Some of my visitors have already expressed confusion between "Thalia" and "Anitra". I am going to try to clear up some of that, or else I am going to try to elaborate on it, whichever seems like the most fun...

Anitra Lenore Freeman is currently a freelance writer and activist, living in Seattle Washington. Current list of projects.

Thalia, as described in her Introduction, is one of the mythic embodiments of creative impulse -- the one credited with most of the fun stuff.

Anitra speaking: In one of my first adventures on the Internet, I subscribed to an email role-playing adventure called Ghostletters. In the Ghostletters "universe", you take on the identity of an historical or imaginary person, writing and relating to others from that persona.

I thought it would be a lark to take on the persona of the Patron Goddess of Parody.

What I did not fully realize at the time was that archetypes are strong. Whether Thalia is a symbol for the comic creativity in me, a channel for the collective comic spirit of the human race, or a sprite that has delighted for thousands of years in teasing humans into greater creative output, when I "write something down for Thalia" I take on a slightly different "voice" than my usual style, ideas flow more quickly -- and I feel a zestful delight in everything.

For those who are on the alert for psychiatric disorders, I point out that this feeling of transcending your habitual persona, of operating at a higher level, of even "channeling" someone else's words, is quite common in the creative arts. It is how a lot of us feel when we are really "cooking".

For those who are on the alert for un-Christian spiritual influences, I refer you to the "fruits of the spirit" test in Second Corinthians. Whenever I start to get exasperated at anything, or any person, it is helpful if I remember to sit down and write out Thalia's take on it -- which is invariably loving, funny, and helpful.

On a parting note, we wrote something for all of you:

Each of you
is a unique human being
with a unique voice
and something of your own
to say.

Each of you
has a unique relationship
with the human tradition
and your own unique culture.


So speak out!
because none of you
was born to be a cipher.