Rocket Fuel

I've been updating my website (at dianeseverson.eu) and realized that I hadn't linked to my poem Rocket Fuel, which was published in Star*Line 40.3, but not available to read there. So, here it is. By the way, my parents never said the last line to me, but I know they worried.

Rocket Fuel

If music fueled the world

you could sing

in your car and drive

as long as you could.

Driving cross-country might prove

to be exhausting, but

you could ask hitchhikers

to play for their ride.

Starships could hire an orchestra

or a choir to play or sing

around the clock - what a gig

that would be, to see

new worlds and make music

all day. Musicians finally getting

their due and no father

or mother would ever say,

“Get a real job!”

It's been a while

Hoo whee. I just noticed that it has been over a year since I last posted to this blog. It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about, quite the contrary. Just too busy and distracted to actually sit down and do it.

So, since last January, some stuff has been going on. First, we moved. To the UK. Again. Magnus was headhunted for a job with Urenco, a company that enriches and sells uranium. This time we are outside, but fairly close to London, in Buckinghamshire. We've been here for about 6 months now (since early August) and things are settling in. It's a beautiful area, quiet with lots of nature around. We have an orchard in our back yard: 5 apple trees, 1 each of plum, pear and cherry trees and blackberries too. We are close enough to London to take day trips, but we haven't done many. Weekends have been spent settling into the house.

The Boy is enjoying school, especially since he got a place at the local school, St Paul's Church of England Combined School in Wooburn Green. He went to a school in High Wycombe (Beechview), which is a 15 minute drive from home, because there were no spots available at closer schools. Long story. He is participating in a lot of activities: Fencing, Tech Club, Cub Scouts, Film Club, and Karate. He has made several friends and is doing well academically.

On the poetry scene - I had 3 reviews of collections in issue no. 40.2 of Star*Line: Jackalope Girl Learns to Speak, Field Guide to the End of the World, and An Assortment of Sky Things. They are in Alphabetical order on the linked page.
I also had another poem published in Star*Line 40.3 "Rocket Fuel".
And The Boy had a poem published in Star*Line 40.4 as well:

The Big Bang
where our imaginations began
and the fluid of time
flows.

Brilliant, isn't it?

I have a concert coming up in Germany: The 20th anniversary concert of the Women's Schola Choir Hildegardensis of Dillenburg. I've been singing as their soloist, primarily on the program of music by Hildegard von Bingen since their inception. We'll be singing some Hildegard, plus Cesar Franck, Frank Martin, Heinrich Schütz, P.F. Böddecker and others. It will be so lovely to sing with the group, Joachim Dreher (the church musician there) and in Dillenburg. Who knows when I'll ever do it again!

I've hooked up with the local church and there are some gems of musicians hidden away there. A retired professional accompanist has been helping me prepare for the concert in Dillenburg and we are having fun just singing all sorts of things and thinking about what we could perform in a recital. We might do a joint recital with a wonderful baritone, Craig Turpie, who is also a member of the church.

I have a few singing pupils already, just by word of mouth, but hopefully I'll be able to get a few more in the coming months.

Poetry Planet No. 16 Animals & Creatures - Show Notes

Dear Listeners, dear Readers!

It's been a long time since I produced a new Poetry Planet - about a year! And 3 years since I produced a themed edition, as opposed to a Science Fiction Poetry Association Award/Contest Showcase. But here we are and Poetry Planet No. 16 has hit the airwaves! You can listen to it as part of StarShipSofa No. 

This edition features the fauna of Poetry Planet - its Animals and Creatures. And while we don't catch a glimpse of them all, we do hear from Ants, Earthworms, Rabbits, Cats (many cats!), Chimpanzees, Dragons, and Dinosaurs. I hope you enjoy(ed) it!

Since I included 12 poems including 2 rather long ones, I decided NOT to include the bios and publication credits within the show. As it is, it's 25 minutes long! So here is the missing information on the poets and their poems:

Russell Jones - "The Ant Swap" first appeared in Spaces of Their Own.

Russell Jones is an Edinburgh-based writer and editor. He is the author of four published collections of poetry: The Green Dress Whose Girl is Sleeping (Freight Books, 2015), “Our Terraced Hum” (in Caboodle, Prole Books, 2015), "Spaces of Their Own" (Stewed Rhubarb Press, 2013)  and "The Last Refuge" (Forest Publications, 2009). He is the poetry editor and assistant editor at Shoreline of Infinity, a Scottish science fiction magazine, is the editor of "Where Rockets Burn Through: Contemporary Science Fiction Poems from the UK" (Penned in the Margins, 2012) and was a guest editor for The Interdisciplinary Science Reviews. Russell's poems have been widely published internationally, winning recognition in awards and competitions including The Best Scottish Poems 2013, The Eric Gregory Award, The Venture Award for Poetry and the Bridport Prize. He has a PhD in Creative Writing from Edinburgh University and has published on the poetry of Edwin Morgan. Russell’s has also published travel writing and is currently working on writing novels for young adults. Russell has taught Scottish Literature and Creative Writing at The University of Edinburgh, The City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Universities’ International Summer School (2009 to present).

