Teesta Review: A Journal of Poetry, Volume 4, Number 2. November 2021. ISSN: 2581-7094
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“There is no place for grief in a house which serves the Muse” - Sappho
Reading poems for the current issue of Teesta Review has been a
challenge for me. As a reader you walk into a poem and can never imagine how
far you can travel with it. A poem must vibrate, resonate and if need be,
embrace. The theme of this issue is the “Muse” and I strongly believe
that no poet survives without a muse. Which is why it is not so surprising that
many responded to the call of muse. She/ He could be anyone – your inspiration,
mother, lover, sister, friend, teacher, soul mate. I thought muse would open
many doors and unlock the quiet corners of the heart. We had a good
number of poems to choose from. Each of the poems in this issue splits open as
a curious site of representation. They speak, weep, move and smile
with a rhythm and win our hearts with their distinct touch – a touch of
kindness.
I reiterate the lines from the call for poems on the subject. “We
are all familiar with the nine Greek muses where each one of them is blessed
with special powers. Calliope, the muse of poetry is the girl with a golden
crown who continues to inspire poets to dwell on poetry of epic
dimensions. The opening line of Homer’s Odyssey “Sing to me of the
man, Muse” is a call for inspiration.
Anna Akhmatova in her poem “The Muse” - sets the fundamental theme
of this issue for women poets. The last four lines of the poem:
“…And she came in, threw out the mantle’s
edges,
Declined to me with a sincere heed.
I say to her, ‘Did you dictate the Pages
Of Hell to Dante?’ She answers, Yes, I did”.
What is poetry for? When all else is quiet poets come forward and
tell us to rise and shake off that sense of anomie and failure and take small
steps towards freedom, towards life and love. As poets we learn to
rejoice, to mourn, to grieve, to celebrate with words. In times of defeat, I
pick up my pen and I say to myself – write, write and heal, write and register
not just the presence of your battered body, but also the hungry soul.
Let us break the season of despair and death and sing. Every poem
in this issue is a statement – it brings with it a season of joy/ sadness with
a poignancy. Here is the muse that enters and converses with the unknown. It
lets you fly. Dear poet, muse keeps you going. She will not disappoint. She
will not let you die. Let her survive. Muse is power. Muse is pen. A big thank you
to the poets who responded to our call for submissions with enthusiasm.
Here lies a fascinating tryst with words and images.
I wish Teesta would flow with the muse.
Happy reading
(Guest Editor)
Teesta Review: A Journal of Poetry