rowing up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s was like being caught inside a swirling kaleidoscope. Through a child’s eyes, the outside world seemed a dark and scary place full of monsters with evil weapons. President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 shattered illusions that we had powerful leaders who would protect us. Not long afterwards, the decade began its descent into the abyss of Vietnam. By the time the war ended, many long and bloody years later, the Nixon presidency had been brought down by Watergate. It seemed as if events in the public sphere would never stop lurching from one crisis to the next.

And yet, amidst all the chaos, a tremendous explosion of creativity in the arts and popular culture was taking place. People everywhere were exploring boundaries of personal freedom and individual expression. Throughout my childhood, I had teachers who wrestled openly and honestly with the issues of the day and inspired their students to reach for the stars. I grew up believing that talent, initiative and honest hard work would be the keys to leading a meaningful life on my own terms.

The American ideal of “liberty and justice for all” serves as a beacon to people the world over. But that ideal has grown tarnished over the years by our society’s failure to practice what it preaches, in matters both large and small. Our melting pot culture is very much a work in progress, and there is much to be gained from considering current events through a literary lens and in the light of historical context. American Muse is dedicated to the idea that our strength ultimately lies in what unites us across our differences.

The title photograph is of Mount Diablo, looking east from Orinda, California, and is used by kind permission of Terrell Cunningham. The quote is from Virgil’s Eclogues.

Laurie Battle