We spend about one third of our life sleeping, but despite this, often leave that unremembered blank time span unexamined philosophically, creatively, poetically, critically, and more, in our waking life. How real are the visions behind our nightmares? Where do they come from? Can we, as poets, manipulate sleep, through writing lullabies and songs? 
For some poets, in sleep we hover dangerously, balancing only just above death. (Christina Rossetti, Emily Dickinson). For others, sleep is a sanctuary, a “soft embalmer of the still midnight” (Keats) in which we may be reunited with lost loves. In this course, we will talk about the allure of sleep in fairytales (such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, The Princess and the Pea); how we may capture the horror of sleep paralysis in verse; the symbolic richness and horror of our dreams. Furthermore, we’ll discover how sleep has a strong link to creativity: how can we harness a good night’s rest into good poetry? What techniques have psychologists and scientists devised to help us unlock our poetic potential, even while unconscious? Drawing from century old myths and contemporary writers, this workshop is a wide-ranging investigation into our unconscious.

Sarah Fletcher is an American-British writer currently researching a PhD on pain and language in Aberystwyth. Her poems have appeared in The White Review, Poetry London, Poetry Review and other publications. Caviar is her third pamphlet. Her first full-length collection PLUS ULTRA was published in 2023.

Entry requirements: no age restrictions — Read more — Read less