Papaya Press

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Tell Me About the Dream

Tell Me About the Dream: Poetry Inspired by the Work of Richard Siken was designed, printed, and bound by Sandro J. Ortega-Riek at Papaya Press in the summer of 2025 and published on October 20. The anthology, edited by Amanda Larson and Sandro J. Ortega-Riek, collects the work of twenty-eight poets and one visual artist whose creative lives have been shaped by their relationship with Siken's writing.

The anthology was issued in a limited edition of 190 handmade copies (145 of which are offered for sale) and in a digital format. Copies can be ordered on the Papaya Press BigCartel page here.

The anthology is bound in purple kyoseishi purchased at Hiromi Paper in Los Angeles. Special thanks to Adrian Masotta for his help selecting the paper. Thanks are also due to Max Mallon for assistance in the binding process, as well as creative, logistical, emotional, and tech support.

Each physical copy was issued with a print of “Adagio,” a photo portrait created by Allegra Cox specifically for the anthology. “Adagio” also appears as an illustration in the digital format.

The contributors and their pieces are as follows, in order of appearance:

Allegra Cox: Adagio (visual art)
Lynne Ellis: Lakeside
Ai Khanoum: International Aisle, the Day After New Years; Swap Meet; Meanwhile
Shira Haus: Breakfast
m.l. Bach: When I Dreamt of You
Mya Tozzi: Pink Thoughts
Yusuf Brebner: The Worse Half of a Better Story
Ivani Atre: Southbound
Christopher Elias Hammond: The Basin
Mina Beach: Alice
Ursula Beitz: landscape with highway noise barrier
Norman Tran: Invisible World
Adeline Gerrard: Frankenstein
Veronika Kelemen: Library of Alexandra I; Library of Alexandra II
Mel Gilcrest: Scheherazade Exits the Narrative
fio meng: wsjr
Menal Siddiqui: lying at the doctor’s office
Liam Strong: yes, ifs ands or buts; aphorism
Angel Murdock: Two Chairs, Facing Away
Sandro J. Ortega-Riek: The Doubling of the Self
Rayna Salam: Litany in Which Certain Things Bubble Up
JH Grimes: I Remember Telling the Dream but Not Having It
Micah Scheff: Hypostasis
Monique Lanier: Apostate Abstract
Dana Henry Martin: Litany in Which I Talk About My Horse
Miranda Reinberg: Still Life with Skull
Amanda Larson: Year of the Rat
Leigh Sugar: [After I take steroids before]
Trice Brown: Breaking the Wheel
Peter Scalpello: Conditions