Dream Drawings audiobook

There is powerful magic in "Dream Drawings: Configurations of a Timeless Kind,” a sphere where author N. Scott Momaday weaves dreams, imagination and language to conjure up a potent vision of life. Here are written sketches of dreams and the significance they hold for us. The poetic essays draw from the author's Native American perspective, but run the gamut from our kindred bear spirits to King Philip of Macedonia and his son Alexander. Georgia O'Keefe and Tolstoy make cameos... but those bears seem to shine best. There are moving meditations on mortality, on the nature of time, and of man's role in the world. We have parables and myths and the supernatural all eliminating the distinction between the imagined and the real. Despite never having developed an adequate appreciation for poetry I was still immediately immersed and felt connected in this world. Passages became underlined, sections to be visited again-- until it was evident there were more lines highlighted than not. I can envision having a beat up copy of this book on me to pull out and reflect on. One favorite is "Ownership." Two men discuss the breathtaking beauty of the canyon they are in and one remarks, "It belongs to me, I don’t own it, but it’s mine.” The other man understands. "True ownership does not consist in titles and deeds. It is assumed by a claim made in the heart, and it is purchased with love and respect. The cliff is his, as it is mine."Again, I am so impressed by this work that I could just copy out selection after selection. N. Scott Momaday has a true power to spill these ideas onto the page. His intention, quoted in the Preface: "Language and the imagination work hand in hand, and together they enable us to reveal us to ourselves in story. That is indeed a magical process, and it is the foundation of art and literature. We imagine and we dream, and we translate our dreams into language. This book is an enactment of that creative process. It is a celebration of words for their own sake."Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for his novel "House Made of Dawn," a book often credited with starting the Native American Renaissance. I have ordered a copy and am excited to further explore this man's vision. There are rare times to celebrate the personal discovery of an artist who has been out there all along and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to add this man's gifts to my awareness.Thank you Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, NetGalley, and N. Scott Momaday for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #DreamDrawings #NetGalley. @NSMomaday @HarperPerennial"IN THE TELLING The story does not end. Rather it revolves on a wheel of telling. It begins again. That is the way of story and storytelling; it is an endless way. In like manner, dreams do not end. They dissolve into infinite possibility. The story and the dream cannot be told apart." -- N. Scott Momaday

Very short read, but packed full of beauty and all the feels. It takes you to another place. Just gorgeous and mesmerizing. Each work is meaningful. Just lovely.

**Thanks to NetGalley, N. Scott Momaday, and Harper Perennial for this ARC**We roll on wheels of words and dreamsDream Drawings: Configurations of a Timeless Kind by N. Scott Momaday is a gorgeous collection of poetry that honor the power of words to tell stories, paint pictures, and create dreams. An homage to storytelling, this collection covers a variety of topics with a commitment to honoring the power of language to create or reveal what is. N. Scott Momaday concludes this collection with the reflection: I have suggested elsewhere that there is only one story, that it is timeless and universal, and that it is composed of many stories in the one. That is true, I believe, and here are fragments of the original story, that which is told in the landscape of words and dreams.It was a pleasure and a gift to read these fragments of the original story. I feel as though I glimpsed brief moments of light flashing off the facets of the whole. A gorgeous read.

Dream Drawings is not your typical book of poetry; I was very much reminded of Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce. The poetic nature of these short meditations is very dreamlike, a deeper truth must be uncovered after time is spent thinking about them. N. Scott Momaday is a master storyteller who understands our collective desires.

