MUSE BIRTHDAY EDITIONS:

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The Serpentine Muse
Birthday Edition 2004

A Review of Volume 19, 2003

A CENTURY AND A HALF

Perhaps one of the most comforting things about being Sherlockians is that we are always younger than the Master. By comparison to his century and a half, our milestones seem small. Yet we (Muse co-editors Susan Diamond and Marilynne McKay) take great pride in having completed seven years as editors. Thanks to our steadily growing ranks of contributors, managing editor Evelyn Herzog, and the New York based production team, twenty-eight issues of the Muse have gone out during this time. This special birthday edition of the Muse is our way of recognizing and thanking everyone who contributed to the past four issues.

We Hear of ASH Everywhere

We’re pleased to announce the publication this year of Serpentine Muse-ings: an Anthology from the Journal of the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes. Our thanks go to all who agreed to have their works reprinted in this “best of the Muse” collection. Equally good news is that the 2004 BSJ Christmas Annual will be a history of ASH edited by our own Susan Rice.

And ASH has crossed the ocean. Adventuress Patricia Guy has founded our first international scion: The Assorted and Stradivarious of Verona.

New Adventuresses

Four new Adventuresses joined our ranks during the past year. Trish Pearlman is A Curious Collection, a most appropriate choice in view of her active involvement in the Mini-Tonga Society. Laurie Manifold’s artwork had enhanced previous Muse issues, and we were glad to welcome her as Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen and to share her witty limericks with our readers. Another new ASH, Elyse Locurto, Carina at the Albert Hall, along with Paul Singleton and Chris Powich, wrote a musical toast to the Adventuresses. Elyse and Paul performed the toast at the Spring Dinner, and it subsequently appeared in the Muse. The fourth ASH, noted English Sherlockian scholar Catherine Cooke, chose An Idler of the Empire as her investiture. The class of 2003 is truly a stellar one.

The ASH Social Calendar

Normally the Spring Dinner and the Autumn Members Meeting are the highlights of our social calendar. However, on September 20, an event took place which transcended the two dinners. Our own founder and much-loved Evy Herzog wed John Baesch—definitely a Sherlockian match made in heaven. Adventuresses, clad in all shades of violet to honor our Violet Hunter, gathered in New York for the glad occasion.

Adventuress Honors

Last January Susan Vizoskie received her BSI investiture as Mrs. Saunders. At the same dinner Janice Fisher was honored as “The Woman.” Congratulations to both!

“Stand with me here upon the terrace…”

These are the words we hate to write. Mary Campbell and Ann Skene-Melvin, two of Canada’s leading Sherlockians and long-time ASH, crossed the Reichenbach and were mourned in the Muse by their friends Maureen Green and Kate Karlson. Maureen’s poignant piece “Sherlockian Friendship” in a subsequent issue was especially moving in view of our recent loss.

New Contributors

The Muse has always welcomed new contributors, and this past year was no exception. Minnesotan Karen Murdock debuted with an essay on pious villains and followed up with a piece on the feminine reasoning behind Watson’s choices of tales. Fellow Minnesotan John Bergquist’s toast to Hungary made Muse readers long for a glass of Von Bork’s Tokay.

Chicagoans Bill Sawisch and Sally Behary, first time attendees at the Birthday Weekend, gave us a fresh and witty take on the Baskerville Bash. The world-renowned Sherlockian “froggies,” Thierry Saint-Joanis and Jean Pierre Cagnat, saluted “Les Femmes Françaises”—first performed by Thierry at the ASH birthday brunch. Garrideb Charlotte Rodziewicz’s prize-winning toast to the Master also found its way to our pages.

Familiar Topics, New Ideas

We’re always amazed by the ingenuity that our contributors apply to familiar topics. For example, writings about the good doctor are even more numerous than those by him. However, who but our own Catalina Hannan could have created the “special Dr. Watson tour” for a new “living history” Sherlock Holmes museum. Undoubtedly there will be room in the museum for Trish Pearlman’s witty consumer research study on Watson and the ladies. Watson also captured the imagination of the ever-inventive Warren Randall. “No John in Chicago” was not a treatise on the absence of plumbing in the Second City but a Sandburgian tribute to Watson by Holmes.

Joe Moran gave us new insights on Doyle, the defender of women’s rights. Jan Stauber also honored the original good doctor with a tribute to all of his talents. Moving from the noble to the ignoble, Jim Goehmann contributed a catchy ballad on Colonel Moran sung to the tune of “Sweet Betsy from Pike,” while Kate Karlson cautioned us to look to ourselves for characteristics of “the collector,” Baron Gruner.

And, of course, our authors could not ignore Holmes himself. Sandy Kozinn’s poetical toast mused about marriage to the Master, while Lynn Walker wrote eloquently about Holmes’ humanity. Where the Master is, so is the woman. Marina Stajic began with a list of her accomplishments and neatly segued into a tribute to the late great ASH, W. S. Baring-Gould. The equally inventive Julie McKuras chose as her topic “The Women”—both good and not-so-good.

Adventuress and Other Scholars

Al Gregory gave us new insights into the classic Christopher Morley essay “In Memoriam Sherlock Holmes.” Another great Sherlockian, Dorothy L. Sayers, was the subject of Judith Freeman’s essay which linked CREE to The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club.

Susan Rice and Peter Blau both found inspiration in the royal family. Peter wrote about that “certain gracious lady,” while Susan regaled us with anecdotes about her high-spirited son “Bertie.” Dorothy Belle Pollack continued to combine wit and scholarship with "The Sutherland Saga" and her Shelley-inspired verse on ILLU. And the irrepressible Don Izban took issue with Sandy Kozinn’s remarks on “women and the Canon,” which had appeared in the Fall 2002 Muse.

The Muse editors donned their book reviewers’ hats as Marilynne McKay had the highest praise for Anita Janda’s The Secret Diary of Dr. Watson, and Susan Diamond was equally complimentary about the London Society’s Radical Rethinks on Hound and Horse. Marilynne also reported on the Autumn Members’ Meeting and toasted her hero Sir James Saunders.

Sherlockian Outreach

Many of us worry about where the next Sherlockians will come from. Others do something about it. Myrtle Robinson’s “Come through the Magic Door with Me…” provided a step-by-step guide to bringing Sherlock into local schools. Jan Stauber also recounted her efforts in this area. Francine Kitts addressed the other end of the age spectrum by teaching classes on Holmes to seniors, including her own father. (Francine also provided Muse readers with a little mental stimulation through a Sherlockian rebus.)

And the Muse was pleased to announce the formation of the Beacon Society which has been founded to support educational experiences that introduce young people to the Canon and recognize exemplary efforts to do so. The society was the brainchild of Adventuress Maribeau Briggs, and ASH Susan Diamond is currently the organization’s Percy Phelps (secretary).

The Birthday Challenge 2004

Warren Randall’s pastiche, “A Case of ‘Glove in Bloom,’” was the winning entry in last year’s Birthday Challenge. Sandy Kozinn, Trish Pearlman, and Sue Vizoskie were the runners-up. Honorable mentions went to Judith Freeman, Brad Keefauver, Laurie Fraser Manifold, and Regina Stinson.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the rules are simple. Each year we provide an essay topic in this special birthday edition of the Muse. The contest is only open to Muse subscribers. Of course, you may subscribe at the same time you enter. By entering the contest, you give The Muse permission to publish your work. No entries will be returned, and Muse editorial staff and their families are not eligible.

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