"Knapsack Poems: A Goxhat Travel Journal" is a 2002 science fiction short story by

Eleanor Arnason Eleanor Atwood Arnason (born December 28, 1942) is an American author of science fiction novels and short stories. Arnason's earliest published story, "A Clear Day in the Motor City", appeared in ''New Worlds'' in 1973. Her work often depicts cul ...

. It was first published in '' Asimov's Science Fiction''.

Synopsis

The multiple bodies of a traveling Goxhat poet find themselves in a very dangerous situation.

Reception

"Knapsack Poems" was a finalist for the

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short stor ...

of 2002,Knapsack Poems
at

Science Fiction Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While ...

; retrieved May 2, 2021 and included on the Honor List for the 2002 Otherwise Award.2002 Honor List
at the

Otherwise Awards The Otherwise Award, formerly known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science f ...

; retrieved April 15, 2022 '' Strange Horizons'' emphasized that the story demonstrates "the ability

f science fiction F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

to imagine the world in some other way,"''Mammoths of the Great Plains'' and ''Tomb of the Fathers'' by Eleanor Arnason
reviewed by Kelly Jennings, at '' Strange Horizons''; published August 16, 2010; retrieved April 15, 2022 while the '' SF Site'' noted its "relentless humour and strangeness".The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3
reviewed by Jakob Schmidt, at the '' SF Site''; published 2007; retrieved April 15, 2022 ''

Tangent Online ''Tangent Online'' is an online magazine launched in its online incarnation in 1997, though it began as a print magazine in 1993. ''Tangent Online'' is edited by Dave Truesdale, with web-hoster Eric James Stone. The magazine covers reviews of sci ...

'' praised its "imagination" and "sly comments about the life of a poet", calling it "so much fun to read".Asimov’s, May 2002
reviewed by Nancy Jane Moore, at ''

''; published April 2, 2002; retrieved April 15, 2022

References

External links

*{{Isfdb title, 100460
Text of the story
in ''

Lightspeed The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit fo ...

'' Works originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction