Best known for her clever cartoons, which have been enhancing the pages of The New Yorker since 1978, Roz Chast, 68, can make any subject more fun. In her latest book, I Must Be Dreaming (Bloomsbury), Chast plumbs the depths of her subconscious and explores the broader philosophies surrounding how and why we dream in a way perfectly suited to her medium. If humankind can imagine it, she can draw it, and she does so in ways that are as enlightening as they are entertaining. “I’ve been interested in dreams and dreaming since I was a kid,” says Chast. “The dream state is such a deep mystery! Also, as I get older and closer to the Big Drop-Off, I’ve often thought about what Heraclitus [Greek philosopher from about 500 B.C.E.] believed. He said dreaming is proof that life and death are not opposites—they’re merely points along a continuum. If anything, I’ve only gotten more interested in dreams over time.”
–Emily Rems
