. Birnbaum's translations include Haruki Murakami's Hear the Wind Sing, Pinball, 1973, A Wild Sheep Chase, Dance Dance Dance, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Underground.