Six Authors in Search of a Character, Part 6: Yukio Mishima in ZYZZYVA

The sixth and final installment of my ongoing essay series in ZYZZYVA Literary Magazine is now live––the series is called "Six Authors in Search of a Character" and it explores the unusual and complicated psychology of writers portraying on screen characters they created in print. Part 6 analyzes PATRIOTISM (1966), a remarkable and disturbing experiment wherein Yukio Mishima rehearsed his own death. If you missed the first five installments of the series (on Stephen King's appearance in CREEPSHOW, Richard Wright's role in NATIVE SON, Irvine Welsh's in TRAINSPOTTING, Mickey Spillane's in THE GIRL HUNTERS, and Jacqueline Susann's in VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, you can read them all here).