Dreaminations

Description

Dreaminations

Prose Poems by Jianqing Zheng
ISBN: 978-1-963695-49-6 paperback $19.95
ISBN: 978-1-963695-50-2 ebook $9.99
January 20, 2026

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Dreaminations is a collection of prose poems in haibun or tanka prose style. Haibun or tanka prose links prose and haiku or tanka to complement each other through juxtaposition to gain a new sensibility, an insight into a significant moment. The linked forms also stand independently with their complete meanings that present two views of each moment, inviting the reader to leap in between for an aesthetic appreciation. That’s the uniqueness of haibun and tanka prose and the fascination of writing them. This collection explores the self and the world through the working of the senses. It is a quest about where to posit the self and how a human being gains learning from nature and human nature.

(cover photo by Jianqing Zheng)

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Praise for Jianqing Zheng’s new prose poetry collection, Dreaminations

Dreaminations is a must-read for poetry lovers. His masterful use of language creates vivid imagery, bringing each poem to life. This collection blends lyrical brilliance with captivating storytelling, making every piece a delight to read. Whether you’re a casual reader or a devoted poet, Dreaminations will leave a lasting impression.—John J. Han, author of To the Hills and Hollows

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Jianqing Zheng’s Dreaminations is an experience that will leave you breathless and inspired. This haibun and tanka prose collection is well crafted; it incorporates history, the natural world and spirituality. Zheng’s book unravels with allusions to Li Po, Langston Hughes, Franz Kafka, Richard Wright, and others. Yes, there is Delta Blues, too. The prose is lyrical with vivid imagery, fresh similes, and good details. Yet, the haiku is superb. And the tanka is polished. Whether haibun or prose poems, Dreaminations depicts what must be documented, what must be spotlighted, and what must become art.—Lenard D. Moore, author of The Geography of Jazz

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Praise for Jianqing Zheng’s previous poetry collection, The Dog Years of Reeducation

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A startling collection of poems, a reliving of the author’s experience, summons nature as companion.—Angela Ball, author of Talking Pillow

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What I like best about Zheng’s poems is nearly every line has an image: I see what he’s saying—verbal movies. He shows, rather than tells. I’m entertained by what he says and by the way he says his what. Unforgettable pictures: … “Straw hats float like life preservers / in a white sea of cotton” … and “Light recedes / field to field / into a big tomato / toothed in half by hills.”—DC Berry, author of Yes, Cancer French Kisses

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What will wake the reader here and keep attention from beginning to end is the series of original and important metaphors that reveal how deeply Jianqing Zheng’s memory was cast within the confines of his reeducation.—Theodore Haddin, author of The Pendulum Moves Off

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Jianqing Zheng is the author of The Dog Years of Reeducation, A Way of Looking, and five poetry chapbooks and e-chapbooks; editor of seven scholarly books, including Conversations with Dana Gioia and Sonia Sanchez’s Poetic Spirit through Haiku; and coeditor of four scholarly books, including Dana Gioia: Poet & Critic. He received the 2019 Gerald Cable Book Prize, 2001 Slapering Hol Press Chapbook Award, and three poetry fellowships from the Mississippi Arts Commission, among other awards and honors. He is professor of English at Mississippi Valley State University, where he serves as editor of the Journal of Ethnic American Literature and Valley Voices. His poems have appeared in numerous magazines, including Another Chicago Magazine, Birmingham Poetry Review, Louisiana Literature, Mississippi Review, and Spillway.