Delbert R. Gardner - "The Meek Shall Inherit ... (the Earthworm Speaks)" was first published in Goblin Fruit, Summer 2009. Reprinted in The 2010 Rhysling Anthology: The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Poetry of 2009, selected by the Science Fiction Poetry Association, edited by Jaime Lee Moyer, Science Fiction Poetry Association, 2010.

A veteran of World War II, Dr. Delbert R. Gardner taught English literature and creative writing at Keuka College in upstate New York.  Recent SF/F publications include a story in Lamplight and poetry in Songs of Eretz Poetry E-Zine, Star*Line, Goblin Fruit, and the 2015, 2010, and 2009 Rhysling Award anthologies.  Fifty of Dr. Gardner’s poems and stories have appeared in publications such as The Literary Review, Poetry Digest, American Poetry Magazine, Provincetown Review, and Christian Science Monitor, among others.  A scholar of the Pre-Raphaelites, his nonfiction credits include the book An "Idle Singer" and His Audience: A Study of William Morris's Poetic Reputation in England, 1858-1900.  Learn more at www.gardnercastle.com.

Joanne Merriam - "Magic Rabbits" first appeared in Stride Magazine (27 April 2010).

Joanne Merriam is the owner and editor of Upper Rubber Boot Books, and former editor of Seven by Twenty.

She was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1973. A graduate in English and Mathematics from Dalhousie University, she has worked as an oil and gas lease and title administrator, courier dispatcher, telemarketer, charity fundraiser, sheet music librarian, Medicaid claim sorter, check composition specialist, disability and workers’ compensation administrator and web designer.

In 2001, she quit her job as the Executive Assistant of the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia to travel Canada by train, and then parts of the Northeastern and Southern United States. Her first book of poetry, The Glaze from Breaking (Stride, 2005; Upper Rubber Boot, 2011), was written, in part, about those travels.

In 2004, she immigrated to the USA. She has lived in Kentucky and New Hampshire, and now resides in Nashville, Tennessee.


Joanne Merriam’s poetry and fiction has appeared in dozens of magazines and journals, including The Antigonish Review, Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Fiddlehead, The Furnace Review, Grain, The Magazine of Speculative Poetry, The Mainichi Daily News, Per Contra, Riddle Fence, Room of One’s Own, Strange Horizons and Vallum Contemporary Poetry, as well as in the anthologies Ice: new writing on hockey, To Find Us: Words and Images of Halifax and The Allotment: New Lyric Poets.

Upper Rubber Boots published two anthologies both released in 2015, How to Live on Other Planets: A Handbook for Aspiring Aliens, and Choose Wisely: 35 Women Up To No Good, which she co-edited with H. L. Nelson.

Adele Gardner - "God's Cat" first appeared in Sybil's Garage No. 6, May 2009 (Senses Five Press, Ed. Matthew Kressel). Reprinted in The 2010 Rhysling Anthology: The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Poetry of 2009, selected by the Science Fiction Poetry Association, Ed. Jaime Lee Moyer, SFPA, 2010 (Short Poem category).

A Clarion West graduate and an active member of SFWA, Adele Gardner serves as literary executor for her father and mentor, Delbert R. Gardner.  Adele's first poetry collection, Dreaming of Days in Astophel, appeared in 2011. With two poems winning third place in the Rhysling Awards, she’s had stories and poems in venues like Daily Science Fiction, Legends of the Pendragon, The Doom of Camelot, Strange Horizons, James Gunn’s Ad Astra, Mythic Delirium, NewMyths, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, and more.  Two stories and a poem earned honorable mention in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror.  Previously published as C. A. Gardner and Lyn C. A. Gardner, Adele lives under her middle name to honor her father and namesake, Del.  Learn more at www.gardnercastle.com.

Greer Woodward - Far From Home originally appeared in the January 2008 issue of BEYOND CENTAURI.


Greer Woodward is a graduate of Clarion West, one of the founders of the New York City writing group Altered Fluid, and a member  of the Writers Support Group at Tutu's House on Hawaii's Big Island. Her poetry has appeared in Star*Line, Illumen, Silver Blade, and Beyond Centauri. Her poem "Closure" was among the winners of the Science Fiction Poetry Association's 2012 Dwarf Stars Award, placing second.  Her poem "Crater Conundrum Pizza" placed 3rd in the 2015 SFPA Poetry Contest. Pertinent to Animals and Creatures, her monologues and lyrics about a talkative budgerigar and his writer companion were featured in the Off-Broadway musical revue Pets!.  

Geoffrey A. Landis - "Tree" appeared in Iron Angels, 2009.

Geoffrey A. Landis is a scientist (with the N.A.S.A. John Glenn Research Center) and a science-fiction writer.

As a writer, he is the author of eighty published short stories and novelettes, and circa fifty poems. His novel Mars Crossing appeared from Tor Books, and a short story collection Impact Parameter (and other quantum realities) from Golden Gryphon.


