Dreaming Your Way into a Poem: A Generative Workshop

There is a long tradition of poets writing about their dreams, including William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Lucille Clifton, Jean Valentine, and Alice Notley. Like the best poems, the dream juxtaposes odd elements, framing them in surprising ways and shedding light. In this workshop, we will explore dream vision and the art of drawing lyrical narratives from sensory chaos. We will read dream poems, discuss the possibilities of mining dream territory, and then we will write. Feel free to bring notes you might have jotted down about dreams, fragments of dream imagery, or ponderings about recurring dreams, dreams that have haunted you, dreams that have brought you joy.