Dreamt about poetry and woke up on the floor

[sovay]

I did not sleep very much last night. Nonetheless, sometime after seven o'clock, I managed to dream that I was the owner of an old three-story house in a student neighborhood. It had been mine for years, inherited from someone who should have been closely related to me, although real-life candidates are few (my parents were mysteriously absent). There were two lodgers on the second floor. Their names were Kit and Anny; for the first few months I thought they were male, in their early twenties, until one afternoon I ran into them on the stairs and realized they were both women and closer to my age. I saw them occasionally on the landing, but otherwise not much outside their rooms. They dressed like Russian futurists who had just discovered punk rock—sort of DIY wing collars and waistcoats, Doc Martens and dark suit jackets with individual words stitched into the sleeve, although I could never read them. Kit was spikily chestnut-haired, Anny much darker. They had audible, enthusiastic sex at constantly unpredictable hours. And I cannot remember why one of them invited me in, but their sitting room had small, time-thickened diamond panes and the daybed, the desk, the floor were swamped in drifts of paper, all of them written on, even if only a crossed-out line or two, as though they never threw a draft away. I picked up some of the pages to read through while Kit was unearthing a three-ring binder of CDs or DVDs—I can't remember where Anny was; in the next room, out of shot—which is the point at which it became plain, without any kind of shock or revelation, that my downstairs neighbors were Anakreon and Christopher Marlowe.

If I could draw, this would be the best manga ever.

Comments

[farwing.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a marvelous dream.

[sovay]

That sounds like a marvelous dream.

It was the kind that didn't register as at all out of the ordinary while I was dreaming, and then I woke up and started typing frantically before it all smoothed away into consciousness. There were all sorts of plot strings I don't remember anymore, but fortunately this piece stayed.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It is *so* visual. You must have someone who could team with you to create this. It's cool.

[sovay]

You must have someone who could team with you to create this. It's cool.

Well, feel free to illustrate . . .

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It needs someone more technically competent than I am.

[eredien]

I would love to try it.

[sovay]

I would love to try it.

That would be wonderful.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

There you go! I knew there'd be someone who could do it!

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

Goodness. That's a brilliant dream.

If I could draw, this would be the best manga ever.

Yes. I wish you could draw, although I'm sure you can draw better than I can.

Did you ever read that short story (Elizabeth Bear wrote it, I think?) where Kit Marlowe turned out to be biologically female and was rescued into the 22nd century?

[sovay]

Did you ever read that short story (Elizabeth Bear wrote it, I think?) where Kit Marlowe turned out to be biologically female and was rescued into the 22nd century?

No—do you recommend it?

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Well, I do.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

Glad to know I'm not the only one. Thanks for linking it!

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

No—do you recommend it?

I do. I'm curious to hear what you think of it.

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

If I could draw, this would be the best manga ever.

Yes! Pretty cool reality, too-- I dream about inheriting a house, complete with lodgers.

Anyway, hope you get some sleep. I am baking you, Peter, and any lactose-intolerant guests you may have autumnal muffins as we speak.

[sovay]

Pretty cool reality, too-- I dream about inheriting a house, complete with lodgers.

Seriously, I wish . . .

I am baking you, Peter, and any lactose-intolerant guests you may have autumnal muffins as we speak.

You are very awesome. I'm making lemon cake and brownies.

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

That's awesome. Your dreams are always so full of characters, and I kind of envy that sometimes.

[sovay]

Your dreams are always so full of characters, and I kind of envy that sometimes.

I wish I knew better how to turn them into stories . . .

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

And I had that kind of insight, too. I'd share, if I did and it translated.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

O my. That is one magnificent dream. And it ought to be manga.

Nine

[sovay]

And it ought to be manga.

If anything comes of it . . .

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Lovely - I envy you the detail, and the pay-off. Pleasure-proving good.

[sovay]

I envy you the detail, and the pay-off. Pleasure-proving good.

I can't take any credit—it's just my brain! I am thankful for it.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's an excellent dream.

[sovay]

That's an excellent dream.

I really want to figure out how to turn it into something . . .

[tuppshar-press.livejournal.com]

You seriously need to write this up as a story. There's a lot of fascinating symbolism there.

[sovay]

You seriously need to write this up as a story. There's a lot of fascinating symbolism there.

I will try. Thank you.