Poet and Muse diptych of a wax tablet; the inscription has not survived, so there can be no way to identify the writer for whom it was made. In the literature that has accumulated about this diptych, various prominent figures have been offered as candidates: Ausonius, Boethius, and Claudian, and even earlier figures, like Ennius and Seneca, with whom the donor wished to be associated The muse represented is Erato, muse of lyric poetry, with her usual attribute, the cithara, which she rests upon an ornately fluted column. The poet on the facing panel is seated, roused from his contemplation by the inspiring presence
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