two very different writers, with, I feel, an equal passion for the power of poetry and metaphor. To these two writers, Gaston Bachelard and Mary Ruefle, metaphor is not a decorative aim to illuminate one object, one more “real” than the other. To these writers, poets “offer us the shadings of a cosmic happiness that are so numerous and varied that we must say that the world of everie begins with shading.” Here, there is a deep appreciation for the reality of the poem on the page. “Reveries, wild reveries, lead our lives.” (GB)

I’ll say now as a warning that Bachelard is another French wonder who will bring us to the edge of our ability to comprehend. To put it mildly. Take what you can from it, and read, as someone noted in the last class, with one eye open(?). Ruefle, on the other hand, is accessible and no less genius. This is a piece of her lecture “Madness, Rack and Honey” from the book with the same title (Wave).

In our morning pages, think about Reverie. Think about Metaphor. Think of these things as informing our imagination in our poetry–not filling the void, but in proximity to it.

We’re here to dream together, of reality, no?

I am deeply grateful for this group. I hope you’re having a Good week.

Thank you