Books like Sleeping With the Dictionary by Harryette Romell Mullen

In *Sleeping With the Dictionary*, poet Harryette Mullen turns the English language into a collage of alphabetic play, using acrostics, anagrams, homophones, and other word games to comment on language politics and African‑American literary traditions. The collection references the Oulipo technique S+7, adopting a method of textual transformation that yields nonsensical yet evocative verses reminiscent of Carroll’s *Jabberwocky*. Mullen’s poems weave together influences from Shakespearean sonnets, fairy tales, and everyday texts such as airline safety instructions and unsolicited mail, offering a playful yet incisive examination of how African‑American writers navigate and reshape the English tongue. The work reflects a trio of linguistic companions: Roget’s Thesaurus, the American Heritage Dictionary, and Mullen’s own poetic craft. Though Roget is noted for its attention to categories, the American Heritage’s democratic usage panel included figures like Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, and Gloria Steinem—mirroring Mullen’s collaborative approach to language. Ultimately, the collection positions language as both a tool of empowerment and a site of play, inviting readers to discover the intimate, “pillow dictionary” that resides within each spoken and written word.

First publish date: 2002