In 1990 his story "Ripples in the Dirac Sea" won the Nebula award for best short story; in 1992 his short story "A Walk in the Sun" won the Hugo award. (Now available on audiotape), and in 2003 his short story "Falling Onto Mars" won the Hugo. His novel Mars Crossing won the Locus Award for best first novel of 2000. In 2014, he won the Robert A. Heinlein award "for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings to inspire the human exploration of space." In poetry his poem "Search" (which appears in his collection Iron Angels), won the 2009 Rhysling Award for best long poem. His poem "Fireflies" won the SFPA's 2009 "Dwarf Stars" award for best short short poem.

David C. Kopaska-Merkel - "Orpheus in Ulthar, in Nehwon" was first published in his blog "Dreams and Nightmares".

David Kopaska-Merkel raises giraffopards for the Venusian Defense
Force, and publishes Dreams and Nightmares magazine, now in its 29th
year. He has served as president for the Science Fiction Poetry Association. He won the Rhysling award for best long poem (2006) for a
collaboration with Kendall Evans. Their latest collaboration, The Tin Men, was published by Sam's Dot in 2011.

Mary Turzillo - "Invisible Cat" appeared in The Ubercat and Dragon Owner's Manual, Sam's Dot, 2012.  


After a career as a professor of English at Kent State University, Dr. Mary A. Turzillo is now a full-time writer. In 2000, her story "Mars Is No Place for Children" won SFWA's Nebula award for best novelette. Her novel An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl was serialized in Analog in July-Nov 2004. These two works have been selected as recreational reading on the International Space Station.

Mary's Pushcart-nominated collection of poetry, Your Cat and Other Space Aliens, appeared from VanZeno Press in 2007. Her collaborative book of poetry/art, Dragon Soup, written with Marge Simon, appears from VanZeno in 2008. 

Mary's collection Lovers and Killers, in addition to winning the  in Elgin Award 2013 for best full-length collection, was also on the Stoker ballot and contains "The Hidden," second place winner in the Dwarf Stars award for 2012, plus two Rhysling nominees "Tohuko Tsunami," "Galatea." Her collection Sweet Poison, co-written with Marge Simon won the 2015 Elgin Award.

Michael Bishop - "To a Chimp Held Captive for Purposes of Research" first appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Jan 1985. I said in the podcast that it had won the Rhysling Award for best poem, but that was incorrect. Bishop is indeed a Rhysling Award winning poet, but for another poem, "For the Lady of a Physicist" in 1979.

Michael Bishop was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Leotis ("Lee") Bishop (born 1920 in Frys Mill, Poinsett County, Arkansas) and Maxine ("Mac") Elaine Matison (born 1920 in Ashland, Nebraska). His parents met in the summer of 1942 when his father, a recent enlistee of the Air Force, was stationed in Lincoln. Bishop's childhood was the peripatetic life of a military brat. He went to kindergarten in Tokyo, Japan, and he spent his senior year of high school in Seville, Spain. His parents divorced in 1951, and Bishop spent summers wherever his father happened to be based.

Bishop entered the University of Georgia in 1963, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1967, before going on to complete a master's degree in English. In 1969, he married Jeri Ellis Whitaker of Columbus, Georgia. He taught English (including a course in science fiction) at the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School in Colorado Springs from 1968 to 1972. After his service career, he taught composition and English literature at the University of Georgia in Athens. A son, Jamie, was born in 1971, and a daughter, Stephanie was born in 1973. Bishop left teaching in 1974 to become a full-time writer. In those early years of freelance writing, he would occasionally work as a substitute teacher in the public schools and as a stringer for the Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus.


He and Jeri, former counselor at Rosemont Elementary School, have two grandchildren, Annabel and Joel, by their daughter Stephanie. On April 16, 2007, their son Jamie, a Lecturer in German and I.T. Studies, was one of the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. His novelette, "Vinegar Peace; or, The Wrong-Way, Used-Adult Orphanage" was written in reaction to that event and first appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. I narrated it for StarShipSofa.com No. 82. 

He has written and co-written numerous novels and is the recipient of many awards including the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and the Shirley Jackson Award. His first solo novel in 20 years is coming out in June 2016 by Fairwood Press under the Kudzu Planet Productions imprint. Joel-Brock the Brave and the Valorous Smalls, "A Novel for Young People, Whatever Their Age," will feature illustrations by Orion Zangara.

Scott Virtes - "Tasting the Pier" 


Scott Virtes has had over 500 stories and poems published since 1986.  His works have appeared in Nature, Analog, Space and Time, Star*Line, Dreams and Nightmares, and many more.  He has five poetry chapbooks available including "Afterlife 9" and "Improbable Jane".  You can watch him die in "Master and Commander", but he's okay now.

Rachel Swirsky - "Terrible Lizards" appeared in an online issue of Diet Soap (podcast) - now defunct. 

Rachel Swirsky holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers Workshop, and she graduated from Clarion West in 2005. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Hugo, Locus, World Fantasy and Sturgeon Awards. She’s twice won the Nebula Award: for her 2010 novella, “The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen’s Window” and her 2014 short story, “If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love.” Her poetry has appeared in Sybil's Garage, Mothering Magazine, and Ideomancer, among other places. Her first collection, THROUGH THE DROWSY DARK, a slim volume of poetry and fiction, is out from Aqueduct Press.

Find her on Twitter as rachelswirsky and support her on Patreon.

