The Tenth Muse: Poems and Prose on the Arts

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.

Leah Shelleda is Professor Emerita of Humanities and Philosophy at the College of Marin. Her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies. Her chapbook, A Flash of Angel, won the Blue Light Press prize, and Adorning the River won the Red Berry Press chapbook prize. Her book of poetry is entitled After the Jug Was Broken, and her anthology, The Book of Now: Poetry for the Rising Tide includes herself and six other women poets speaking to the current state of our world. Leah has been a weaver of wall hangings as well as words, an ardent gardener, life-long seeker, social activist, and a crone-in-training. She is happily embedded in a large family, including eight grandchildren and a great-nephew.