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Source:  Haruki Murakami, "Kafka on the Shore" (2005), a novel which some describe as a metaphysical novel.

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer born in Kyoto in 1949. Since childhood, Murakami has been heavily influenced by Western culture. As of 2024,  Murakami has written a series of 34 books. His books and stories have been bestsellers in Japan as well as internationally.his work translated into 50 languages and sold millions of copies outside Japan. His first novel, "Hear the Wind Sing" was published in 1979, followed by Norwegian Wood in 1987 which cemented increased his popularity. Kafka on the shore was published in 2005. He has received numerous awards for his work. More

For a glance, a world;
for a smile, a heaven;
for a kiss...., I don't know
what I would give you for a kiss!

Original Spanish version:
Por una mirada, un mundo;
por una sonrisa, un cielo;
por un beso… ¡yo no sé
qué te diera por un beso

Translation by Calob - All copy rights reserved - 2023

Gustavo Adolfo Claudio Domínguez Bastida . -- better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836 – 1870), was a Spanish poet and writer (mostly short stories), also a playwright, literary columnist, and talented in drawing. Born in seville, He is now considered by some as one of the most important figures in Spanish literature, and possibly the most read author after Miguel de Cervantes. He adopted the alias of Bécquer as his brother Valeriano Bécquer, a painter, had done earlier. This poem was published posthumously in 1871 in “Rhymes”

"As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both Instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air - however slight - lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness"

William Orville Douglas (1898 – 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States for 36 years from 1939 to 1975. Douglas was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views and a strong defender of the First Amendment. He is considered the most liberal justice ever. Born in Maine, Minnesota, Douglas moved west with his family to California and then to Yakama, Washington after the death of his father. He chaired  the Securities and Exchange Commission before being appointed to the Supreme Court by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He is the longest-serving justice in history to date.

Quote source: The Douglas letters: Selections from the private papers of Justice William O. Douglas by William O. Douglas

“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time – when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness"

Carl Edward Sagan (1934 – 1996) ~ American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. He was one of the most well-known scientist of the 1970's and 1980's . He was controversial in scientific, political, and religious circles for his views on extraterrestrial intelligence, nuclear weapons, and religion. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life. He was an advocate for nuclear disarmament and co-wrote and hosted 'Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.'  He was widely regarded as a freethinker and one of his most famous quotations, in Cosmos, was, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.  He died at the age of 62 from complications of Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). More
 
Note: The book Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan explains why scientific thinking is crucial for navigating today's complex world and it offers insights on how we can separate fact from fiction and think critically, empowering us to make informed decisions.

Frail children of sorrow, dethroned by a hue,
The shadows are flecked by the rose sifting through,
The world has its motion, all things pass away;
No night is omnipotent, there must be day!

The oak tarries long in the depths of the seed
But swift is the season of nettle and weed,
Abide yet awhile in the mellowing shade
And rise with the hour for which you were made.

The cycle of seasons, the tidals of man,
Revolve in the orb of the infinite plan;
We move to the rhythm of ages long done,
And each has his hour — to dwell in the sun!

Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880 – 1966), American poet and playwright, music teacher and school principal, born in Atlanta, Georgia. She was an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance and one of the earliest female African-American playwiters. She published her first poems in 1916 in the NAACP’s magazine Crisis where she wrote a weekly column, “Homely Philosophy,” from 1926 to 1932. Douglas Johnson also wrote plays, and four collections of poetry: The Heart of  a Woman (1918). Bronze (1922) and An Autumn Love Cycle (1928), and Share My World (1962). More

"On this 18th anniversary of the birth of The Marginalian, here are all of these learnings so far as they were originally written in years past, beginning with the present year’s — the most challenging and most transformative of my life.". Read more at The Marginalian

Dougal Robertson (1924–1992) was a Scottish author and sailor born in Edinburgh who survived with his family being adrift at sea for 38 days after their 43-foot schooner, the Lucette, was sunk by a pod of killer whales in 1972 while on circumnavigation of the world trip. He recounted the ordeal in his books “Survive the Savage Sea” and "Sea Survival – A Manual" More

Eric Hoffer - (1902 –1983) was an American moral and social conservative philosopher. His first book, The True Believer (1951), was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen. Almost overnight, the San Francisco dockworker became a public figure. Recognized as a highly original thinker, he became known as the Longshoreman Philosopher. After The True Believer, he published ten more books. he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983. More

Richard Carlson (1961 – 2006) was an American author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker. His 1997 book, "Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff...and it’s all Small Stuff" was on the USA Today's and New York Times Best Seller lists. He wrote 20 books. He received his bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University and his PhD. from Sierra University. He was considered one of the foremost experts in happiness and stress reduction around the world. Carlson died suddenly from a pulmonary embolism during a flight from San Francisco to New York. He was married to Kristine Carlson. More

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821 – 1881), sometimes transliterated as Dostoyevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded by many literary critics as one of the greatest novelists in all of world literature, as many of his works are considered highly influential masterpieces. His most acclaimed novels include Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov.

"She had blue skin,
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through,
Then passed right by—
And never knew."

Sheldon Allan “Shel” Silverstein (1930 - 1999) was an American poet, cartoonist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter, and children books author. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages and his books have sold over 20 million copies. Among his most memorable books are: "Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), The Missing Piece (1976). After the 1970's, Silverstein continue releasing memorable children’s titles, among them A Light in the Attic (1981), and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O (1981).

“Masks”  tells the story of two wandering souls who never find each other because of their failure to show themselves as they truly were. Source: from Silverstein's book of poems called Everything On It. A collection of poems  published posthumously by Harper and Row Publishers in 2011.

JOHN O'DONOHUE (1956 - 2008) was an Irish poet, philosopher and scholar, a native Gaelic speaker. He wrote numerous international best-selling books including: Anam Cara, Beauty, Eternal Echoes, and Benedictus: A Book of Blessings- Published in the US as To Bless the Space Between Us. John O'Donohue Official website

Quote Source: - Excerpt from John O’Donohue's book "Beauty"