Birthing a Muse

As a female writer, especially as a female writer of poetry I was a bit perturbed by Gary Snyder's essay "Goddes of Mountains and Rivers." The statement that bothered me the most was as follows "It is likely that men become creative when they touch the woman in themselves, and that women become creative when they touch the woman in the man in themselves, " (86). Why does this author and so many others say that women have to work harder to become artistic? The idea that men create art because they can't give birth is ridiculous. A person creates because something inside of them drives them to it. It doesn't matter if they are male or female.

The idea of a highly sexualized female muse which seduces men's minds in order to impegnate them with an idea so that they may in turn give birth to it. Writing and other forms of art are not surrogates for childbirth. Culture has as Snyder points out been highly dominated by the patriarchy for quite a few years. But this does not mean that women are unable to be inspired, unable to create. It means that they have been unable to gain access to certain mediums through which they could express their creativity. Now that they are able to access these artforms they should not be ridiculed for doing so.

The muse as it was conceived by the Greeks is antiquated idea. This idea must be reimagined to allow both men and women access to her charms or she must be done away with altogether. We must create an image of the muse as a non-heterosexist deity. She must be able to inspire everyone. Perhaps San Francisco can help her become this type of deity. Because of it's queer counter-culture associations. Perhaps San Francisco could be the birthplace or deity of a new type of Muse. One who is ready to share her love and inspiration with everyone.