Read on Twitter
It’s begun! @gemhol2 is introducing @ASpydell and @CarlyNations to the group, filling us in on their upcoming @broadviewpress edition of Olive Schreiner’s ‘Dreams’ #LNCSSGS #GradStrand
@CarlyNations tells us that Schreiner was very active with her dreams, which she called ‘little allegories’, something Carly, Anna, and co-editor Dr. Barbara Black found particularly significant when editing the new collection
@ASpydell is telling us more about Schreiner herself; her life, her travels, her interests and her writing
‘I have come to the conclusion that only poetry is truth’ - Schreiner in a letter to Havelock Ellis
In her allegories, @CarlyNations tells us, ‘Schreiner desires to connect the past to the present, whilst also anticipating the future’
@ASpydell talks of the Victorian period as being a time of uncertainty and ‘apocalypse’, in particular in South Africa, where they were experiencing war, migration, poverty, and the ‘upheaval of female identity’
For Schreiner, her allegories were a subsequent reaction to imperialism, as her fears, worries *and* desires for the world infiltrated her dreams
For Schreiner, productive dreaming (documenting and writing her dreams) leads to concrete activism. Subsequent reactions to the past lead to actions for a better/certain future
@CarlyNations and @ASpydell discuss how this is evident in Schreiner’s ‘Three Dreams in a Desert’ - a poignant representation of how the past, present and future are all linked
And also how Schreiner’s work and experiences are increasingly prevalent today
‘Dreams are a powerful antidote to authoritarianism in today’s society’ @ASpydell
‘Dreams are a powerful antidote to authoritarianism in today’s society’ @ASpydell
‘Schreiner was an activist who wrote, as opposed to a writer that participated in activism [...] all of her work leads to apartheid’
![‘Schreiner was an activist who wrote, as opposed to a writer that participated in activism [...] all of her work leads to apartheid’](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EhjqksOXgAEZavI.jpg "‘Schreiner was an activist who wrote, as opposed to a writer that participated in activism [...] all of her work leads to apartheid’")
@CarlyNations and @ASpydell end with this extract from Olive Schreiner’s ‘Woman and Labour’
*mic drop* moment
*mic drop* moment
@ChloeOfCamden asks to what extent are Schreiner’s Dreams actually Dreams, or are they Fiction? And @CarlyNations tells us about how these were in fact mystical and subconscious flashes that occurred to her (not sleeping dreams)
‘Did anyone question her mental health?’
@CarlyNations & @ASpydell don’t believe anyone did - Schreiner carefully managed her relationships and therefore had much more control over her life. And perhaps if she’d stayed in England, people may have started asking these questions
@CarlyNations & @ASpydell don’t believe anyone did - Schreiner carefully managed her relationships and therefore had much more control over her life. And perhaps if she’d stayed in England, people may have started asking these questions
@yuanto_yue asks if and why attitudes to dreaming & collecting dreams change?
Attitudes didn’t change per se, until the likes of Freud, but other people were writing dreams/allegories! Edward Carpenter for example, wrote in allegory & Oscar Wilde explored dreams in his fiction
Attitudes didn’t change per se, until the likes of Freud, but other people were writing dreams/allegories! Edward Carpenter for example, wrote in allegory & Oscar Wilde explored dreams in his fiction
‘It is an act of rebellion to be documenting these dreams, as an individual whose subconscious thoughts cannot be controlled by an outside force’ @ASpydell
@janetteleaf1 asks Carly and Anna to speak more on Schreiner’s insect imagery
We all wanna know more about the bee’s in ‘Dreams’!
We all wanna know more about the bee’s in ‘Dreams’!
@CarlyNations tell us how the process of editing the new @broadviewpress edition of ‘Dreams’ came about!
‘Be annoying and seize the opportunity!’
‘Be annoying and seize the opportunity!’
@ASpydell ‘know and research your publishers!’
Broadview are a progressive and innovative publisher, and with them seemed like a great place to bring Dreams back into the foreground
Broadview are a progressive and innovative publisher, and with them seemed like a great place to bring Dreams back into the foreground
