What do you think?
Rate this book
R. Crumb's Dream Diary
Unprecedented insight into the untamed art and psyche of R. Crumb For more than 40 years, legendary American artist Robert Crumb has documented his nightly dreams in a meticulously kept private journal. This material has stood as a guarded secret in a career defined by an impish compulsion to publically self-disclose. All of the artist's well-documented preoccupations are present and accounted for―rampant egomania, insatiable lust, profound self-disgust, the sad beauty of old America, the moral bankruptcy of new America and the fool's errand quest for spiritual enlightenment―but here they are entirely untamed, springing forth from forces beyond even his control. Published for the first time, the complete Dream Diaries offer readers a deep, dark look under the hood of one of America's most aggressively dynamic comedic voices. Widely considered the greatest cartoonist of the 20th century, Robert Crumb (born 1943) drew comics from a very young age. After a brief career in greeting-card design in Cleveland, in 1965 the young artist discovered LSD, and headed for San Francisco, where he published Zap Comix 1, reinventing the comics medium. In 1994 he was the subject of an acclaimed documentary film by Terry Zwigoff. His adaptation of The Book of Genesis was published in 2009 and the original art for the project was exhibited internationally, most notably at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, in 2009, and as part of the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013. His most recent books include Bible of Filth , Art & Beauty Magazine and (with Aline Kominsky-Crumb) Drawn Together . Crumb lives and works in Southern France.
465 pages, Hardcover
Published November 27, 2018
11 people are currently reading
180 people want to read
About the author
Robert Crumb
565 books523 followersRobert Dennis Crumb (born August 30, 1943)— is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.
Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded as its most prominent figure. Though one of the most celebrated of comic book artists, Crumb's entire career has unfolded outside the mainstream comic book publishing industry. One of his most recognized works is the "Keep on Truckin'" comic, which became a widely distributed fixture of pop culture in the 1970s. Others are the characters "Devil Girl", "Fritz the Cat", and "Mr. Natural".
He was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1991.
Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded as its most prominent figure. Though one of the most celebrated of comic book artists, Crumb's entire career has unfolded outside the mainstream comic book publishing industry. One of his most recognized works is the "Keep on Truckin'" comic, which became a widely distributed fixture of pop culture in the 1970s. Others are the characters "Devil Girl", "Fritz the Cat", and "Mr. Natural".
He was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1991.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 17, 2024
This was a good read for me.
I started my dream diary the beginning of this year. I was really adamant about my daily entries, even when I couldn’t remember my dreams. I did this from January until, seemingly at random, abruptly stoped altogether in April for no apparent reason.
I couldn’t really explain why I stopped. My dream entries were a huge part of my daily routine and the act of rereading them felt very rewarding and insightful. It wasn’t until I picked up this book three weeks ago that I started up again and began to understand that our unconscious mind seems to have their own modus operandi.
I consider myself a “Crumb Bumb” (iykyk) so this book was on my radar, but not in any urgent way. I had reserved a few of Crumb’s books at my local library. I waited about a month from the day of reserving them and anticipated the arrival of any of these books every day. The first to arrive was this one.
When it finally came it coincided with having started entering my dreams in my dream diary again. As I read it, Crumb’s entries sort of became a guide for my own. How to focus on the narrative, throwing in the important details, disregarding the vagueness of others but also acknowledging it’s subtly, and so on. Sometimes these tips are things you pick up on as your read his entries and sometimes the advice is given by Crumb assertively.
It became apparent that catching a dream is very spiritual. It’s a connection with a part of yourself you’re generally unaware of. But oh boy, is it aware of you. Maybe too aware.
All this to say, if you lack the motivation, or don’t know how to start catching your dreams, this book might help you understand what you’re getting yourself into. It’s also a great behind-the-scenes peak into the fucked-up psyche of one of my favorite—and most controversial—artists. So there’s that too.
(I feel it’s important to note, like all of Crumb’s content, you may be deeply offended or disturbed by this guy and his inner workings—and I would not blame you).
I started my dream diary the beginning of this year. I was really adamant about my daily entries, even when I couldn’t remember my dreams. I did this from January until, seemingly at random, abruptly stoped altogether in April for no apparent reason.
I couldn’t really explain why I stopped. My dream entries were a huge part of my daily routine and the act of rereading them felt very rewarding and insightful. It wasn’t until I picked up this book three weeks ago that I started up again and began to understand that our unconscious mind seems to have their own modus operandi.
