Sleeping with the Dictionary

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2002

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

“Any Lit” by Harryette Mullen (2002)

This is another poem from the collection Sleeping with the Dictionary. It uses homophony, or homophones (words that share sounds but have different meanings). The structure is strict and repetitive: Each line begins with anaphora (the same phrase—”You are a”—repeated), and the definition of “you” contains a word that begins with a “u” sound followed by “beyond my” and then a word that begins with an “m” sound. The alliteration that occurs because of the homophones reminds the reader of the alliteration in “Sleeping with the Dictionary,” as well as dictionaries in general.

“We Are Not Responsible” by Harryette Mullen (2002)

This is a third poem from Mullen’s collection Sleeping with the Dictionary. It replaces some of the words from familiar airport announcements, giving it a different feeling than the devices focusing on letters and sounds in Mullen’s other poems discussed in this guide. Rather than drawing from language and dictionaries, this poem draws from pre-recorded warnings to travelers in order to discuss racial profiling.

This poem is placed immediately before “Sleeping with the Dictionary” in the Lunch Poems recording provided below. Listening to the two poems back-to-back provides insight on the range of Mullen’s work, as she very differently reads the two poems.

“Ode on Dictionaries” by Barbara Hamby (2009)

This poem by Hamby is an abecedarian. The first letter of each couplet (pair of lines) spells out the alphabet. Hamby also uses alliteration—repeating the letter that begins the couplet within the couplet—which may remind the reader of Mullen’s use of alliteration. However, Hamby’s poem covers a wider range of topics than “Sleeping with the Dictionary” and, overall, has a less sexual tone.

Further Literary Resources

The American Heritage Dictionary (2022)

This is the dictionary referenced as one of Mullen’s “writing partners” in the front flap of her book Sleeping with the Dictionary. The online version lacks the physical elements Mullen describes in her poem, but does include the content she discusses. It is a valuable resource for not only improving one’s vocabulary, but also a tool for learning how to write in metered verse.

Spoonbill N+7 Machine

The Spoonbill N+7 Machine is a resource for poetic collaboration that operated from the late 1990s to 2007. It includes a variety of online tools for generating structuralist poetry, including the above N+7 generator. The examples—which include classic texts like the works of Shakespeare, the Bible, and William Gibson’s Neuromancer—have more of a Dadaist charm as compared to human-designed N+7 poetry. Nevertheless, this generator is useful for thinking about the dictionary as a text to be studied rather than as a mere index of meaning.

“Word Plays Well with Others” by Rosamond S. King (Spring 2003)

This article is from Callaloo (Vol. 26, No. 2), and archived on JSTOR. It is King’s review of Sleeping with the Dictionary (the text that contains “Sleeping with the Dictionary”), and gives a bird’s-eye view to the literary techniques and complexities of Mullen’s work. King places great emphasis on Mullen’s polysemic (having several meanings) abilities in creating this collection, and the descriptions of the devices in different poems provide a helpful index for looking for specific elements in Mullen’s work.

History of the OED

This resource gives a comprehensive and easily searchable history of the Oxford English Dictionary—the most famous dictionary of the English language among academics and writers. Dictionaries are essential for Oulipo N+7 poetry. Their strict structural conceits provide a rich background for structuralist poems of all kinds.

“Alphabet Aerobatics” by Blackalicious

This song by the hip-hop group Blackalicious is another abecedarian. This demonstrates the auditory nature of poetry to which Mullen alludes with her repeated references to the mouth and tongue. It also demonstrates how poetic devices cross into musical genres.

Listen to Poem

Harryette Mullen reads “Sleeping with the Dictionary”

This is a recording from the Lunch Poems series at University of California: Berkeley, organized by Robert Haas. Mullen reads several poems from multiple books, including “Sleeping with the Dictionary,” which occurs at 26 minutes into the video.