A Brief Consideration of Dreams and the Countdown to May 1, 2019

Artwork titled “Owens-Thomas House in Savannah Georgia Number 2” by Aberjhani featuring quote from the book Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah.

Dreams comprise one of the great mysteries of what it means to call ourselves human. On one level of consciousness or another, we all have them. The point is one worth pondering as readers count down to the scheduled publication of Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah on May 1, 2019.

Some experience dreams as waves of imagination which light up our sleep with unusual images or suggestive narratives that fill us with curiosity, doubts, desires, fears, or inspiration. There are also those who consider dreams in more purpose-driven terms: as in concrete aspirations, hopes, or goals.
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Historical figures like France’s Joan of Arc, Native-American Chief Sitting Bull, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, abolitionist Harriet Tubman, entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker, and scientist Albert Einstein all experienced dreams, in some cases referred to as visions, which impacted the course of history. Literary icons such as novelist Mary Shelly and Italian poet Dante Alighieri--not to mention more contemporary creatives like musician Paul McCartney--also experienced dreams which heavily influenced some of their most famous works. And then there was the Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh who gave us these words: “I dream my paintings, then I paint my dreams.”

Story Synopsis: Putting a History-Making Dream
​in Context

​The title story in Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah, as with the book as a whole, presents readers with multiple experiences of a single city interpreted as different kinds of dreams. It may be a dream of home, of historical changes, future possibilities, or present-day challenges. One crucial question permeating the pages of Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah is this: How does James Oglethorpe’s (founder of America's state of Georgia) historic dream of what Savannah might become compare to the hopes and needs of people occupying the city in 2019? The following synopsis suggests a partial answer in the context of the noted story:   

Telfair Musem Owens-Thomas House on cover of Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah (Cyberwith.net Publishing) by Aberjhani.

The phrase “Immortal City” as used in this chapter is borrowed from the title of the first volume of the four-book Civil War Savannah Series (by historian Barry Sheehy, photographer Cindy Wallace, and historian Vaughnette Goode-Walker) which in 2011 was published in commemoration of the American Civil War sesquicentennial.

The story intertwines the history of the groundbreaking volume with the author’s experience of a dream he had twenty years before and which he believes foretold the publication of the book series. More than that, his dream, along with actual work on the book series as an editor, and the books themselves provide a framework for a passionate discussion on current pressing issues. In addition to examining the persistence of human trafficking in Savannah and the world, the author is surprised by a discovery of compassion for people he had previously only thought of as evil.

​Possibly the most important function served by dreams is that during periods of social, political, or personal stagnation, they can provide the catalyst for continued progressive movement forward. It was what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream did for America at a time when the developing practices of democracy were stalled by racism, gender inequality, class prejudice, and other forms of social injustice. It is what the innovative visions of diverse creative thinkers around the world may be doing for humanity right now.
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Aberjhani
​Harlem Renaissance Centennial