THE DREAM POET

Richard M. Jones, Ph.D.
Evergreen State College
Olympia, Washington

     Here  is   an   essay   in   dream  interpretation.  The
analysis  reveals   a   poetic  process   at   work  in  the
creation of  the dream. The concept of  the dream  poet,
offered   as   a  complement   to   the  earlier  Freudian
concept  of   the  dream   censor  (that   process   which
disguises  the secret intention of  the dream), provides
a   fresh    perspective   on    the    process    of    dream
construction.
     Richard Jones, an expert in Freudian dream theory,
is the author of The New  Psychology of Dreaming, The
following article is Chapter One from  his forthcoming
book,  Dreams  and  Poetry.  This   long—awaited  book
presents    Professor    Jones'    innovative    classroom
methods whereby  he teaches students  to reflect  upon
their     dreams    as    a    means   of    gaining   greater
appreciation  of  literature  and  as  a  means  of doing
more creative  writing   themselves.  This  first  chapter
enlarges Freudian dream psychology to show that one
need not look  for  neurotic symptoms  in order to  find
dreams   interesting.   The  "dream   poet"   makes   our
dreams   not   only  interesting   but  also  a  source  of
creative inspiration.

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