As Editor of “Eye To The Telescope 46”, Wendy Van Camp is proud to highlight three Rhysling Award Nominees for best speculative poem of 2022. It has been her pleasure to serve as a guest editor for the SFPA’s online literary journal.
SHORT POEMS:
After The Quest Is Over by Lisa Timpf
Aswang Shaman Communing with Diwata for the First Time by Vince Gotera
LONG POEMS:
The Frosty Voyage by Adele Gardner
As editor of “Eccentric Orbits 3”, I am honored by the support my anthology of science fiction poetry recieved from the speculative poetry community. If you ever wanted to dip your toe into what speculative poetry is, this is the book to do it with. The anthology is available in both paperback and ebook on Amazon.
The function of speculative poetry is to engage the mind to a new understanding, not rehearse the past or the ordinary. This anthology of science fiction, fantasy, and horror poetry explores new concepts, folklore, myth, and the fantastic, by some of the most exciting, speculative poets of our time. Discover the insights of these contemporary wordsmiths that are surging from the pages of science fiction into the reality of our world.
This speculative poetry anthology is perfect as a gift for poetry lovers, readers of science fiction, fantasy, or horror literature or to complete your own book collections.
Speculative Poets represented in this anthology:
JANUARY BAIN * STEWART C BAKER * ROBERT BEVERIDGE * CATHERINE BROGDON * FARUK BUZHALA * DALE CHAMPLIN * LINDA M. CRATE * BILLIE DEE * KENDALL EVANS * GARY EVERY * MARK A. FISHER * JEAN-PAUL L. GARNIER * LEE GARRATT * KEN GOUDSWARD * FIN HALL * MICHAEL HOFFMAN * DEBORAH L. KELLY * DEBORAH P. KOLODJI * DAVID C. KOPASKA-MERKEL * BLAISE LANGLOIS * GERRI LEEN * RICHARD MAGAHIZ * JACK MASSA * ALLENE NICHOLS * MICHELLE OUCHAREK-DEO * RK RUGG * RYFKAH * JUSTIN SLOANE * JOSHUA ST. CLAIRE * SEAN STUBBLEFIELD * REX SWEENY * LISA TIMPF * LAMONT TURNER * WENDY VAN CAMP * MIKE VAN HORN * RUTH E. WALKER * TD WALKER * LYNN WHITE * JEFF YOUNG
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”
— From: “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” (1949), Joseph Campbell
The hero’s journey has always fascinated me. The call to adventure. The wise mentor. The return with new knowledge or insight that changes the ordinary world. In the past, these stories have featured men in battle, using their cunning and strength to find their way in the world.
Today, we acknowledge these protagonists can come in many non-traditional forms. In this issue of “Eye To The Telescope”, I hope as editor to capture the idea that being a hero is not all about swords and dragons, although certainly these have their place, but can also form from different viewpoints and experiences of cultures all over the world. Welcome to the Quest!
Eye To The Telescope launches on October 15th and will be free to read online on its website: http://eyetothetelescope.com
I am honored to have been chosen to guest edit issue #46 of this quarterly online speculative poetry journal.
A Scifaiku Poem by Wendy Van Camp
rainbow galaxies
compete with the stars above me
Mars is now my home
It is a rare and special event when a new scifaiku poetry magazine appears on the scene. I am honored to be published in the inaugural issue of “The Starlight Scifaiku Review”. The poem series of “Close Approach” came about twofold, one inspiration was an image sent back by Curiosity from the surface of Mars. Overhead was a beautiful display of the Milky Way galaxy. This combined with my Mars research about the steps to colonize the red planet. When Earth and Mars are at their closest point, their “close approach”, that is the moment when colonists should depart. It happens only once every couple of years. This is where I took the title of the series from.
This poem is a part of the scifaiku poetry series “Close Approach” that appeared in “The Starlight Scifaiku Review” in the Fall of 2021 and was nominated for a 2022 Pushcart Prize for Poetry.
A Scifaiku Poem by Wendy Van Camp
falling in thin air
breathless anticipation
regolith awaits
It is a rare and special event when a new scifaiku poetry magazine appears on the scene. I am honored to be published in the inaugural issue of “The Starlight Scifaiku Review”. The poem series of “Close Approach” came about twofold, one inspiration was an image sent back by Curiosity from the surface of Mars. Overhead was a beautiful display of the Milky Way galaxy. This combined with my Mars research about the steps to colonize the red planet. When Earth and Mars are at their closest point, their “close approach”, that is the moment when colonists should depart. It happens only once every couple of years. This is where I took the title of the series from.
This poem is a part of the scifaiku poetry series “Close Approach” that appeared in “The Starlight Scifaiku Review” in the Fall of 2021 and was nominated for a 2022 Pushcart Prize for Poetry.
No Wasted Ink 