The Tenth Muse: Poems and Prose on the Arts

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Published poet Leah Shelleda’s newest chapbook is a collection of poems and blog entries reflecting her deep sensitivity and appreciation of the arts:

If I feed her the Muse will work for attention, but her diet, her cravings, can be mysterious. Generally, she feeds on culture, but sometimes I have to make imaginal trips to specialty stores. For example, the prints of the Japanese printmakers Hiroshige and Hokusai are her sushi. She can make a main course out of a complex myth like The Crane Wife, or the rain forest. Sometimes it’s hot peppers and, on occasion, bitter herbs to remind me of those who are still enslaved.

My curiosity shifts when the Muse is here. I explore images and myth and theater and nature and myself. It’s not really research - more like a butterfly collecting nectar, flitting flower to flower. When I find what the Muse wants, she gives me an opening line, or fills me with words.

Where is the Muse when she’s not here? On vacation, a religious retreat, maybe having an affair? When she arrives she gives Commandments:

I am your Muse, the Nameless One. Thou shalt have no other interests before Me. Honor My Time and keep it Holy.

This little book is a treasure of reverence and appreciation for the creative process and the artist’s response to nature.