Bruce Boston - "Dragon People" first appeared in Raven Elektrick, 2006 and was subsequently collected with other "People" poems in Anthropomorphisms, Elektrik Milk Bath Press.

Bruce Boston (born 1943)is a speculative fiction writer and poet who was born in Chicago and grew up in Southern California. He received a B.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, 1965, and an M.A., 1967. He lived in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1961 to 2001, where he worked in a variety of occupations, including computer programmer, college professor (literature and creative writing, John F. Kennedy University, Orinda, California, 1978–82), technical writer, book designer, gardener, movie projectionist, retail clerk, and furniture mover. He lives in Ocala, Florida, with his wife, writer-artist Marge Simon, whom he married in 2001.


Boston has won the Rhysling Award for speculative poetry a record seven times, and the Asimov's Readers' Award for poetry a record seven times. He has also received a Pushcart Prize for fiction, 1976, a record four Bram Stoker Awards in poetry for his collections, and the first Grandmaster Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, 1999. His collaborative poem with Robert Frazier, "Return to the Mutant Rain Forest," received first place in the 2006 Locus Online Poetry Poll for Best All-Time Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror Poem. He was named the Science Fiction Poetry Association's first Grand Master of Poetry in 1999. His collection Dark Roads was among the winners of the 2014 and 2015 Elgin Award, placing 3rd and 2nd respectively. His collection Notes from the Shadow City placed 2nd in the 2013 Elgin Award.

Boston's most recent poetry collection is Resonance Dark and Light from Eldritch Press, 2015.

Liminality and Undoing Winter

Last week was a weird week. I decided a couple of weeks ago that I had enough material and reviews/articles half written that I could post on Amazing Stories every week for a little while. I was all set to finish up my review of Liminality: A Magazine of Speculative Poetry on Tuesday but not without a computer! A sequence of problems locked me out of my computer and I couldn't access my article text or the poetry recordings, so Steve Davidson (the editor of Amazing) graciously said I could submit it when it was finished and he'd put it up whenever. Whenever came on Friday. Unfortunately, I was at a wedding in Germany (where I don't have a data plan and didn't have wifi) Friday afternoon when the article was published. I didn't get home until Saturday evening. At which point I thought I'd just combine that review with the next one.

Here's a snippet from my review of Liminality:

I’ve reviewed a single issue of a magazine (and thus, by default the magazine itself – Mythic Delirium). This time I’m reviewing an entire issue of a brand new online magazine. Liminality – A Magazine of Speculative Poetry, edited by Rhysling-winning poet Shira Lipkin and Dwarf Stars Award-winning poet Mat Joiner, just published it’s inaugural issue in September. It is, as advertised, a magazine, which focuses on Speculative Poetry. Each quarter poems “that touch the heart as much as the head; poems of the liminal, the fluid, and the fantastic.” (From the About Us page of the site) By “liminal” they mean poetry that isn’t easily categorized, that “shifts shape”, changes or is transformative, and which embraces diversity. They want to hear from new writers, but publish established poets as well. I welcome another magazine on genre poetry. We find ourselves in an era where poetry can blossom from every crevice and be showcased quite successfully.

I take a look at the lovely cover art. And I've recorded 4 poems for your listening pleasure!

This week, I've reviewed a little chapbook, Undoing Winter, Shannon Connor Winward. There are only 11 poems in this little book, but they are so worth it. Go read the review, please. There are also 3 complete poems in audio. Here's a snippet:

This chapbook is probably the least speculative of all so far (although you might remember that John W. Sexton’s The Offspring of the Moon and Sandra Kasturi’s Come Late to the Love of Birds aren’t really genre). I believe it is worth including here simply because it is of such high quality and Shannon’s body of work tends toward the Speculative. Several of the poems of a more speculative nature have been previously published in the magazine Pedestal Magazine, Ideomancer and The Magazine of Speculative Poetry, so who am I to deny it a space here?

Enjoy!

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Narrations and Interviews

It's an eventful day, y'all!

I just found out that my second professional narration is up on Audible! For those who don't know, Audible.com is the major provider of audio books.

Size Matters is an Erotic Fantasy set in Chris Lester's Urban Fantasy world Metamor City written by Nobilis Reed. I've listened to a lot of the Metamor City podcast and it's a fascinating listen. I've done several narrations for Nobilis Reed. He's a good and patient employer. So it was a yes-yes opportunity. Nobilis didn't tell me until after he'd finished production on it that he was submitting it to Audible. I couldn't be more thrilled. This means that I have a bit of an in as I set myself up as an Audiobook Exchange Narrator. The audiobook costs $6.95 or £4.99 (on Audible.co.uk). 

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The next big thing for today is that my most recent article on Amazing Stories has come out. I interviewed Elizabeth Barrette and it will appear in 2 parts. Today in Part 1 you'll hear 2 full poems plus Elizabeth and I talk about her myriad writing activities, her inspiration and process as a poet. She has some advice for new poets on attitude, publishing and submitting as well. Enjoy! 

