Full Description
the Muses have been sacked
their role in the pantheon
sold up for some new
real estate venture
When the Muses are sacked, what are we to do? The Muses who inspire poetry, astronomy, history and daily living bring their song and dance into present-day political struggles. These Muses are for rebellion.
Susan Hawthorne's poems span millennia of resistance by women. The earth itself is implicated. She writes about women's bodies, how they are used, abused and celebrated in birthing, in sexual pleasure, in grief, in imagining. She draws on stories from ancient and contemporary India, from Greece and Rome, through language, storytelling and translation.
we embrace our double lives
like actors and their alter egos
some say śleṣa is unnatural
I've heard the same said about us
Contents
Prologue
Temper of the dance
anupada
LOVE
Putana
Kunti 1
Amba 1
Draupadi 1
Kunti 2
anupada
EXILE
Draupadi 2
Karna 1
Amba 2
Draupadi 3
Arjuna 1
anupada
WAR
Kunti 3
Amba 3
Arjuna 2
Karna 2
Kunti 4
Draupadi 4
Draupadi 5
anupada
Embrace
Ślesa
Fire Gods
Two Bright Horses
Storm Gods
Earthsky
AT2018cow
Ancient Cataclysm
Storm Season
Brhaspati's Cows
Surabhi and Nandini
Usaas
Twenty Stanzas of Meghaduta
Sarasvatikanthabharana: Sarasvati's Necklace
Notes Towards a Poem about Madhu/Honey Demon
Lagna
Pooja Rooms
Trijata's Dream
Sappho's Butterfly
Sappho's Butterfly
Things a Lesbian Should Know
Nonsense
Sense
Patriarchal Grammar
Cyane
The Clamping of Alcmena
Circe
Fragment 16, Sappho
Fragment 22, Sappho
Five Rivers
The Sacking of the Muses
01 The Sacking of the Muses
02 Kalliope, Muse of Epic Poetry
03 Muses are Organising
04 Polyhymnia, Muse of Song
05 Muses are Grieving
06 Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy
07 Muses in Hiding
08 Ourania, Muse of Astronomy
09 Muses Undercover
10 Erato, Muse of Lyric Poetry
11 Muses Writing a Manifesto
12 Kleio, Muse of History
13 Muses are Occupying
14 Euterpe, Muse of Music
15 Muses Love Pageants
16 Thalia, Muse of Comedy
17 Muses are Dancing
18 Terpsichore, Muse of Dance
19 Muses Come out of Hiding
20 Tenth Muse, Sappho
