Golden Muse Statue Prague “Thalia”
“Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working” Pablo Picasso
Waiting For My Muse
My journey as a writer I have often struggled in “waiting for my muse” and looking at a blank page. Once I started feeding my muse by activating my senses, awareness and surrounding my self with good books, my muse became my new honored friend and my most valuable writing tool. I have realized that muses bestow their favors on those who make them welcome.
Stacks of newspapers lined the shelves’ outside store fronts of this small tucked away Prague neighborhood set in a dozen-old square blocks of dusty fin de siècle apartment buildings . The letters in the headlines were all strung together making words that my mind could not find meaning for. One newspaper stood out as it was a burnt golden rod in color, reminded me of when I was a child and the evening newspaper would come in a golden brownish-orange.
I made my way through the streets of Old Town Prague and my search for English words continued. I purchased a guidebook with much anticipation to read more on the history of Prague. After four hours of walking the intriguing maze of cobblestones lanes, we reached home. I fell into an exhausted slumber position and pulled out my Petite Guide Of Prague, and to my disappointment, it was in French. Needless to say, my search for English words today was unsuccessful.
To satisfy my craving for English commentary, I opened my writing file and there before me laid a few newspaper clippings that I had saved – some I am wondering why they even made it into this particular folder at all. What laid on top of the clippings was an article about the nutritional benefits of bananas. This slightly yellow newspaper print was dated seven years ago.
I not only keep blank books but I accumulate masses of clipped paged articles - folders bulging with clippings in all sizes, shapes, colors, and subjects – a spectrum of chaos one might surmise.
The banana article surged my memory and I reflected back on my “muse” workshop a few years ago. Our final project was to find an article that we had kept and write a fictional narrative letting the subject of the news article be our muse.. I was overwhelmed when I opened my folders but this particular article on bananas pulled at me and my muse began working zealously.
I created “Grace” a fictional character. I blended some of my personal world into the story and found it extremely empowering and engaging to write from this perspective and initiated by this type of musing.
O Muses, O high genius, aid me now!
O memory that engraved the things I saw,
Here shall your worth be manifest to all!
(Anthony Esolen translation, 2002)