Interview - Elizabeth Barrette, Poet and Wordsmith

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Amazing Stories - Poetry Review - Wolf Skin by Mary McMyne

I have a new review up on Amazing Stories - a wonderful chapbook by Mary McMyne: Wolf Skin. I really enjoyed this little volume, I hope it comes through in the review (which comes complete with 3 poems read, in their entirety by moi). Here's a snippet:

I don’t know how long it’s been going on, but a lot of Alternate Fairy Tales come into my To-Read-and-Review Inbox. (I know I said that about Horror Poetry too, but it’s true, these are the two main sub-genres I receive, and sadly, little actual Science Fiction Poetry.) Like most people, I’m familiar with most Fairy Tales in a basic way, but unlike many people in the writing biz I didn’t grow up with an intimate love of them borne of the possession of some beloved volume. Additionally, I believe I basically grew up knowing merely the Disney Versions! Oh, the horror! The poor deprived soul! (I can just hear you now!) I know. But as an adult I have indeed remedied that by reading much of the Brothers’ Grimm (in German) as well as others, albeit less systematically, and have perhaps delighted more in the alternate versions by modern writers as a result. Would I like these twisted fairy tales at all if I had a beloved “original” version that I’d known from childhood? And no, Disney doesn’t count, because while I love those movies, it is not at all a stretch for me to realize that they are almost unrecognizable when compared to the originals. I’m much less forgiving when it comes to adaptations of books and stories.

My re-education, as it were, stems mostly from poetry not novels, although I’ve read a few novel-length retellings – most notably Beauty, by Sherri Tepper and Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen. But I love the succinctness, the brevity of what it takes to subvert a well-known fairy tale in a poem. I love what a capable poet can do to give a character added depth, more back-story, which totally changes your emotional attachment or simply to re-invent the tale altogether, spinning it onward from the traditional ending or telling it from an alternate point of view, in such a narrow space. Mary McMyne is one of these capable poets.

Mary McMyne begins and ends Wolf Skin not with alternate fairy tales, but with poems about those ethereal winged creatures: Butterflies (and moths). They are not fairy tale creatures in the least, but I think she uses them in a way which mimics our feelings toward the characters found in fairy tales. Fluttery, flying creatures serve the same purpose, meaning that they’ve become Fairy Tale Creature allegories for some innate desire – mostly of Flying.

 Please head over to Amazing Stories to read the rest and to listen to the poetry! Enjoy!

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In other news, I'm slowly whittling away at all the narrating gigs I signed up for. Finally finished that paid gig and am told that it's being submitted to Audible! That would be quite awesome if I can claim to be an Audible narrator. I've been toying with the idea of signing up to be one of the narrators on Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) and now I think I must. But I really have to fix my set-up first! The room I record in is really too loud (traffic) and boomy for truly professional recordings.

I'm also making head-way on the next Poetry Planet (Animals 6 Creatures). I hope I'll be able to get it up before the end of the year - Ha! No really, the SFPA has just announced the winners of the Dwarf Stars Awards and the Elgin Awards, so I really should do a podcast on those. Or maybe I'll just write a post for Amazing Stories and record some poetry for it. Ah we'll see. So many plans, so little time!

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I have little excuse

Hello folks!

There's been a lot of activity here at Poetry Planet Headquarters (PPHQ), but I've had little time and and even littler head-space to process everything and report or announce. So, one thing at a time. In manageable doses. That's the ticket!

In a rush to read all the nominee books for this years Elgin Award, I was granted permission to post my article a day later than usual. So, that was last week Thursday. I wrote a short blurb about each of the books nominated, if I was able to read them. And yes, I read all but one, somewhat perfunctorily but I read enough to get a good impression and to give me something to write about. My goal was to give readers and idea of what each book was "about", if indeed there was a theme, and clue them in to what type of poetry they could find there. Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Humorous, formal, long and short, retrospective or narrative. It was all there. Go have a look - maybe there's a collection that intrigues you? You'll find links to all the books and where you can purchase them in the post.

Poetry - Elgin Award Nominee Showcase

Next: WorldCon / LonCon3 in London, England! My first convention ever...

Narration Fixation #2 - Poetry (+playlist)

I was recently interviewed on a video podcast dedicated to narration, specifically (in this episode, and because I was the guest) on pod-casting poetry. It was fun. I didn't hem and haw too much... I recite Ann K. Schwader's Rhysling Award winning poem "To Theia" about two-thirds of the way through.



Enjoy!

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Amazing Stories: Poetry Review - Transmissions to the Mystic Nebula

You can now read my latest speculative poetry review on Amazing Stories. It's a review of Christopher Vera's self-published collection "Transmissions to the Mystic Nebula". You may remember Chris was the mentor on my one and only poetic creation and it was published on his website Mystic Nebula. But this time it's about him and his wonderful, moving, intense collection of poetry. Here's a snippet:
 

Transmissions to the Mystic Nebula is a collection of intensely intimate poetry which map a life, somewhat (auto)biographical. Whether it’s the life of the poet himself or a fictional poet doesn’t makes no difference – you are pulled into an examination of events in a person’s life that are momentous and significant.

The collection is organized in a framework of communications with the “Mystic Nebula” by the/a (fictional) poet. This Science Fictional “story” is laid out at the beginning in a “Researchers Note” and the poems are punctuated by beautiful art depicting a Nebula and other space images with status reports regarding the “transmission”. The effect is...

