“Above all, the writer’s notebook invokes the muse, invites thought. Here we might note the phonic similarity between muse and musing. The mother of the Muses is Mnemosyne, goddess of memory; by writing down what you would otherwise forget, even willingly forget, you summon your better self (the muse)—or your worse—with these intimate scribbles.”

—Phillip Lopate, To Show and To Tell