Disclosure: I have a poem in here and am pleased to be included. I won’t suggest where or if it belongs on any of these levels. Readers can judge for themselves. I link to it at the bottom. It’s part of a whole suite of moon poems that accrue meaning. For interested parties, I’ll include other poems of that series that I can find online, so they can get a feel for how they fit together.
Observations on the top 20:
I organized the poems into groups although I could see them sliding up or down according to one’s taste. I was definitely surprised to find three of my top four to be haiku. I love haiku, but they’re rarely done well. These are not only emotionally potent but carry double duty.
Forms that slip from prose poem to haiku, so far, seem
better without the haiku.
The list in the admirable middle group could be argued
to be higher. They generally capture something of a feeling or thought that
resonated with me. John C. Mannone’s is clever, but I feel it operates at a higher
level, especially as it takes one voice and transforms it into another.
Once again Star*Line has the most representatives here with five (a quarter of the representatives!). Scifaikuest
has three, and Troutswirl has two, both in the top group. Again, I don’t
try to balance gender, but it is awfully close. Bruce Boston and F. J.
Bergmann are the only poets to appear
in the top Rhysling and Dwarf Stars while Christina Sng is the only poet to
have two good ones in one.
It will be interesting to see how others vote on these poems.
Note 1: Within each group, poems are organized
alphabetically by title.
Note 2: If I can find the poem online, a link will be
provided. I had a hard time locating most.
The Mid 8
- “all my
nightmares,” Christina Sng, Scifaikuest (online), November 2018.
- “emerging,”
Christina Sng, Colorado Boulevard, August 2018.
- “empty house,”
Maryalicia Post, Ribbons 14:3.
- Failing
Masterpiece, Bruce Boston, Star*Line 41.1.
- “the little girl
stopped,” Jennifer Hambrick, Atlas Poetica: 25 Science Fiction Tanka
and Kyoka, eds. Julie Bloss Kelsey & Susan Burch.
- Men on Mars and Witches from Venus, John C. Mannone, Tales from the Moonlit Path, November 2018.
- News Update,
Herb Kauderer, Star*Line 41.3.
- Rapunzel, F. J. Bergmann, Abyss & Apex, January 1, 2018.
The Top 4:
- “crash of waves,” Paul Geiger, Troutswirl, July 18, 2018.
- The Everlasting
Self, Tracy K. Smith, Wade in the Water (Graywolf Press, 2018).
- “ocean swim,” Peter Jastermsky, Troutswirl, August 1, 2018
- “return trip,”
Julie Bloss Kelsey, Scifaikuest (print), May 2018.
The Clever 8:
- cannibalizing
parts, Lauren McBride, Scifaikuest (print), November 2018.
- Ghazal, Joshua
Gage, Star*Line 41.2.
- Everything
started with the Big Bang, they say, Juanjo Bazán, Star*Line 41.2.
- The Evolutionary
Race, Peter Payack, Asimov’s SF, March/April 2018.
- “moebius strip,” Lucy Whitehead, Otata 33.
- The Pillars of Creation, Jason Gray, Literary Matters 11.1.
- “There was an
A.I.…,” Robert Dawson, Star*Line 41.4.
- where to hide an
alien in plain sight, LeRoy Gorman, Scryptic 2:4.
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Life on the Moon v.2.0 Right Hand Pointing (about half way down, formatting off--for formatting, see first poem)
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