We are not, uh, mused?

One of my favorite quotes from any of my writing classes is, "The muse is a fickle b**** but God help us, every writer loves her." If you are unaware of the muse, she is said to be the one who brings inspiration inexplicably in the middle of the night (when you never have a pen). Most people who write casually wait on the muse and only write when she comes. This is an ancient tradition dating back to the Greeks. Before each epic poem, there is an "invocation of the muse," a prayer to a specific muse, believing she would guide their words. We still read their works after 4,000 years so did it work?

I'll be the first to tell you that the muse is amazing when she's around but as my teacher said, she's fickle. So what do we do about her? Well, Milton followed the classical poets' example but he called the Holy Spirit his muse. It surely work for him with Paradise Lost but what about Paradise Found?

Some people use other people as muses. Having these others around help them be more creative and further their work. An example of this would be something like Russell Crow with Ridley Scott or Johnny Depp with Tim Burton.

My opinion? Do whatever you can to get the muse working for you. I think it can be unique to everyone. Music, art, and other media often help me in my writing. But it's the writing (or whatever you do) that you do without the muse that really shapes your work and defines you as an artist.


This poem came from a musing after a long talk with a friend late at night at LSU.

Two Shadows

Two shadows walk under the star-bare dome
brushed by flames of trees rubbing on streetlights
and sing the nightsong, listen for the echo
yelled from empty buildings with windows whitened
by backlit blinds hiding secrets screamed
at muted walls

Venus dances wild in her open floor, twirling, leaping,
swirling until she sees the two shadows. She listens
while their idle words float like moths to her
light. They stare at her splendor with
exposed tongues stapled to useless lips
trimmed in fear of
rejection?




-Caston