R. Crumb's Dream Diary

Book excerpt: 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.