Denise Levertov
In her long literary career Levertov wrote many dream-based poems. No surprise. She read Jung and underwent Jungian analysis, and her dreams show it: serious, archetypal, sometimes even oracular as in "Flight".
The list here is just a sampling. For more dream-poems, try "Girlhood of Jane Harrison", "The Dog of Art", "Relative Figures Reappear", "The Park", and "The Dragonfly Mother", plus the short story titled "A Dream" but generally referred to, even by Levertov herself, by its two main characters: "Antonio and Sabrinus". Also, "In Memory of Boris Pasternak", "A Ring of Changes", and "A Sequence" incorporate shorter dreams. Over half these can be found in her Collected Earlier Poems, 1940-1960 (New York, New Directions, 1979).
RELATED TOPICS: dream poems - Yeats - Emily Dickinson - Jungian dreams - an essay on visionary poet Robinson Jeffers - See also the full INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
The World Dream Bank has 4000+ dreams plus 1000 more pages on dreamwork, shamanism, surrealism, fantasy, worldbuilding, creativity and genius. Site © Chris Wayan 2001-2022.
Jump to: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I-J - K-L - M - N-O - P-Q - R - Sa-Sk - Sl-Sz - T - U-V - W-X-Y-Z
What this site is - Add your dreams! - How to read blurbs - Ratings: profanity, sex, etc - Copyright - Downloading -
| BARN BURNING: by Denise Levertov; 1929?; a childhood nightmare I'm in a barn full of peaceful animals lit by a golden glow. And then they all blacken, crinkle, and corrugate like burnt paper... |
|
| DON'T YOU HEAR THAT WHISTLE BLOWIN...: by Denise Levertov; 1974/9/6; a dream poem 4 AM. A train wakes us all. We watch it pass, thinking of lost friends. And then I wake again to find... |
|
| FLIGHT: by Denise Levertov; 1945; a dream poem I meet William Blake! He says "The will is given us that we may know the delights of surrender." While in my bedroom... |
|
| MESSENGER: by Denise Levertov, April 1978, a dream poem on being a divine herald I had to deliver a message from the gods. Not that I understood its meaning! I arrived at your home, and found I liked and envied your big, warm family. .. |
|
| A PILGRIM DREAMING: by Denise Levertov; 1977? a dream poem A man I loved goes into the Jungian depths, but when his anima appears in the mirror-pool, his nerve fails... |
|
| THE RUNES: by Denise Levertov; c.1963, an identity-bent oracular dream I'm a small child in Finland writing out the meaning of three ancient runes about trees, ships and elbow room. They seem to hold serious advice... |
|
| TO THE SNAKE: by Denise Levertov; 1959?; a short dream-poem I loved the feel of the green snake, and reassured my friends it wasn't poisonous, but really... |
|
| UNCERTAIN ONEIROMANCY: by Denise Levertov; 1993? a dream poem I led a blind man through a vast art museum underground. But guiding him, I too was blind to the beauty... |
|
| A VISION: by Denise Levertov, 1965 or '66, a poem from hypnogogic vision? daydream? Two archangels meet; one red and gold winged, one blue and green. In heaven, form reveals worldview. Yet these two souls in dispute are great; rather than fight they appreciate... |
|
| THE WELL: by Denise Levertov; 1960?; a dream-poem I meet my own muse--the muse of all of us, perhaps--scooping water from a sacred well... |
|
| THE WRECK: by Denise Levertov 1980 or before; a surreal dream-dilemma We go swimming in a sea full of wrecked tankers. We explore one derelict, but ebb tide pries it off the bank, out to sea. Do we swim for shore, or wait, hoping high tide will wash it in again? Guess wrong and we die... |
World Dream Bank homepage - Art gallery - New stuff - Introductory sampler, best dreams, best art - On dreamwork - Books
Indexes: Subject - Author - Date - Names - Places - Art media/styles
Titles: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - IJ - KL - M - NO - PQ - R - Sa-Sk - Sl-Sz - T - UV - WXYZ
Email: wdreamb@yahoo.com - Catalog of art, books, CDs - Behind the Curtain: FAQs, bio, site map - Kindred sites