Speculative poetry is a genre of
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
that focusses on
fantastic
The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces.
Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, charac ...
,
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
al and
mythological themes. It is also known as science fiction poetry or fantastic poetry. It is distinguished from other poetic genres by being categorized by its subject matter, rather than by the poetry's form.
Suzette Haden Elgin defined the genre as "about a reality that is in some way different from the existing reality."
Due to the similarity of subject matter, it is often published by the same markets that publish
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
and
novellas of science fiction, fantasy and
horror, and many authors write both in
speculative fiction and speculative poetry. The field has one major award, the
Rhysling Award
__NOTOC__
The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. Unlike most literary awards, which are named for the creator of the award, the subject of the award, or a noted member of t ...
, given annually to a poem of more than fifty lines and to a sub-fifty lines poem by the US-based
Science Fiction Poetry Association
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) is a society based in the United States with the aim of fostering an international community of writers and readers interested in poetry pertaining to the genres of science fiction, fantasy, ...
.
History
Much of the Romantic poetry of the 19th century used techniques seen in modern fantasy literature: retellings of
classical mythology
Classical mythology, Greco-Roman mythology, or Greek and Roman mythology is both the body of and the study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans as they are used or transformed by cultural reception. Along with philosophy and poli ...
and
European folklore
European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world, especially when discussed comparatively.
The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many ...
, both to show alternative angles in the stories and to explore social issues. Many distinguished poets here were women, and many used folktales as an acceptable social camouflage with which to explore feminist concerns. One of the most celebrated of these poems,
Christina Rossetti
Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...
's 1862 "
Goblin Market
''Goblin Market'' (composed in April 1859 and published in 1862) is a narrative poem by Christina Rossetti. The poem tells the story of Laura and Lizzie who are tempted with fruit by goblin merchants. In a letter to her publisher, Rossetti claim ...
", remains a source of critical debate.
Andrew Joron wrote in 1981, that over the past decade in the United States "it was possible to create a tradition, that established and defined the genre" of science fiction poetry.
In common with the gradual recognition of science fiction and fantasy as distinct literary genres in the 1930s, science-fictional poetry began publication as a distinct genre in the
pulp magazines of the United States. Fantasy-specific ''
Weird Tales
''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, pri ...
'' (1923–1954) and its brief compatriot ''
Unknown
Unknown or The Unknown may refer to:
Film
* ''The Unknown'' (1915 comedy film), a silent boxing film
* ''The Unknown'' (1915 drama film)
* ''The Unknown'' (1927 film), a silent horror film starring Lon Chaney
* ''The Unknown'' (1936 film), a ...
'' (1939–43) were the only major publishers. They were succeeded by more serious venues including the US-based ''
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...
'' (''F&SF'') (1949–), the UK-based flagship of the
New Wave movement ''
New Worlds'' while it was under the editorship of
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worke ...
between 1964 and 1970, and the annual
reprint anthologies of ''F&SF'' and ''
The Year's Best Science Fiction
''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' was a series of science fiction anthology, anthologies edited by American Gardner Dozois until his death in 2018. The series, which is unrelated to the similarly titled and themed ''Year's Best SF'', was publish ...
'' edited by
Judith Merril
Judith Josephine Grossman (January 21, 1923 – September 12, 1997), who took the pen-name Judith Merril around 1945, was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist, and one of the first women to be wid ...
. These anthologies drew much of their content from mainstream or literary sources.
In the 1960s, anthologies of original speculative material began to be published. ''F&SF'' ceased accepting poetry in 1977, a gap in the market taken up by the newly established ''
Asimov's''. The
Science Fiction Poetry Association
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) is a society based in the United States with the aim of fostering an international community of writers and readers interested in poetry pertaining to the genres of science fiction, fantasy, ...
(SFPA) was founded by
Suzette Haden Elgin the following year.
In the 1970s, Elgin's colleague Frederick J. Mayer for some time awarded an annual
Clark Ashton Smith Award for best fantastic poetry.
By 1990, ''Asimov's'' remained the major news-stand market, but a diverse array of predominantly US-based
small press markets had developed, many lasting several decades, and many choosing purely electronic publication post-2000. This is in common with mainstream written poetry in the US over this time.
SFPA (now called the
Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association) awards the
Rhysling for short- and long-form SF and fantasy poetry awards annually; most winners have been either science fiction or science-themed rather than fantasy or horror. Most Rhysling nominees have been from the small-press poetry journals ''Dreams & Nightmares'', ''The Magazine of Speculative Poetry'', and the SFPA's own journal, ''Star*Line''.
Winners are reprinted in the
Nebula Awards anthology.
The
Horror Writers Association
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark fantasy writers.
Overview
HWA was formed in 1985 with t ...
has a separate recognition for single-author collections of horror poetry, the
Bram Stoker Award
The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing.
History
The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...
, though there is no facility in the Bram Stoker Award to honour anthologies of horror/weird poetry.
Subgenres and themes
Science fiction
Science fiction poetry's main sources are the sciences and the literary movement of science fiction prose.
Scientifically-informed verse, sometimes termed poetry of science, is a branch that has either scientists and their work or scientific phenomena as its primary focus; it may also use scientific jargon as metaphor.
