Speculative poetry
Also variously called science fiction poetry or SF poetry or fantastic poetry, speculative poetry is to poetry roughly what speculative fiction is to fiction. Speculative poetry is often published by the same markets that publish science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Speculative poetry is not defined by form, unlike most sub-categories of poetry. Speculative poets work in the full variety of forms available to all poets; what makes speculative poetry speculative is generally the subject matter, though some poets have approached their speculation on a language level, experimenting with possible future or alien dialects and the like. Suzette Haden Elgin, founder of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, defines speculative poetry as being "about a reality that is in some way different from the existing reality."
Weird poetry is a subset of speculative fiction which concentrates (in the same way as horror fiction) on ghostly, macabre, spectral, supernatural and cosmic themes.
Writers of speculative and weird poetry include Duane Ackerson, Brian Aldiss, Mike Allen, Robert H. Barlow, Ambrose Bierce, Michael Bishop, Leigh Blackmore, Bruce Boston, Ray Bradbury, Joseph Payne Brennan, G. Sutton Brieding, Lin Carter, Adam Cornford, Mary Elizabeth Counselman, Keith Allen Daniels, L. Sprague de Camp, Thomas M. Disch, Leah Bodine Drake, Phillip A. Ellis, Steve Eng, Michael Fantina, Robert Frazier, Nora May French, W. Paul Ganley, Daphne Gottlieb, Neile Graham, Scott E. Green, Joe Haldeman, Liz Henry, William Scott Home, Robert E. Howard, Ursula K. Le Guin, Frank Belknap Long, Lilith Lorraine, Samuel Loveman, Danny Charles Lovecraft, Brian Lumley, H.P. Lovecraft, Andrew Joron, Arthur Machen, David C. Kopaska-Merkel, , H. Warner Munn, Fred Phillips, Tim Pratt, Christina Rossetti, Brett Rutherford, Ann K. Schwader, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Clark Ashton Smith, Marge Simon, Steve Sneyd, George Sterling, W. Gregory Stewart, Richard L. Tierney, Jeff VanderMeer, Karl Edward Wagner, Donald Wandrei, Kyla Ward, Joe West and Jane Yolen.
The major award for the field is the Rhysling Award.
[edit] See also
[edit] Resources
- Elgin, Suzette Haden, The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook, Suzette Haden Elgin, March 1, 2005, Sam's Dot Publishing ISBN 1-930847-81-5 [1]
- Scott E. Green. Contemporary Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Poetry: A Resource Guide and Biographical Directory (Greenwood Press, 1989) ISBN 0313263248 ISBN 9780313263248
- S.T. Joshi Emperors of Dreams: Some Notes on Weird Poetry. Prea' Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-9804625-3-1
[edit] External links
- About Science Fiction Poetry by Suzette Haden Elgin, founder of the Science Fiction Poetry Association
- Science Fiction Poetry Association
- Speculative Poetry: A Symposium, Part 1 of 2 (Strange Horizons)
- Speculative Poetry: A Symposium, Part 2 of 2 (Strange Horizons)
- The Failure of Genre Poetry by Bruce Boston at the Fortean Bureau
- Dialogues by Starlight: Three Approaches to Writing SF Poetry by Michael Collings
- Frazier, Robert (2005). "Alchemical Post-Its A Primer on Fantastic Poetry". Yesterday's Island. Archived from the original on 15 November 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061115031636/http://www.yesterdaysisland.com/05_articles/arts/postit.html. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
Some Online Venues for Speculative Poetry:
