EXERCISE 046: DREAMWORK

between sleep & wakefulness

Hey all! Here we go for Monday! And MONDAYS ARE FREE! We’re going to dip into some dreams this week. Ready? Go!

Transcribe a dream exactly. Don’t comment, don’t let us know if you don’t remember this part of that part. Just transcribe what you have. A really good example of this is janan alexandra’s prose poem “On Form & Matter,” which also appears in her debut poetry collection, come from. Which is out tomorrow with BOA Editions! You can learn more about the book and get yourself a copy here.

Notes from janan: As someone who tends to write first thing in the morning (often in bed, and so sometimes still half asleep), I can attest to the startling syntax, imagery, and diction that emerges in that liminal space between sleep and wakefulness. Our language centers change in part because we’re in an altered state (sleepiness), but also because we have such close access to the usually strange material of our dreams.

If you’re someone who doesn’t dream, or doesn’t remember their dreams, try sleeping with your notebook and a good juicy pen under your pillow, or on your bedside table, or wherever else close by. When you wake up, reach for your notebook and pen before you do anything else. Write first, even if it’s just for fifteen minutes.

Often the dreams will return once you start writing. Like those nice decorative markers, you know the ones you have to shake and then press the nib down for a while before the ink comes out? Same thing with summoning our dreams.