Important collections in this area include the 1985 anthology of predominantly ''
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
''-published poems ''Songs from Distant Worlds''. This area often sees work by mainstream poets, and works on these themes dominated the early years of the
Rhysling award
__NOTOC__
The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. Unlike most literary awards, which are named for the creator of the award, the subject of the award, or a noted member of t ...
s.
Mythic
Mythic poetry deals with myth and folklore, with a particular focus on reinterpreting and retelling traditional stories.
Horror
Horror poetry is a subset which, in the same way as horror fiction, concentrates on ghostly, macabre, spectral, supernatural themes. Modern horror poetry may also introduce themes of sadism, violence, gore, and the like.
Weird
Weird poetry is a subset. It differs in several important ways from straightforward modern horror poetry. It arises from the early 20th century literary tradition of 'the weird' also known as
weird fiction
Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction originating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Weird fiction either eschews or radically reinterprets ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and other traditional antagonists of supernatural horr ...
, in which certain groups of authors collectively attempted to move beyond tired old stories of haunted castles, graveyard ghosts, and suave vampires. It tends to be concerned with the subtly uncanny, and is expressed in macabre and serious tones. The atmospheres of a certain place may be evoked, and the narrator may discover certain weird details of that place which arouse a sense of unexplainable dread. Some weird poetry will describe timeless geological forces or the night sky, trying to harness the feeling of dread to a wider and sublime 'cosmic awe' about mankind's insignificance in the universe. Yet the narrators of such poetry tend to be unreliable, and may perhaps be on the edge of madness. They may describe or hint at unreal nature-defying events which occur in otherwise normal places - although without the overt technical explanation found in science fiction, and without the violence and sadism common to modern post-1970 horror.
S. T. Joshi's short book of essays ''Emperors of Dreams: Some Notes on Weird Poetry'' (2008) examines a number of key weird poets. While weird poetry has appeared in a vast array of anthologies and journals (both professional and small-press), perhaps the first journal devoted exclusively to this form is ''Spectral Realms'', founded in 2013 by editor S.T. Joshi and published by Hippocampus Press.
Noted poets
See also
*
New Weird
*
Scifaiku
*
Slipstream (genre)
*
Speculative art
References
;Notes
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
*
*
Further reading
* ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'', edited by
Harry Harrison and
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for o ...
, a nine volume anthology series which included a poetry section in every volume.
*
August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and th ...
ed. ''Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre''. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1947. Crucial anthology of 65 poets ranging from border balladeers to moderns.
*
August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and th ...
ed. ''Fire and Sleet and Candlelight: New Poems of the Macabre''. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1961. Anthology of 93 poets, mainly moderns.
*
Elgin, Suzette Haden, ''The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook'', 2005. Sam's Dot Publishing
* Frazier, Robert, ed. ''Burning with a Vision: Poetry of Science and the Fantastic''. Philadelphia: Owlswick press, 1984. Fantastic poetry by moderns from Diane Ackerman to Al Zolynas.
* Lovecraft, Charles. "Echoes in the Wilderness: Weird Poetry in Australia". ''Futurian Observer'' No 1 (new series) (April 2010), pp. 15–16. Pioneering checklist of weird and fantastic poems by Australian writers.
*
Scott E. Green. ''Contemporary Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Poetry: A Resource Guide and Biographical Directory'' (Greenwood Press, 1989)
*
S.T. Joshi and Steven J. Mariconda, eds. ''Dreams of fear: Poetry of Terror and the Supernatural''. Comprehensive anthology of weird poetry from Homer through to moderns such as Gary William Crawford,
Ann K. Schwader
Ann K. Schwader is an American poet and writer of short fiction based in Westminster, Colorado. Schwader is a grand master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, a multiple winner of the Rhysling Awards,Rau, Christina M. (September 2 ...
,
Bruce Boston
Bruce Boston (born 1943) is an American speculative fiction writer and poet.
Early years
Bruce Boston was born in Chicago and grew up in Southern California.Diane SeversonInterview with Bruce Boston''Amazing Stories'' March 15, 2013 (accessed S ...
, G. Sutton Brieding,
W.H. Pugmire and
Leigh Blackmore.
*
S.T. Joshi ''Emperors of Dreams: Some Notes on Weird Poetry''. P'rea Press, 2008.
External links
Speculative Poetry: A Symposium, Part 1 of 2(
Strange Horizons
''Strange Horizons'' is an online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and nonfiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables.
History and profile
It was launched in September 2000, and ...
)
Speculative Poetry: A Symposium, Part 2 of 2(
Strange Horizons
''Strange Horizons'' is an online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and nonfiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables.
History and profile
It was launched in September 2000, and ...
)
The Failure of Genre Poetryby
Bruce Boston
Bruce Boston (born 1943) is an American speculative fiction writer and poet.
Early years
Bruce Boston was born in Chicago and grew up in Southern California.Diane SeversonInterview with Bruce Boston''Amazing Stories'' March 15, 2013 (accessed S ...
at the
Fortean BureauDialogues by Starlight: Three Approaches to Writing SF Poetryby
Michael Collings
*
*
Online venues
''Abyss & Apex''''Eye To The Telescope''''Goblin Fruit''''Ideomancer''''inkscrawl''''Journal of Mythic Arts''''Niteblade''''Mithila Review''''Mythic Delirium''''Stone Telling''''Strange Horizons''''Through the Gate''
{{Authority control
Genres of poetry
Science fiction genres
Fantasy genres