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The Science Fiction Poetry Association was founded in 1978 to bring together poets and readers interested in science fiction poetry. What is sf poetry? You know what they say about definitions—everybody has one. To be sure, it is poetry (we'll leave that definition to you), but it's poetry with some element of speculation—usually
science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Some folks include surrealism, some
straight science.
SFPA's founder, Suzette Haden Elgin, has shared her thoughts on sf poetry in the aptly titled "About Science Fiction Poetry." She treats the subject more fully in The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook, released from Sam's Dot Publishing in cooperation with SFPA. A complete table of contents is on the Handbook order page.
Examples of science fiction poetry abound. A selection of Editor's Choice poems are linked on the Star*Line archive page. Our Promotions page offers downloadable samplers. The Halloween page features the annual SFPA online poetry podcast. Visit SFPA's Markets page to find magazines specializing in genre poetry and the Links page for individual sf poets' websites. Our Speculative Poetry Books page contains a list of speculative poetry collections published within the last two years and links to booksellers. SFPA's official newsletter, Star*Line, publishes sf poetry and is a wonderful way to begin your poetic journey to the stars.
SFPA offers yearly awards for speculative poetry: the Rhysling Awards for individual poems, the Dwarf Stars Award for short-short poems, and the Elgin Awards (new in 2013) for genre poetry books and chapbooks, named for the SFPA founder.
SFPA also publishes the yearly Rhysling Anthology, comprised of works nominated for the Rhysling Awards for Best Poems of the Year, and the Dwarf Stars anthology for short-short speculative poems. Visit the Rhysling and Dwarf Stars pages to order copies. Don't miss this unique compilation of verse from some of the finest poets working in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror poetry!
Earlier Rhysling-Award-winning poems have been collected in a single volume. The Alchemy of Stars features the winning poems from 1978 to 2004, an introduction by Jane Yolen, and an afterword by Suzette Haden Elgin. See the Alchemy page for ordering information.
The Rhysling Archive contains cover images, tables of contents, and editorial information for all the Rhysling Awards and Rhysling Anthologies since 1978.
SPECIAL NOTE TO AUTHORS: Inclusion in each Rhysling Anthology is by member nomination only. Do not submit your poems to the anthology. Membership in the SFPA is not required for a work to be nominated.
