The Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, of which I am a member, has just announced the winners of the 42nd annual Rhysling Awards for best speculative poems of the year.
The winners were selected in two categories, Long Form and Short
Form Poems, which were nominated by the members of the organization. From 67 publications. 77 poems in the Short Form category and 49 poems in the Long Form category were reviewed for almost 16 weeks by the membership, which includes award-winning educators, scholars, and poets from a diverse range of literary traditions and specializations. This year, the membership selected the following winners (links to the poems included where possible):
SHORT
First Place
“Taking, Keeping” • Jessica J. Horowitz • Apparition Lit 5
Second Place
“when my father reprograms my mother {” • Caroline Mao • Strange Horizons, Fund Drive
Third Place (tie)
“Creation: Dark Matter Dating App” • , Sandra J. Lindow • Asimov’s SF, July/August, and
“The Day the Animals Turned to Sand” • Tyler Hagemann • Amazing Stories, Spring 2019
LONG
First Place
“Heliobacterium daphnephilum” • Rebecca Buchanan • Star*Line 42.3
Second Place
“The Cinder Girl Burns Brightly” • Theodora Goss • Uncanny 28
Third Place
“Ode to the Artistic Temperament” • Michael H. Payne • Silver Blade 42
and
“The Macabre Modern” • Kyla Lee Ward • The Macabre Modern and Other Morbidities (P’rea Press)
My poem “The Tahamaling” has just been published in Mirror Dance, edited by Megan Arkenberg.
Check it out here.
Best lines so far, from “My God, It’s Full of Stars”:
We saw to the edge of all there is—
So brutal and alive it seemed to comprehend us back.
Congratulations to the 2018 Rhysling Award winners!
These are the best speculative poems of 2017, as voted on by members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association (I am a voting member). This was my first time voting for the awards (and my first time being nominated, for the long poem “Instructions for Astronauts.” I enjoyed all these winning poems, and think it’s great that Mary Soon Lee won in both categories, including for a poem published in the same new journal I was published in, Mithila Review.but I still think Brandon O’Brien’s “Birth, Place” from Uncanny Magazine 18 deserves more recognition. You can read it here.
It is especially poignant that the Sara Cleto’s poem was published in the long-time fan favorite journal Mythic Delirium which, after twenty years, closed up shop with its April 2018 issue. The win is a testament to Mike Allen’s vision and talent and hard work.
Out of 83 short poems, and 63 long poems, only three won in each category. Click on the titles for links to the poems to read them. Enjoy!
First Place
“Advice to a Six-Year-Old”
Mary Soon Lee • Star*Line 40.2
Second Place
“How to Grieve: A Primer for Witches”
Sara Cleto • Mythic Delirium, May
Third Place
“Gramarye”
F. J. Bergmann • Polu Texni 12/26/17
First Place
“The Mushroom Hunters”
Neil Gaiman • Brainpickings 4/26/17
Second Place
“For Preserves”
Cassandra Rose Clarke • Star*Line 40.4
Third Place
“Alternate Genders”
Mary Soon Lee • Mithila Review 9
I had two poems published in 2017 that are eligible for the 2018 Rhysling Awards, which are awards for speculative poetry. These awards must be nominated by a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association (I’m a member, but people can’t nominated their own poems).
Eligible in long-poem category:
Eligible in short-poem category:
Thanks for checking them out!
Thank you goes out to all the readers out there who’ve read my stuff, and to the editors and publisher who put my poetry and fiction out there for the world to read. Continue reading
You can also read the poem at Mithila Review.
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