Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse paintings of Melpoméne, she is represented with a tragic mask and also often holds in her other hand a knife or club. In Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who had eight other daughters, Melpoméne's sisters and the eight other muses are: Calliope, muse of epic poetry; Clio, muse of history; Euterpe, muse of flute playing; Terpsichore, muse of dancing; Erato, muse of erotic poetry; Thalia muse of comedy; Polyhymnia, muse of hymns; and Urania, muse of astronomy. Reynolds was inspired not only by Sarah Siddons' extreme talent to embody the tragic heroine in Macbeth, but
Able Muse there's the lovely "Street Song" by William Conelly, with the refrain "Fortune save you, Brother Crow." It's a poem that, like the best parts of "Able Muse", is serious, playful . . . While poetry and short story collections provide more in-depth exposure to the vision of a single writer, they don't offer the same opportunity to unexpectedly stumble onto your next obsession like a good journal can. "Able Muse", with its eclectic blend of fiction, essays, book reviews, art portfolios, artist interviews, as well as its focus on metrical poetry, provides readers with a bevy of opportunities to do