THE REPUBLIC OF DREAMS: A REVERIE

THE REPUBLIC OF DREAMS: A REVERIE
G. Garfield Crimmins
New York: WW Norton, 1998
95 pages, hardback, $21.95
ISBN: 0-393-04633-8

Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg

Inside the front cover of this book, you'll find a passport from La République de Rêves, the Republic of Dreams. You can travel there free from laws of space and time.

Poets run the place: they draft exceptions to the rule. As the lushly illustrated visitor's guide tells you, poetry is the country's official language. All types of weather occur every week. Festivals take place daily. A foldout map shows landmarks such as the River of Dreams and the Stream of Consciousness, and the cities of Yesterday and Confusion.

The capital of Rêves, the City of Poets, surrounds Lake Eros. While there, you might want to visit the Museum of Wonder, located between the streets of Fruitful Encounters and Sudden Joy. Or enjoy a stroll on the Blvd. of Splendid Food and Fine Wine, bordering the Park of Limpid Solitude.

To explore Rêves fully, you'll need a poetic license. It's included. Your experiences may echo those of your tour guide, Pennsylvania author and artist G. Garfield Crimmins, who writes, "I felt as if I were in a cinema, watching a film in which I was one of the characters." When in Rêves, Crimmins embarks upon a dangerous mission: to initiate a series of irrational events to thwart the fearsome League of Common Sense.

Although some of his adventures seem to have happened before, he finds they are both the same and different this time. After an intrigue worthy of James Bond, he and his sensuous companion--who is, of course, the woman of his dreams--triumph. The lovers celebrate at the romantic Festival of Whispers and Sighs.

You'll want to explore Rêves on your own, perhaps tonight. This engaging book includes eight picture postcards from this exotic country. Send them to yourself.