To write something and leave it behind us,
It
is but a dream
When we awake we know
There
is not even anyone to read it.
--Ikkyu
(1394-1481)
About this website. This website offers a selection
of writings of Richard S. Platz, and includes backpacking accounts,
novels, short stories, and nonfiction. Most of the writings may
be read at no cost. All copyrights and reservations of rights
apply.
About the Author. Richard S. Platz has been
practicing law in Humboldt County, California, since 1973. He
received his B.A. degree in philosophy from Northwestern University
in 1964, where he was first published in the TriQuarterly,
the University's literary magazine. In 1967 he received his J.D.
degree from the University of California at Berkeley, serving
as an associate editor of the California Law Review. After
practicing law in Berkeley and Oakland, Mr. Platz spent two years
in Mexico, near Guadalajara. In 1977 he established his sole general
practice in Blue Lake, a rural town in Northern California with
a population of 1150, where he continues to represent clients.
He has written his entire adult life, including essays, poems,
short stories, and novels. Some of his works reflect his experiences
in the courtroom and in Mexico.
BACKPACKING
IN JEFFERSON
These are accounts of backpacking and dayhiking.
While not intended as a guidebook, they do nonetheless contain
photographs and data about trails, access to trailheads, and the
location of good campsites that hikers may find of use. Located
in the mountainous border region of northern California and southern
Oregon, the State of Jefferson
is more a state of mind than a political reality. But here lie
plentiful wilderness areas and undesignated wildlands. This is
a work in progress.
"I read and enjoyed the report . . .
It made me feel like I had been there with you, though without
all the pain."--George Platz
Click Here To Read "Backpacking
in Jefferson "
PROJECT DIVINE
WIND, a novel
Project Divine Wind is a cybernetic courtroom thriller
flavored with mystery and romance. A federal court is asked to
decide whether Dexter, a creature of genetic engineering and computer
science, is entitled to the civil rights of a human being. Dexter's
attorneys are Cedrick P. Collins, Esq., a charismatic, elegantly
dressed, and silver-tongued black criminal defense attorney who
as a longshoreman earned his law degree from correspondence school,
and his young white associate, Jed Aaron LeBaron. Law school never
prepared LeBaron for Collins' streetwise clients, biased and overworked
judges, and an arbitrary and often ambiguous legal system. This
novel contains a realistic look at the underside of the legal
justice system based on the author's own experience practicing
law in Oakland. 335 pages.
Click Here To Read the First
Chapter
Click Here To Read the Second
Chapter
Click Here To Read the Third
Chapter
Click Here for a Free
Download of Project Divine Wind
OF MAGIC
AND DELUSION, a novel
Of Magic and Delusion is a short novel appearing at first
blush to fall into the genre of fantasy. A young Prince comes
of age in a peaceful Kingdom protected by the Sorcerer from the
barbarous hordes on its borders. The Prince longs for meaning,
but neither science nor faith can satisfy his longing. He turns
to the Sorcerer for what he perceives as mastery of the magical.
But here there is no real magic, only madness. Or to put it another
way, there is only the magic of the everyday world, and all attempts
at understanding are madness. The result is a brutally honest
tale, built from the bricks and mortar of real life. The novel
is allegorical, exploring the Prince's obsession, addiction, and
self-delusion through romance, adventure, humor, and a smattering
of philosophy. Suitable for young readers prepared to face the
truth. 98 pages.
Click Here To Read the First
Chapter
Click Here To Read the Second
Chapter
Click Here To Read the Third
Chapter
Click Here for a Free
Download of Of Magic and Delusion
APPOINTMENT
AT ANGAHUAN, a novel
by
James A. Kline & Richard S. Platz
Appointment at Angahuan is a contemporary novel of adventure,
suspense, and international intrigue. Two Americans find themselves
drawn into the Presidential politics of Mexico as the Tarascan
Indians try to break the stranglehold of the PRI party. Dr. Jeff
Rivers, in search of a lost Tarascan treasure, and Jed LeBaron,
an unwitting pawn in the political game, meet at the Tarascan
headquarters in the lava tubes beneath the reawakening Paricutin
volcano. Completed in 1982, this novel foreshadows by a decade
the violent indigenous rebellion in the State of Chiapas, Mexico,
still simmering today, and the fall of the PRI. Co-author James
A. Kline, Ph. D., is a Licensed Psychologist currently practicing
in Colorado and has published numerous articles in professional
journals and his recent book The Whole Truth About Domestic
Violence. The beginning of Appointment at Angahuan
may be viewed without charge, and if you would like to read the
rest, the entire work may then be purchased by mail in Adobe PDF
format for a modest fee.
Click Here To Read the First
Chapter
Click Here To Read the Second
Chapter
Click Here To Read the Third
Chapter
Click Here to Purchase
Appointment at Angahuan
DREAMTIME,
collected short stories
Dreamtime is a work in progress. It presently consists
of five short stories written between 1964 and the present. From
time to time a different short story will be featured on this
website. The current feature is "Only a Matter of Time,"
a fictional series of newspaper articles that first appeared in
the Blue Lake Advocate in 1979.
Click Here To Read "Only
a Matter of Time"
LINKS
 Be
sure to click on the Platzbrothers website logo for more from
Rick and his big brother George.
Comments, questions,and licensing inquiries are
welcome. Send them to: Richard
Platz
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