Are poets dreamers? Are there universal dreams we all share? Surely the subject of dreaming draws a near universal curiosity. Of course, I'm one for the Dreamstate.

The initial link goes to dream study site. I was initially drawn there seeking a Scientific American piece by CS Hall called "What People Dream About". Never found yet. But I'm still looking.
http://psych.ucsc.edu/dreams/Articles/index.html http://www.dreambank.net/ http://psych.ucsc.edu/dreams/
The dreamresearch.net Dream Library: Useful Articles on Dreams

This "library" contains published and unpublished papers in the research tradition established by psychologist Calvin S. Hall. They are meant for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and dream researchers, with the hope that the papers will be of use to them in formulating research projects or adopting a theoretical framework. The following paragraphs present a brief overview of the types of papers to be found here.
There are three "classic" papers by Hall (1947, 1953a, 1953b) that present his "thematic" method for studying a series of dreams, as well as his theoretical ideas about dreams and about "symbols" in dreams (i.e., they are really the same as waking metaphors).

Published articles
Avila-White, D., Schneider, A., & Domhoff, G. W. (1999). The most recent dreams of 12-13 year-old boys and girls: A methodological contribution to the study of dream content in teenagers. Dreaming, 9, 163-171.
Domhoff, G. W. (1999). New directions in the study of dream content using the Hall/Van de Castle coding system. Dreaming, 9, 115-137.
Domhoff, G. W. (1999). Drawing theoretical implications from descriptive empirical findings on dream content. Dreaming, 9, 201-210.
Domhoff, G. W. (2000). Methods and measures for the study of dream content. In M. Kryger, T. Roth, & W. Dement (Eds.), Principles and Practies of Sleep Medicine: Vol. 3 (pp. 463-471). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
Domhoff, G. W. (2001). A new neurocognitive theory of dreams. Dreaming, 11, 13-33.
Domhoff, G. W., & Schneider, A. (1998). New rationales and methods for quantitative dream research outside the laboratory. Sleep, 21, 398-404.
Domhoff, G. W., & Schneider, A. (1999). Much ado about very little: The small effect sizes when home and laboratory collected dreams are compared. Dreaming, 9, 139-151.
Hall, C. S. (1947). Diagnosing personality by the analysis of dreams. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 42, 68-79.
Hall, C. S. (1953). A cognitive theory of dream symbols. The Journal of General Psychology, 48, 169-186.
Hall, C. S. (1953). A cognitive theory of dreams. The Journal of General Psychology, 49, 273-282. Abridged version in M. F. DeMartino (Ed.). (1959). Dreams and Personality Dynamics (pp. 123-134). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Hurovitz, C., Dunn, S., Domhoff, G. W., & Fiss, H. (1999). The dreams of blind men and women: A replication and extension of previous findings. Dreaming, 9, 183-193.
Kirschner, N. (1999). Changes in dream content after drug treatment. Dreaming, 9, 195-200.
Reis, W. (1951). A Comparison of the Interpretation of Dream Series With and Without Free Associations. Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University. Abridged version in M. F. DeMartino (Ed.). (1959). Dreams and Personality Dynamics (pp. 211-225). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Unpublished articles
Domhoff, G. W. (1999). Garfield's Universal Dreams or Hall/Van de Castle Coding: Which System Is the Most Comprehensive and Useful? Paper presented to the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Dreams, Santa Cruz, CA.
Domhoff, G. W. (1999). Using Hall/Van De Castle Dream Content Analysis to Test New Theories: An Example Using a Theory Proposed by Ernest Hartmann. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Dreams, Santa Cruz, CA.
Domhoff, G. W. (2000). The Repetition Principle in Dreams: Is It a Possible Clue to a Function of Dreams? Retrieved December 5, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.dreamresearch.net/Article...off_2000b.html
Domhoff, G. W. (2000). Dreams and Parapsychology. Retrieved December 5, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.dreamresearch.net/Article...off_2000c.html
Domhoff, G. W. (2000). Moving Dream Theory Beyond Freud and Jung. Paper presented to the symposium "Beyond Freud and Jung?", Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, 9/23/2000.
Domhoff, G. W. (2000). The Problems with Activation-Synthesis Theory. Retrieved December 5, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.dreamresearch.net/Article...off_2000e.html





------------------

I've always thought Freud was wrong, and that dreams are primarily the subconscious' attempt to put order on the chaotic or unresolved events of the day.

Yes, not so much the profound musing of the subconscious as the idle musings of the semi-conscious -- most of the time. When someone insists on telling me about a dream, I cringe because, most likely, his dreams are as boring as mine. But maybe it's like any other gold: small bits of ore mixed into vast quantities of filler. Separating the two is task for the consciousness (mostly) and requires skill.
Last night, as we approach the first anniversary of her death, I dreamed of my mother for the first time since her passing. The dream itself was otherwise unremarkable, but the very fact that I had it might mean something about my readiness to think about those events. Again, a bit of gold that needs careful separating and refining.
But I'm uneasy with supposing that the dream itself has anything to do with my being (or trying to be) a poet. If others didn't have those glimpses of something shiney, how could they recognize and respond to what we try to create? I believe that everyone who isn't seriously defective experiences the same range of emotions -- all of us, of course, in different proportions and intensities at different times. Even the people I don't like. Among the big surprises that keep happening to me is how much I'm like people who seem so different.
RPW

About half of my poems have been triggered by night dreams and many others by very deep day-dreaming, especially those exploring archetypal images and events. Of course, I've absorbed a lot of Freud, Jung, and Campbell, among others, and am glad to be reminded that I haven't looked at Siggy's "The Poet in Relation to Day-Dreaming" in years. I may report back after a re-reading.

------------------
Ralph

How many literary works have been foreseen in dreams? I think of Stevenson's Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde. Or perhaps, a stretch, Ginsberg's Howl -- verse fueled by drugs (or does such inducement fall on the side of daydreaming? And what about Frankenstein, didn't Mary Shelley dream that as well?

Freud reminds us that often we are everyone in our dreams. The mind makes use of symbols to represent consciousness so fragmented. Often as not when we think we're dreaming (or writing) about one thing, we're dreaming (writing) about another -- or is it thousands of things all at once?

Ritual, inner ceremonies are so much part of the writing process. That workshop hidden so deep within each writer.

Of course, it's what we do with a dream once it creeps onto the page that counts. Got to flesh it out. Yeats seemed to be obsessed with tapping his innerself. So musical his work, so many exquisite revelations...

Kind of like rescheduling your Daytimer?