How Long to Read Waking Dream

How Long Does it Take to Read Waking Dream?

It takes the average reader 2 hours and 20 minutes to read Waking Dream by Resurrección Espinosa

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Waking Dream is a collection of fifty-eight poems that evoke forcefully the adventures in thought, feeling and action of Resurreccin Espinosa, a Spanish-born writer who has lived in the United States since 1978. The poems vary widely in mood, subject and setting - from comedy to pathos, from past to present, from city to countryside, from loneliness to love - but are united by the intertwined themes of searching for a home and building a life. The poems also reflect Resurreccin's conception of the function of the poet in society - a role in keeping with the origin of the word "poet": a maker of spiritual worlds that help to unite human beings with one another and with the enduring aspects of reality. The natural world appears frequently as subject matter in this collection. Plants and landscapes come alive with the qualities of the human spirit, becoming companions on man's journey. In the poem entitled Aloe, the poet speaks as if she were the plant, telling of its life - how it grows in an arid environment, storing a liquid described in the poem as "patience", which has the virtue of stopping pain. The healing qualities of the Aloe plant in the poem become also the healing qualities of love, and of poetry: "Surrounded Bu the soul of want, I wait, Dreaming patience Into my flesh. ... ... I will caress The cry of pain To silence." The poet becomes the flower in Hibiscus. Each blossom of the Hibiscus plant lasts only one day. In the poem, this brevity becomes a symbol: "But I shall be something else From what you knew - A memory, a life fully lived And ended, without regret And without tears." Frustrating experiences are transformed into occasions for humor, for accepting reality as it comes. Resurreccin signed up for a beginners' ballet class at a time when she was especially burdened by work, hoping to find some creative relaxation. She wrote The House Cricket just after the first - and final - time she attended this class: "... Nothing I could say Would change his tune. And the value Is... Well, wouldn't you like To sing Or dance That way, too?" One of the responsibilities of the inmigrant is to respect the new country's culture and to become acquainted with its manifestations insofar as possible. Among Resurreccin's favorite American painters is Andrew Wyeth, for several of whose paintings she has written poems. Shadow and light in the painting entitled Lovers, from the Helga collection, is described in the poem of the same name as "The weight of darkness" and "The generosity of light." There are two other poems inspired by Wyeth in this collection - "Geraniums" and "Refuge." Being both an immigrant and a teacher has brought Resurreccin in contact with people who are just starting their life here. Beginning a new life, learning a new language are difficult things, especially for those who are semi-literate in their native language. As a bilingual teacher, trying to help students and their families, Resurreccin was confronted with the necessity of writing about the experience of these people, but found that she could not do so by using either standard English or standard Spanish, because the language used by some of these people to survive in the United States, at least at the beginning of their life here, is a compound of elements of the two languages. The poems dealing with this topic are written in what Resurreccin calls "Spanglish", and each one of them is unique in the form that this new language takes, since each individual is at any given time at a different stage of his or her learning of the English language. In most of the poems in Spanglish, the spelling of English words are either correct or very close, so that one understands that the speaker in the poem has mastered English phonetics quite well.

How long is Waking Dream?

Waking Dream by Resurrección Espinosa is 140 pages long, and a total of 35,000 words.

This makes it 47% the length of the average book. It also has 43% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Waking Dream Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 3 hours and 11 minutes to read Waking Dream aloud.

What Reading Level is Waking Dream?

Waking Dream is suitable for students ages 10 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Waking Dream?

Waking Dream by Resurrección Espinosa is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

To buy Waking Dream by Resurrección Espinosa on Amazon click the button below.