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davidkmYou know, it'll be hard to find these old small-press publications, but try the Eaton Collection, or Tulane University, where I've sent much of my old stuff.
Astropoetica 5.1 Spring/Summer 2007
Astropoetica 5.1 (Spring/Summer 2007) [http://www.astropoetica.com/index.html] is the latest issue of this poetry-only webzine. The subtitle reads "mapping the stars through poetry," which is evidently intended to make a statement about the purpose of the magazine. If so, the statement is rather cryptic, because only about half of the poems are really about astronomy. The rest cover the subject matter of most poetry: interpersonal relationships.
Astropoetica contains 50 poems by several dozen poets. Most of the poems are published here for the first time and most are accompanied by astronomical illustrations. The Romanian astronomical poets, usually noted for their extreme brevity, are well represented. However, Astropoetica is dominated by free verse, with most poems a dozen lines long or longer, including most of the contributions from Romania. It is nice to see well-written free verse from poets who usually restrict themselves to haiku and the like.
"The Sun God Bids Farewell To His Lover" by Marsheila Rockwell is one of my favorites in this issue. This is a free verse poem that melds mythological and scientific models of the universe. The poem begins thus
When I was young, our love was fierce;
You wore feathers
And painted yourself blue
Tearing your heart out for my pleasure
This sets the stage for a frank and personal monologue that the sun directs at humanity. This stanza includes several powerful elements that pull the reader into the poem's milieu. The speaker, referring to his vanished youth, begins with the active element of time, followed with the kind of love typical of youth. We might suppose in the first line that the speaker is human, but the next three lines make it clear that the monologue is directed at humanity, which formerly passionately held what we would call primitive religious beliefs and, finally, that the speaker is the sun god referred to in the title. This quick succession of revelations forces us to invest our attention in the poem and readies us for more revelations. The sun god has been offended by our turning away from him to follow the lure of technology, he tells us, beginning in the second stanza. He goes on to tell us what will be, whether we like it or not.
M. Frost, in "Water on Mars," (not excerpted here) uses the same labile form to write a strictly science poem. This hints at the versatility of subject matter characterizing Astropoetica.
"X" by Amal El-Mohtar, one of the few rhymed and metered contributions in this zine, is a love poem that only uses astronomical imagery as metaphor.
Twin orbits we, locked in a dance
of liquid limbs and symmetry—
stars unfixed and falling fast,
ourselves each other's gravity.
I used to trace one common line
when palm to palm, we wound our way
through other bodies. You would twine
your fingers into mine, and say,
Many poems in this issue are like "X;" only astronomical in this metaphorical sense. But not all.
For example, "Ursa Major" by Mary Alexandra Agner uses dense alliterative strands to build an archaic poem inviting comparison in its form with medieval verse, but with an astronomical theme.
tipsy liquid thickened
with twilight. Triumphant,
she shines like stars. Sun
bound in blackberries
sets like clustered spheres
In "Eating Stars," Shelley Lesher uses free verse to explore the life, and death, of stars
A billion years go by;
the baby star
does not make it
and dissolves,
The current issue of Astropoetica is a rich and varied collection of poetry that is not entirely astronomical. Most poems either incorporate the language of astronomy in explorations of the human condition, or explicitly focus on astronomical subjects. Regardless, you will find tight writing and insightful commentary throughout this issue of Astropoetica. Poets represented in this issue, in addition to those already mentioned, include Greg Beatty, Bruce Boston, Debbie Kolodji, Ann K. Schwader, and Drew Morse, among others.
Astropoetica 5.1 Spring/Summer 2007
Astropoetica 5.1 (Spring/Summer 2007) [http://www.astropoetica.com/index.html] is the latest issue of this poetry-only webzine. The subtitle reads "mapping the stars through poetry," which is evidently intended to make a statement about the purpose of the magazine. If so, the statement is rather cryptic, because only about half of the poems are really about astronomy. The rest cover the subject matter of most poetry: interpersonal relationships.
Astropoetica contains 50 poems by several dozen poets. Most of the poems are published here for the first time and most are accompanied by astronomical illustrations. The Romanian astronomical poets, usually noted for their extreme brevity, are well represented. However, Astropoetica is dominated by free verse, with most poems a dozen lines long or longer, including most of the contributions from Romania. It is nice to see well-written free verse from poets who usually restrict themselves to haiku and the like.
"The Sun God Bids Farewell To His Lover" by Marsheila Rockwell is one of my favorites in this issue. This is a free verse poem that melds mythological and scientific models of the universe. The poem begins thus
When I was young, our love was fierce;
You wore feathers
And painted yourself blue
Tearing your heart out for my pleasure
This sets the stage for a frank and personal monologue that the sun directs at humanity. This stanza includes several powerful elements that pull the reader into the poem's milieu. The speaker, referring to his vanished youth, begins with the active element of time, followed with the kind of love typical of youth. We might suppose in the first line that the speaker is human, but the next three lines make it clear that the monologue is directed at humanity, which formerly passionately held what we would call primitive religious beliefs and, finally, that the speaker is the sun god referred to in the title. This quick succession of revelations forces us to invest our attention in the poem and readies us for more revelations. The sun god has been offended by our turning away from him to follow the lure of technology, he tells us, beginning in the second stanza. He goes on to tell us what will be, whether we like it or not.
M. Frost, in "Water on Mars," (not excerpted here) uses the same labile form to write a strictly science poem. This hints at the versatility of subject matter characterizing Astropoetica.
"X" by Amal El-Mohtar, one of the few rhymed and metered contributions in this zine, is a love poem that only uses astronomical imagery as metaphor.
Twin orbits we, locked in a dance
of liquid limbs and symmetry—
stars unfixed and falling fast,
ourselves each other's gravity.
I used to trace one common line
when palm to palm, we wound our way
through other bodies. You would twine
your fingers into mine, and say,
Many poems in this issue are like "X;" only astronomical in this metaphorical sense. But not all.
For example, "Ursa Major" by Mary Alexandra Agner uses dense alliterative strands to build an archaic poem inviting comparison in its form with medieval verse, but with an astronomical theme.
tipsy liquid thickened
with twilight. Triumphant,
she shines like stars. Sun
bound in blackberries
sets like clustered spheres
In "Eating Stars," Shelley Lesher uses free verse to explore the life, and death, of stars
A billion years go by;
the baby star
does not make it
and dissolves,
The current issue of Astropoetica is a rich and varied collection of poetry that is not entirely astronomical. Most poems either incorporate the language of astronomy in explorations of the human condition, or explicitly focus on astronomical subjects. Regardless, you will find tight writing and insightful commentary throughout this issue of Astropoetica. Poets represented in this issue, in addition to those already mentioned, include Greg Beatty, Bruce Boston, Debbie Kolodji, Ann K. Schwader, and Drew Morse, among others.