Ah yes, well, you'll have to go to the post to read the rest! 

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Poetry: Scream Day, by William Markly O'Neal on Tales to Terrify

This weekend is big in all things Poetry with DivaDiane!

First, we have a poem I recited for the podcast Tales to Terrify. "Scream Day", by William Markly O’Neal, in which I scream and scream and scream and say some other words as well. It took me a long time to get this poem recorded well. My mic couldn't take the screaming and I'm not really a screamer, I'm a singer, after all. But I got a new mic - a Blue Snowball and it's great! I turned down the input volume and screamed away. I hope you enjoy it. You can go to the Tales to Terrify website and stream it there or download it or listen through iTunes.

Second, there's a new article of mine coming out tomorrow on Amazing Stories Magazine. Normally, it would've come out today, but we were having some issues with my access to the WordPress site and I wasn't able to upload everything myself, so it fell to publisher, Steve Davidson and he is a very busy guy. Anyway, keep an eye out for it then, the posts go up at about 11am or pop back over here tomorrow for the direct link and a little bit of exclusive info about it here!

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I'm a poet. I didn't know it....

...until today that is!

I'm am now an officially published poet! You can go read the lovely thing, titled "Orbit" here.

(Edit: Unfortunately, the website where this poem was published no longer exists. So I'll post it here.)

This is my (so far) one and only completed poem. Maybe I'll write more. Now that I've started - why not?

One of my acquaintances from the Science Fiction Poetry Association, Chris Vera, is someone whose sentiments closely match mine. We see each other's updates on FaceBook. Chris saw my post about my mother selling the house she's lived in for 40 years. The house that my brother and I grew up in. He said, "You should write a poem about that" (or some such). I said, "I don't write poetry". He said, "Try!". So I did. Chris has been very encouraging in the process and helpful in his guidance, but not intrusive. I asked a few other people to read it and give their critique, which was also a good thing.

I hope you like it.

Home is that place that has gravitational pull.
Small and running in circles
From Living Room through Dining Room
To Kitchen and on again the orbit began.
There are lumps to prove the bumpy initiation.
The house, my Home, was a constant -
The point from which my outward spiral originated.
With lift-off came revolutions
around town and then country
even traversing the water
could not sever or break
the tether proving robust.
The pull of Home omnipresent
And requiring the occasional return
Of the prodigal daughter.
Too many turns to call any other place Home.
With Mother letting go of the house.
Where will Home be now?
There is a heaviness of loss
Jumbled with a lightness
Of being cut loose -
Is this new trajectory a sudden straight line?
Where will it lead?
Will a new focal point come into view?
Will its gravity be strong enough?
I find an axis to revolve around and
As I spiral in again –
What am I orbiting?
I settle into its gravitational pull
And revolve around
Myself, my own Home.

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Amazing Stories: Lovers, Killers, Red Riding Hood and Cinderella

Hello everyone!

I've been very lax with keeping you up to date on my activities. It seems, when I get busy, that I get so busy I don't have time to write blog posts! And this is what the last few weeks have been like! I think I'll write separate posts over the next few days, just to keep you on your toes!

First, I'll inform those of you who don't follow my FaceBook or Twitter posts of a new blog article on Amazing Stories Magazine. I apologize for having simply forgotten to write here about it. It's much easier to write something brief for FaceBook or Twitter in a timely manner, but infinitely inferior for posterity's sake!

My most recent reviews for ASM went up on 12 April 2013:

"Lovers, Killers, Red Riding Hood and Cinderella"

Hello folks! And welcome to my little spot on the interwebs. Thanks for joining me! April is National Poetry Month (in the USA). I wish it weren’t always in April. This is a very busy time of year for me as a singer (I usually sing concerts before and/or after Easter) and for my family. We travel at Easter, usually to another country (this time Italy) and now that my son is in pre-school we also have the usual school activities associated with Easter/Spring. ANYhoo, I’m off on a tangent. I merely wanted to say that I don’t have the time I’d like to dedicate to even more poetry. But here we are. I wanted to give you reviews of 3 collections, but time and space have limited me to two. But oh, these are fit to blow your mind! Mary Turzillo’s Stoker Award nominated “Lovers and Killers” and F. J. Bergmann’s chapbook “Out of the Black Forest”. Here we have two collections, which include many poems that derive a basis in Greek mythology, modern sciences and fairy tales. I woud dare say that one collection leans toward the scientific and the other towards the fantastic.

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Mary Turzillo is a writer and poet whose work has repeatedly crossed my radar over the past year. Her poem “The Legend of the Emperor’s Space Suit (A Tale of Consensus Reality)” took third place in the long poem category of the 2012 Rhysling Awards. I podcasted it and the other 5 winning and placing poems. (You can listen to it here.) I’ve read much of her poetry that she’s had published this past year online and in print. She published a collection of reprints and original poetry in the volume Lovers and Killers. In addition to its being on the final ballot for the Bram Stoker Award for excellence in a poetry collection, one of the poems within (as well as two published “Galatea” – read here- and “Going Viral” – Star*Line) “Tohoku Tsunami” has been nominated for the 2013 Rhysling Award. Listen to Tohoku Tsunami below. Her novellet “Mars is No Place for Children” won a Nebula Award and it and her novel An Old-Fashioned Martian Girl are both recommended reading on the Internalional Space Station. As a side note: she is married to another of my favorite SF poets, Geoffrey A. Landis. The brilliance comes as a pair!