I consider myself a “Crumb Bumb” (iykyk) so this book was on my radar, but not in any urgent way. I had reserved a few of Crumb’s books at my local library. I waited about a month from the day of reserving them and anticipated the arrival of any of these books every day. The first to arrive was this one.
When it finally came it coincided with having started entering my dreams in my dream diary again. As I read it, Crumb’s entries sort of became a guide for my own. How to focus on the narrative, throwing in the important details, disregarding the vagueness of others but also acknowledging it’s subtly, and so on. Sometimes these tips are things you pick up on as your read his entries and sometimes the advice is given by Crumb assertively.
It became apparent that catching a dream is very spiritual. It’s a connection with a part of yourself you’re generally unaware of. But oh boy, is it aware of you. Maybe too aware.
All this to say, if you lack the motivation, or don’t know how to start catching your dreams, this book might help you understand what you’re getting yourself into. It’s also a great behind-the-scenes peak into the fucked-up psyche of one of my favorite—and most controversial—artists. So there’s that too.
(I feel it’s important to note, like all of Crumb’s content, you may be deeply offended or disturbed by this guy and his inner workings—and I would not blame you).
October 31, 2021
I'll start by saying I'm a huge Robert Crumb fan. Since I first stumbled across my first issues of Weirdo magazine Crumb produced with his wife Aline Kominsky-Crumb (who is an excellent artist in her own right) to anytime I find something by Crumb that I hadn't heard of before, I read it.
Crumb's Dream Diary is just that, an account of the content of his dreams. He's not breaking down the plot and analyzing it for us; he presents his subconscious in its most raw form. Some of the dreams reoccur, so once you're into the book, you'll get a deja vu feeling that you've read this somewhere else.
Don't buy for the art - although there are 12 lovely illustrations here, it's about getting a closer look at the person, the artist, their fears, conflicts, and desires.
One of the best qualities about Crumb's artwork is his honesty. He is brutal when he depicts himself and doesn't pull punches when filling in unflattering warts and pimples. This diary is no different. I enjoyed for that reason.
Crumb's Dream Diary is just that, an account of the content of his dreams. He's not breaking down the plot and analyzing it for us; he presents his subconscious in its most raw form. Some of the dreams reoccur, so once you're into the book, you'll get a deja vu feeling that you've read this somewhere else.
Don't buy for the art - although there are 12 lovely illustrations here, it's about getting a closer look at the person, the artist, their fears, conflicts, and desires.
One of the best qualities about Crumb's artwork is his honesty. He is brutal when he depicts himself and doesn't pull punches when filling in unflattering warts and pimples. This diary is no different. I enjoyed for that reason.
February 2, 2021
I haven't yet finished this, but with some bad reviews I felt I had to add my voice.
I do understand how some could find this tedious, reading somebody else's dreams isn't always the most thrilling.
However, I'm an avid keeper of my own dream diary, and I love this insight into a great artist's inner mind. I too, like the editor states at the beginning in his letter to Robert Crumb, have had much more vivid dreams for reading his.
His lucid dreams and OBE's have given me great content and inspiration, and because of this book alone I've had many more lucid dreams, about 1 every 2 weeks, and I've even dreamt of having an OBE. I now practice this technique most days and am determined to have a real OBE, much like Robert Crumb himself!
I love this book and will continue reading with vigour!
I do understand how some could find this tedious, reading somebody else's dreams isn't always the most thrilling.
However, I'm an avid keeper of my own dream diary, and I love this insight into a great artist's inner mind. I too, like the editor states at the beginning in his letter to Robert Crumb, have had much more vivid dreams for reading his.
His lucid dreams and OBE's have given me great content and inspiration, and because of this book alone I've had many more lucid dreams, about 1 every 2 weeks, and I've even dreamt of having an OBE. I now practice this technique most days and am determined to have a real OBE, much like Robert Crumb himself!
I love this book and will continue reading with vigour!
September 29, 2019
This tedious book would have greatly benefited from being 250 pages shorter.
September 26, 2022
I have spent months inside the psyche of R. Crumb, enjoying most of all the strange sexual dreams of his that obsess over large, strong women with muscular legs and asses. Like with all Crumb, there is absurd, disturbing, and filthy content inside. A joy to read aloud to someone you love if, like me, your partner also enjoys weird shit.
