Conversations with a Muse (ePub)

Paralysed by poetry? Clueless about the classics? Mystified by the Muses? Then this compilation is just the book for you. Written with a light touch in accessible English, it explores a variety of themes that have concerned all of us at one time or another. If you have ever been out of your depth at a conference, lost at a job fair or wondered why you should keep your powder dry, then you will immediately relate to the verses inside. Encounter Robert Frost in the woods of New England, soar with Shelley's nightingale, embolden Keats' knight and find out what really happened to the monster Grendel. Meet two of the Muses, members of that classical group that have stirred the artistic endeavours of poets, musicians and actors down the centuries. Immortal they may be, but here they are shown to have very human emotions and enthusiasms. Erato, muse of lyrical and erotic poetry, simply cannot take 'no' for an answer; her warrior sister Calliope is reduced to pleading for another epic to be written. Inside this slim volume you will find philosophy, romance and a love of nature, as well as disturbing thoughts regarding the future of our planet. Hopefully, most of the poems will raise a smile, some may linger in the mind and others provide food for further reflection.