To read more (i.e. the actual reviews please head over to Amazing Stories Mag


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Amazing Stories Blog: Various and Sundry Science Fiction Poetry

Hello everybody,

With this post I'm just going to point you toward my most recent article which went up on Amazing Stories on Friday. Yes, I'm very bad at this. I'm 3 days late posting here. But perhaps (hopefully?) you already knew about it?  I will have a new article go up at Amazing Stories every two weeks, so in case I forget, you can check it out every other Friday.

Here's a bit of a teaser:

Welcome back! I have a bit of a hodge-podge for you today. The interview with Bruce Boston has been postponed for two weeks – life got in the way for both me and Bruce. But I promise you won’t be disappointed. Bruce Boston is a thoughtful... Read More »

Remember, you can always comment on the article here, but if you want to say something about it there, you must register. There's nothing to it, but it is a requirement.

Enjoy! And I'll be back soon with some news that ISN'T about Amazing Stories. I promise.

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Poetry Review: On the Brink of Never

On the Brink of Never, compiled by David C. Kopaska-Merkel, is a collection of apocalyptic poetry written by various authors: Kopaska-Merkel himself, Jennifer Schwabach, Jaime Lee Moyer, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Terrie Leigh Relf, Marsheila Rockwell and Samantha Henderson.

Do you have any idea how many ways the "world" can end or when? And what happens afterwards? These questions are explored in this slim volume and each poem brings a little surprise. This is the blurb:

The ancient Maya had a rich mythology. Their religious beliefs included the notion that the world would end on December 21, 2012. For reasons best known to themselves, hordes of modern folk have converted to this ancient religion. If belief sustains the existence of gods, as some have suggested, then perhaps it also sustains the validity of prophecy. I hope not. Because if belief alone can make prophecy real, millions and millions of lapsed Abrahamic religionists may have doomed the rest of us to extinction along with themselves. Nice going guys! In a spirit of hopelessness and despair, engendered by the realization that a boatload of gullible fools are taking us with them into oblivion, we offer the following tribute. I don't know what day you bought this book, but just in case: read fast!
~ David C. Kopaska-Merkel, Terra, Year N-2

The authors form a group, encouraged by Mikal Trimm (strangely absent among those represented in the collection), called the Hitting the Muse group. As explained in the Foreword, they encourage one another to write and give critique to hone their craft. Most of the poems collected are a direct result of this fellowship.

Gathered within is an apocalyptic lullaby (the earth will moan / and scream, my loveling, / and heave, and crack / in fissures deep), a love testament (And we stand together / As we always have, / Watching while the sky falls.), the sun personified (My birth spawned yours; likewise, my death / Our love began with an explosion), the olympic gods (London, 2012 / Apollo's first arrow took out / The entire upper tier / Of Lord's Grand Stand), quite realistic blame laying (We’ve fouled our nest for centuries, / Done exactly as we please, / Our misdeeds now have come to bite us), zombies (and I exhaled with relief, / believing the zombie infestation / had devoured the entire chorus.), remembering what's important (Your daughter's last ballet recital, ... Your son's first real "grownup" party), extinction on another planet (Rescue is not / Coming, not now / Too far away / Supplies short), death by comet (It missed us by more than 200,000 miles. / Missed us, but hit the moon), post-apocalyptic life ("Reality bites," I think, but don't say / while a few folks share stale peanut butter)(They say, "remember," / and I try to see the world's / ending through the eyes of people / like my parents, who survived.) and many, many more.

Some favorites of mine include "Fate" by Jaime Lee Moyer, "The Sun God Bids
Farewell to His Lover" and "When the Comet Came" by Marsheila Rockwell, naturally "The Sign Read: Post-Apocalyptic Choir Seeking New Members" by Terrie Leigh Relf, "Spring" by Jennifer Schwabach, David C. Kopaska-Merkel's "Keepin' On" and "A Wink Of The
Further Eye", and Marcie Lynn Tentchoff's "Remembrance Day".

There are serious poems and touching poems, poems to ponder and poems to chuckle over (amazingly), so there is something for everyone, I dare say. I received a .pdf version of this for review, so I can say nothing about the physical volume.

You can purchase a hard copy of On the Brink of Never at Alban Lake and at Smashwords in ebook format.

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Poetry Review - A Woman of Mars, by Helen Patrice

I was encouraged yesterday (by Shira Lipkin - this year's Rhysling Award Winner in the Short Form) to review more about the poetry I read. I don't consider myself much of an expert on poetry or even particularly knowledgeable. That might change as I find myself spending more time with it and trying to learn.

I recently finished the collection of related poetry, "A Woman of Mars", by Helen Patrice and this one is easy to review, so here goes. Most of this I also posted on my GoodReads collection.

I won this slim volume in a little contest the author held on her Author Page at FaceBook - so I feel a certain duty to review it properly.

