Mind if I Borrow the Muse?

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Mind if I Borrow the Muse?

I once named a short story character Stephen Daedalus.

“Stephen,” because it was generic. I just pulled it out of a hat.

“Daedalus” because he tried to fly—well, tried to jump off a building—and I thought “Icarus” was just too much.

Then, in a one-on-one meeting about my story, the professor went on and on about how clever my allusion to James Joyce’s “Portrait of the Artist …” was.

I’ve never read James Joyce—even now—and I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. I later read online about Joyce’s Daedalus, found the whole thing profoundly disappointing, and wished I’d searched for the name before handing in the story.

Nothing against Joyce, mind you. I just think we shouldn’t have to share muses.