Dream-Singers The African-American Way with Dreams

Author/creator Shafton, Anthony Author
Format Electronic
Publication InfoWiley [Imprint] Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated Milton : John Wiley & Sons Australia, Limited [Distributor]
Description320 p. 24.600x16.100 cm.
Supplemental ContentFull text available from eBooks on EBSCOhost
Subjects

Summary Annotation 'Dream-singers all-My people.'-Langston HughesA reverence for dreams runs like a clear spring through African American experience. Dream-singers distills this heritage through a vivid look at the private dream lives of more than one hundred African Americans. Gathered here are the dreams and understandings of the famous-such as literary lions John Edgar Wideman and Gloria Naylor-as well as everyday people: men, women, and children who discuss their dreams and visions and what they mean.Anthony Shafton explores the prevalence of ancestor dreams, the belief in predictive dreaming, the openness to dreamlike experiences in the waking state, and the link between dreams and spirituality at the core of the black dream experience. The exploration reveals an intriguing African connection underlying the tapestry of beliefs and attitudes. From traditional dream signs and dreams 'meant for others' to picking numbers and d j vu, Dream-singers illuminates a wealth of interpretations and approaches, offering every reader invaluable insights into a distinctly American spiritual tradition.
Summary Annotation Dreams and their meaning in African American lifeA belief in the power of dreams runs through African American life like a mystical thread, predicting the future, offering a glimpse of lost loved ones, informing decisions, and inspiring literature. Anthony Shafton distills a long time fascination with dreams into a seminal study of their place in black culture. More than 100 African Americans, both famous-such as literary lions John Edgar Wideman and Gloria Naylor-and ordinary men, women, and children, share their personal dream life and discuss its significance. Illuminating a wonderful variety of dreams, this book offers every reader insight into a centuries-old spiritual tradition.Anthony Shafton (Chicago, IL), a writer and independent scholar, has been researching and writing on the subject of dreams since the early 1980s. Shafton has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Harvard and a master's in creative writing from Stanford. He is the author of several books, and occasionally writes for magazines. Shafton began researching African American dreams in 1990 and published on the subject in Dream Time, the magazine of the Association for the Study of Dreams.
Summary Annotation Advance Praise for Dream-Singers <P>" You will find a great storehouse of folk and literary treasures in this ambitious book that speaks to anyone who has ever thought about his or her dreams. It&#146; s a wonderful adventure and I highly recommend it." &#150; Clarence Major, author of Configurations and Juba to Jive <P>Acclaim for Dream Reader<BR> also by Anthony Shafton <P>" A book so unique in its combination of scholarship, clarity, and down-to-earth feeling about dreams that I find it hard to fully express the excitement and satisfaction I felt on reading it." &#150; Montague Ullman, M.D., Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Author of Working with Dreams and Dream Telepathy <P>" Breathtaking . . . the single most complete and thorough analysis of contemporary dream theories yet written . . . Shafton has a keen sense for what people most want to know about dreams, and an admirable ability to explain difficult concepts without oversimplifying them." &#150; Kelly Bulkeley, Ph.D., Past President, The Association for the Study of Dreams, Author of The Wilderness of Dreams
Summary Annotation Advance Praise for Dream-Singers'You will find a great storehouse of folk and literary treasures in this ambitious book that speaks to anyone who has ever thought about his or her dreams. It's a wonderful adventure and I highly recommend it.'-Clarence Major, author of Configurations and Juba to JiveAcclaim for Dream Readeralso by Anthony Shafton'A book so unique in its combination of scholarship, clarity, and down-to-earth feeling about dreams that I find it hard to fully express the excitement and satisfaction I felt on reading it.'-Montague Ullman, M.D., Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Author of Working with Dreams and Dream Telepathy'Breathtaking . . . the single most complete and thorough analysis of contemporary dream theories yet written . . . Shafton has a keen sense for what people most want to know about dreams, and an admirable ability to explain difficult concepts without oversimplifying them.'-Kelly Bulkeley, Ph.D., Past President, The Association for the Study of Dreams, Author of The Wilderness of Dreams
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2001026956
ISBN9780471395355
ISBN0471395358 (Trade Cloth) Out of Print
UPC 978047139535
Standard identifier# 9780471395355
Stock number00028608