It's a gorgeous, slim hard cover. Brick red, fitting to the setting with wonderful artwork (pencil drawings) by Bob Eggleston. It's a limited, signed (by both author and artist) edition - mine is number 225/300, so there aren't many left!

It's highly readable. Non of the poems are epic in length and so it's possible to read them several times in one sitting, without getting overwhelmed. The poems tell a story and the over-arching narrative is quite compelling. In the space of just a few poems you come to care about this woman and really want to know what happens to her.  That said, despite the woman's love for Mars, there is an underlying sadness or melancholy, perhaps stemming from the hardship of leaving home and the hardship of being the first colonists on Mars, which permeates the volume. Not uplifting, but moving. 

You can find the collection at PSPublishing.

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Rhysling Award winners announced

The Rhysling Award winners and runners-up have been announced!
Here they are:

Short Poem

• 1. Shira Lipkin, “The Library, After” In Mythic Delerium, No. 24
• 2. Erik Amundsen, “The Lend” In Stone Telling No. 5
• 3. Lyn C. A. Gardner, “In Translation” In Tales of the Talisman 7, No. 1

Long Poem

• 1. Megan Arkenberg, “The Curator Speaks in the
  Department of Dead Languages“ In Strange Horizons
• 2. G. O. Clark and Kendall Evans, “The 25-Cent Rocket: One-Quarter of the Way to the Stars” In Dreams & Nightmares, No. 89
• 3. Mary Turzillo, “The Legend of the Emperor’s Space
  Suit (A Tale of Consensus Reality)” In New Myths

I’ve linked to the ones available online. I’m also going to do a Rhysling Award Showcase on Poetry Planet soon, soon, soon. Hope I get permission to do all of them. 4 down 2 to go!

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Announcing the 2012 SFPA poetry contest

The Science Fiction Poetry Association announces its 2012 speculative poetry contest. Speculative poetry encompasses science fiction, fantasy, and horror poetry. Deadline September 15, 2012.

There is no entry fee, and the contest is open to non-members, with $50 prizes and publication to the winners in 3 length divisions, and an additional $50 prize to the best poem by a non-member. Winners also receive a year's membership in SFPA and member publications.

The complete guidelines for the 2012 SFPA contest are posted on the SFPA website here.

Oh! And if you think you might have the odd genre poet who frequents your blog or website, the SFPA would be much obliged if you'd copy and paste the above and post it somewhere prominent! Thank you!

Poetry Planet No. 5b - Time Travel part 2

Time Travel Part 2 on Poetry Planet is available for download! Please head over to StarShipSofa to download it or download it from iTunes!

The poems you'll hear and links to the poets' websites and other publications:

• Time Flood, by Mike Allen and Ian Watson - Mythic Delirium
• Revenants of the Time Machine, by Ann K. Schwader - Twisted in Dream (weird poetry)
• A Month of Sundays, by Geoffrey A. Landis - Mars Crossing (novel)
• Grandfather, by Dennis M. Lane - 8 Million Stories (poetry collection)
• an untitled poem by Terrie Leigh Relf - The Waters of Nyr (novel)
• Learn to Play Drums with Thomas Hardy, by Paul Badger 

Please show your support for the poets and visit their sites!

Also, if you are so inclined, help me make Poetry Planet better (or otherwise give a sign of life) and fill out the survey!

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Poetry Planet No. 3 "Rhysling Award Showcase"

I've done it. I've finally managed to finish another Poetry Planet! I pre-empted the planned theme for this edition because I lost the complete recording and didn't want too much time to pass before I podcast the Rhysling Award winning (and placing) poems.

Poetry you'll hear:

CSE Cooney, Dogstar Men (3rd place, short form)
Robert Frazier, Wreck-diving the Starship (3rd place, long form)

Karen A. Romanko, Binary Creation Myth (2nd place, short form)
Bruce Boston, Dark Rains Here and There (2nd place, long form)

Amal El-Mohtar, Peach-Creamed Honey (winner, short form)
CSE Cooney, The Sea King's Second Bride (winner, long form)

They are all wonderful poems - wonderous, whimsical, erotic, funny, wry, sentimental. Those are some of the words I'd use to describe these poems. Go listen to them. You can find them at StarShipSofa Show No. 202.

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Poem In Your Pocket Day - April 14, 2011

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Today is Poem In Your Pocket Day!!

Or rather was. For me anyway, it's over. But if you are reading this on 14 April 2011, it may not be too late for you to participate! Go and find a poem you like and print it out. Carry it around with you and read it to anyone you think might even vaguely appreciate it. Go to Poets.org if you are at a loss!

Do you already have a poem in your pocket? What is it? I'd like to read it!

I carried "Singing" by Robert Louis Stevenson from A Child's Garden of Verses and on the other side of the page "Leise Lieder sing ich dir bei Nacht" by Christian Morgenstern, for my German friends. I read them both to my German playgroup mothers. They loved it. They also thought it was wonderful that America celebrates such things. The cynic in me said, "Yes, well America celebrates everything!" And while that may be true that there is a Day For Everything, I don't think it is a bad thing per se. And I quite liked the idea of Poem in Your Pocket Day.

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