Cirrus@Austlit

'This article focuses on dreaming and remembering as they relate to process, postulating creative writing as a form of dream-membering. I take an interest in what is going on in our brains, in creative practice, and have begun an exploratory pilot study that maps brain activity, in “real- time”, using Magnetoencephalography (MEG), while participants are engaged in a creative writing workshop (a partnership with Swinburne Neuroimaging). Reflecting upon my practice, across the development of a novel and a collection of short stories, I ponder the ramifications of deep, sensory imagining as it relates to stimulus-for and stimulus-in, in acts of narrative making – considering my engagement with the past, including pre-conscious memories and mental processes. I consider the neural conditions that are necessary for stimulus-induced activity, in my personal practice. Further, I give thought to the brain’s dreamlike capacity to trigger its own neuronal activity within the context of stimulus-induced creative acts. An analysis of processes of dream-membering involves an examination of experiential knowledge, as well as consideration of the relative realness of the narrative world. This leads to a dialogue about the theories of regression (in dreaming) and memory reconsolidation, as twin concepts that more fully explicate iterative processes in creative writing practice. My practice-led research focuses theories from neuropsychoanalysis, specifically the concept of ideasthesia or “sensing concepts” from neuroscience (Nikolić 2016, p. 2), as well as the “unthought known” from psychoanalysis (Bollas 2014, 2017). These theories underpin a process I call ideasthetic imagining. Reflecting upon the impact of my practice on my mind, and my mind’s eye on my practice, I extend previous discussion about ideasthetic imagining, deploying the concept of dream-membering – paying particular attention to the way I employ sensory imagining (informed by pre-conscious memories and mental processes).' 

(Publication abstract)

'This paper explores the dream-inspired poetry and video poetry of award-winning Brisbane poet Anna Jacobson. Jacobson’s surreal poetic narratives draw on memory, dreams, desires and destiny, using simple language and vivid imagery to evoke strong emotional responses. Her manner of exploring dreams in a number of poetic and narrative forms allows whimsical, gentle but also vigorous creative work of personal resilience and understanding. Her work is framed also by explorations of her Jewish culture and family and driven by unbridled imagination. In particular, the paper investigates Jacobson’s process of interweaving visions and memories for the purpose of tracing personal histories lost through periods of mental illness, exploring how she mines dreams for the purpose of writing and healing. It questions how her poetic process allows her to reclaim agency through unpacking experiences she wants to recover or further understand. Distilled from a series of interviews with the poet, the paper explores Jacobson’s interest in working at the cusp of different media and how this blend of the word and the visual image is particularly apt for dream exploration.' (Publication abstract) 

'Nightmares and their aesthetics of terror have been linked to Gothic literature since the birth of the genre during the pre-Romantic era. Indeed, many early authors of the form, including Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe and Mary Shelley, were driven to articulate the content of disturbing dreams via their literary work. Significantly, dark literary dream sequences continue to be a cornerstone feature of many contemporary Gothic texts. In this paper, I reflect upon some of the uniquely Australian Gothic tropes on display within Tim Winton’s 1988 novella, In the Winter Dark, while also discussing the various functions performed by dreamscapes within this work. In addition, and with occasional reference to Freudian concepts, I explore the use of Winton’s nightmare sequences to re-present, in recurring fashion, the fragmented sense of self to which his protagonists are subject as they struggle to recover from traumatic events (or not recover, as the case may be). Finally, I discuss the capacity of dreamscapes within this novella to contribute to narrational and structural strategies in ways that are aesthetically powerful and innovative.' (Publication abstract)

'Everybody dreams. No one is entirely sure what dreams might mean, but still there is a mountain of commentary on the topic – as there always has been. Edward Slosson opens his introduction to Henri Bergson’s Dreams (1914, p. 6) by announcing: “Before the dawn of history mankind [sic] was engaged in the study of dreaming”. Medical science has its own footprint in this corpus, especially evident in the writing of the ancient Greeks who had a great deal to say about the functions of dreams in physical health and wellbeing. Religion too turns its attention to dreams, particularly in conceiving of dreams as texts for interpretation, as channels of divination. The Old Testament prophet Daniel, for example, made a living from his skill in dream analysis. The Neoplatonist Hypatia seems to have approved the idea, promulgated by her pupil Synesius, that dreams convey the will of god; and Homer seems confident that dreams are actually messages from the gods [1]. Even Plato, that philosopher of reason and self-control and scepticism, writes that Socrates seems to have taken dreams seriously. Along with other ancient scholars, Plato (2013, 31c, p. 44) identifies Socrates’ trust in dreams, and aligns this with the master’s daimonion (divine sign) – the something that is beyond conscious thought.' (Publication abstract)