A man is sleeping outdoors on a pile of books, with an open book beside him. The background features greenery, suggesting a natural setting. The text above reads "Dreamfall" and below says "An Experiment in Hypnagogic Dreaming."
A photo of the Woodberry Poetry room, a wooden library with tables and bookshelves along the wall.

This project

was generously funded

by a Creative Grant

from Harvard University’s

Woodberry Poetry Room.

Illustration of a person in a blue coat standing on a flying open book among clouds and other flying books.

“Does Dream Inception Work?”

An article about DREAMFALL by the

wonderful Nautilus Magazine.

About the Project

According to the Argentinian poet Jorge Luis Borges, “Writing is nothing more than a guided dream.” During his Creative Grant, Will Dowd will test this assertion in an experiment designed to explore the boundaries of poetry, dreams, and the human imagination. Using Dormio, a targeted dream inception device developed at the MIT Media Lab, Dowd will draw from the Woodberry Poetry Room’s collection of literary recordings for audio cues to direct his dreams over the course of the 2022-2023 academic year. DREAMFALL will document the results of this experiment in a multidisciplinary work combining critical essay with art and poetry.

This project was inspired by Dowd’s vision disorder, which has deprived him of the unique feeling of transport that comes from reading great poetry. He hopes to find a novel use for emerging dream technologies and pioneer a new reading experience, especially for the print-disabled.

—From The Woodberry Poetry Room Website

drawing of a hand wearing the dormio device with wires and a battery pack twined around fingers

The Materials

The Dormio Device. Read more about this invention here.

Visit the virtual Listening Booth, Harvard’s incredible archive of poets’ reading their work over the past century.

A black and white photograph of a man with headphones placing the stylus on a record.

FROM THE 1949 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN ARTICLE ON THE WOODBERRY POETRY ROOM.

Drawing of my hand with Dormio device

The Results

This project became a book of dream-seeded stories

now available for preorder...

The Taste of Rain in Buenos Aires

In the meantime, you are welcome to read

a few flash fiction pieces:

“MAPA DE AQUÉL”

Manhattan lit up at night.

“THE TEACUP STIRRED”

A modern high-rise building with a glass facade is silhouetted against a deep blue sky during twilight. A few windows are illuminated with warm yellow light, creating a contrast with the cool tones of the building and sky. London.

Interviews

 Writing in the Dark 

In this wide-ranging (some might say rambling) talk for NEA Big Read program, I talk about my use of technology—including Dormio—to overcome physical constraints and allow creative expression.

Podcast promotional image featuring the "Thought Echoes" podcast. Includes a photo of a man, labeled as "Will Dowd, Writer & Artist," interviewed by Beth Bonness. Background shows natural scenery with trees. The episode is titled "in conversation with creatives & scientists, Episode #21."

Thought Echoes Interview

I enjoyed discussing my adventures with dream technology with Beth Bonness for her excellent podcast, Thought Echoes.

You can listen to the interview here:

Apple

Spotify

Though Echoes website