Dustin W. Leavitt

About Dustin W. Leavitt

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So far Dustin W. Leavitt has created 5 blog entries.

The Barber

by Dustin W. Leavitt
A bit of grooming allows time to reflect on Vietnam-U.S. relations and the tentacles of power.

The first time I thought about traveling to Vietnam was thirty-some years ago, and what I thought was that I didn’t want to go, even though the U.S. government would have paid for the trip.

The Barber2017-04-24T02:32:41-07:00

The Gigolo

by Dustin W. Leavitt
The underworld of Japanese tattoo is full of surprises.Akasaka enjoys the world he lives in, a world of geishas, gangsters, and dragons. It’s not an imaginary world. The world Akasaka inhabits is quite real, though you and I may only visit by special invitation, which was how I recently found myself on
The Gigolo2017-04-24T02:32:44-07:00

Balinese Canoes

By Dustin W. Leavitt


A sailor goes beneath the cultural surface to observe the rituals of a dying craft.

Our second order of business, having already negotiated a daily fee for services rendered—a detail elevated to unprecedented primacy in that first year of the Asian Economic Crisis—was to decide what we

Balinese Canoes2017-04-24T02:32:54-07:00

Doublestar (Why I Write)

By Dustin W. Leavitt


A searcher probes the depths of the sea, the psyche, and the writer’s life.
Twenty-five years ago I worked in the Bering Sea trade. My ship, the tramp freighter Doublestar, had seen action during the Pacific War. Decommissioned, she had been sold into private hands and her twin diesels had been replaced
Doublestar (Why I Write)2017-04-24T02:33:00-07:00

Japanese Tattoo

by Dustin Leavitt
The author learns the history of this art straight from the master
Akebono desu ne, I said, pointing with a forefinger at a patch of grey: dawn. A grunt and a curt nod of affirmation. It was a conversation we had had before. His English was limited to a few words—herro, bye-bye, gullfriend-o—and my
Japanese Tattoo2017-04-24T02:33:01-07:00