The reason behind reading this collection was one of the unexpected surprised and blessings from the 2022 Santa Fe Literary Festival. We got tickets to this event as it was a celebration of New Mexico authors and, ironically enough, mostly to see Kirsten Valdez Quade as we had both read and enjoyed her debut novel "The Five Wounds." But alas, the other featured author was N. Scott Momaday who I am now embarrassed to say I had never heard of before but quickly learned in was the first Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize for his novel "House Made of Dawn" in 1969. To say the 88-year old Momaday was impressive is an understatement. His quiet and gentle voice and wise words had us leaning in, sitting at the edge of our seats and moved us to tears (well, okay more accurately... eye mistiness). Definitely one of the highlights of our literary weekend, which was not lacking for highlights time and time again.So we got this book as part of the event (you could attend/pay for events without buying a book, but why do that??!) and while I have not been a big fan of poetry figured this slim volume would not be too much of a burden. And while there is some, what most folks would consider, "traditional" (verse) poetry here, most our random one-page stories or reflections. There is a lot to ponder here, but I have to admit most of the time this was operating on another cerebral plane that I was incapable of digesting and fully enjoying. Just a lot of "Well, hmmmm" and turning the page. Again, this was totally outside my comfort level/box, so it's definitely a case where it's "me" not Momaday. I was grateful that one of the moving moments Momaday spoke about was one that was included in this collection. I'll share a part of it here so you can get a sense of this incredible man. This is from a piece called "Ownership": I live in a house in a canyon. Great cliffs rose up on either side, and one of them, sheer, white, and dun and rose-colored was especially beautiful ... There was a young man, a drifter, who worked for me one summer. We spoke of the cliff, and he said, "It belongs to me, I don't own it, but it's mine." I thought about this, and I came to see the wisdom in it. True ownership does not consist in titles and deeds. It is assumed by a claim made in the heart, and it is purchased with love and respect. The cliff is his, as it is mine. Again, not a collection I often "got" and I'll gladly give all the stars to Momaday, but a Goodreads round-up to 4 stars for my overall reading experience here.

Normally, I don't read poetry but this collection of poems was one of the best that I read in my life. I'm glad that NetGalley introduced me to this poet and I hope to read more poems about life, traveling, grief, and anything else from her in the future.

This is a fascinating collection of poems, prose poems, stories, memories, comments on literature. Each work is only one page, but this book rewards reading slowly, and re-reading specific pieces that speak to you. Some of it feels like a peek inside the writer's journal or notebook, some of it sessions with native storytellers, some of it brilliant poetry.Highly recommended for the thoughtful reader.

It’s National Poetry Month in the U.S. I do not gravitate towards poetry naturally, but over the past 9 years of homeschooling, I have learned to appreciate. It was not taught well to me in school so I was very intimidated to read it. While I know my education is still lacking in the art form, I’m no longer scared to dive in to a poetry collection. In Dream Drawings, Momaday draws on his Native American heritage to give us 100 poems about everything from memory and aging to nature. There are also some sketches scattered throughout the collection.

I just love National Poetry Month and I have Harper Perennial to thank for sending me a finished copy of Dream Drawings: Configurations of a Timeless Kind long before its release date (May 3, 2022.) I get effortlessly swept away in the pages of prose like this one. N. Scott Momaday takes the reader on a trip throughout the inner findings of dreams and spiritual connections with the many villages, passages, and memories upon Planet Earth. Owning interactions and land in a way that they don't mean to harm or frighten, but rather understand is perfectly conveyed throughout the course of these 100 or so pages. I feel like I've just been resting on a lush silk blanket in the warmth of the afternoon sun after digesting these lyrics. I am awestruck and at peace all at once and am so thankful for the marvelous minds that go behind poetry readings. 5/5 I thoroughly recommend.

I really enjoyed this book! I would pop it open throughout the day for a little break and just read a few pages. It was such an enjoyable experience, I added that into my reading schedule, permanently! I've never read anything like N. Scott Momaday's writing. It's so unique but still comfortable to read because it feels so relatable. Mr. Momaday puts you into the story with his descriptive action so that even if it's something you could never imagine or experience on your own, for that moment you can and do. This is my first time reading anything from N. Scott and I'm very excited to experience more of his work! Thank you for what you're doing, Mr. Momaday.

“Language is magical… When we speak or read or write we are transformed into an intelligence made of words.” So many stories were told within these poems and the author’s voice was extremely prevalent. Beautiful themes of nature, family, grief, faith, and dreams were vividly explored throughout these pages. This was the perfect book mail to get during National Poetry Month! Thank you so much @harperperennial for the gifted copy! (publication date: May 2, 2022)

The poem that carries this collection's subtitle alone is worth the time spent with these little offerings, for what it says about sharing stories – both the telling and the listening to them – and what they do for us, and how we are transported into another person's experience through the sharing.

A few of these poems really stuck out to me because they were thought provoking and realistic in their application to my current states of mind. I appreciated the attention to detail in the words that followed each page as each poem made you think of something entirely different from the previous poem. A very good read indeed!