May 10, 2020
Incredible. Not the largest Crumb fan but I respect and enjoy his art. This collection is no exception. He details his dreams so vividly, it almost feels as if you, the reader, has dreamt them yourself. 5/5 stars.
April 12, 2023
I finally got through this one. It was nice to see someone else remember their dreams and they be just as strange as mine. Some of his themes were just weird!
June 25, 2024
Words cannot describe the extent to which he likes big butts, cannot lie
September 3, 2023
Hmmmm. A very strange reading experience indeed. Absurdist in nature but totally inseparable from the author’s own experience and personality.
Honestly if you can get through all the strange horny dreams it’s definitely worth a read just to experience it. Some very interesting observations on the conscious vs subconscious mind in there among some fun wacky dreams.
Also some heart warming moments about Crumbs relationship with his parents/wife/children/etc that honestly make going through most of the mundane dreams 100% worth it. On the other hand some of the dreams are way too inappropriately sexualised but I guess it just speaks to the honesty of the dreaming experience and it’s hard to judge someone on dreams they can’t control.
Not sure if I’ll reread this one ever, maybe in a year or two with a list of all the people and their relationship to Crumb just to get a different experience.
Has also encouraged me to remember more of my own dreams which has definitely been an experience with having.
Honestly if you can get through all the strange horny dreams it’s definitely worth a read just to experience it. Some very interesting observations on the conscious vs subconscious mind in there among some fun wacky dreams.
Also some heart warming moments about Crumbs relationship with his parents/wife/children/etc that honestly make going through most of the mundane dreams 100% worth it. On the other hand some of the dreams are way too inappropriately sexualised but I guess it just speaks to the honesty of the dreaming experience and it’s hard to judge someone on dreams they can’t control.
Not sure if I’ll reread this one ever, maybe in a year or two with a list of all the people and their relationship to Crumb just to get a different experience.
Has also encouraged me to remember more of my own dreams which has definitely been an experience with having.
April 20, 2020
Here's an excerpt
'Another Shit Dream'
"I had made a huge shit on the ground, not being able to find a toilet. Some people were hovering around in the background, exclaiming that it was gross, disgusting, that I better get rid of the shit. I picked it up with my bare hands. It was a huge pile of shit. It was brown and shiny and slippery. It fell apart in my hands. I put some of it in a shoebox. Someone pointed out that some of it was still on the ground, pieces that had dropped when it fell apart in my hands. I picked it up; a long, winding piece of turd like soft, wet clay, but greasy. People were saying, "Ew, gross!" and other such comments. I complained to them that there was no toilet around. Where could I find a toilet, I asked them. They were not at all helpful. Some were laughing at my embarassment. I had shit on my hands and then absentmindedly put my hand in my mouth and tasted the greasy wet shit and was grossed out and wondered at my absent-mindedness in putting my shit-covered fingers in my mouth.
I guess I woke up then."
Much of the dreams in this dream diary follow a similar sort of theme where Crumb is humiliated or shamed in some way. Most dreams involving women with big bums or muscular legs. As you might've guessed by the title of this dream, he has more than one dream involving scatology. Funny guy.
UH OH STINKY!!!!
'Another Shit Dream'
"I had made a huge shit on the ground, not being able to find a toilet. Some people were hovering around in the background, exclaiming that it was gross, disgusting, that I better get rid of the shit. I picked it up with my bare hands. It was a huge pile of shit. It was brown and shiny and slippery. It fell apart in my hands. I put some of it in a shoebox. Someone pointed out that some of it was still on the ground, pieces that had dropped when it fell apart in my hands. I picked it up; a long, winding piece of turd like soft, wet clay, but greasy. People were saying, "Ew, gross!" and other such comments. I complained to them that there was no toilet around. Where could I find a toilet, I asked them. They were not at all helpful. Some were laughing at my embarassment. I had shit on my hands and then absentmindedly put my hand in my mouth and tasted the greasy wet shit and was grossed out and wondered at my absent-mindedness in putting my shit-covered fingers in my mouth.
I guess I woke up then."
Much of the dreams in this dream diary follow a similar sort of theme where Crumb is humiliated or shamed in some way. Most dreams involving women with big bums or muscular legs. As you might've guessed by the title of this dream, he has more than one dream involving scatology. Funny guy.
UH OH STINKY!!!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews