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The Muses Companion – April 14, 2024
Good day, readers. Today is April 14th, the 104th day of the year 2024, with 262 days remaining. “All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened.” Ernest Hemingway Today in Literary History: On this day in 1931, Spain was declared a republic with the overthrow of King Alfonso XIII. This significant event marked a period of intense social reform and artistic exploration in Spain, influencing countless Spanish writers and poets, including Federico García Lorca, whose works often reflect the tumultuous spirit of his times. Notable Birthdays: Today’s Readings: From A Study of History by Arnold J. Toynbee: “History is a vision of…
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The Muses Companion – April 1, 2024
Good day, readers. Today is April 1st, the 91st day of the year 2024, with 275 days remaining. “As April’s curtains open on the stage of spring, we are invited to script new narratives in the theatre of life.” Edith Wharton Today in Literary History: On this day in 1873, Sergei Rachmaninoff, the Russian composer whose works have deeply influenced not only music but also literary moods and themes, was born. His compositions, brimming with emotion and complexity, often evoke the same profound responses in listeners that great literature evokes in readers. Notable Birthdays: Milan Kundera (born April 1, 1929), the Czech-born French writer, known for his novels exploring the…
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The Unlikely Muse: How T. S. Elliot Found Inspiration in Coffee Spoons
A lot of people think that the genius poet and playwright T. S. Elliot was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but it was actually more like a coffee spoon. For T. S. Eliot, it was his favorite spoon—it was small and brown and had a nice heft to it—that gave him the idea to write The Waste Land in 1921, which revolutionized poetry as we know it today. Sometimes, even after you’ve given yourself permission to be creative and pursue your passion as a career—and accepted that it takes hard work and discipline—it can still be hard to go from day-to-day with much purpose or inspiration. You…
