edited by Liz Bennefeld
If you love Halloween poetry, chances are you will love to dress up in a Halloween Costume this season. PureCostumes.com has all the latest adult costumes and sexy costumes. |
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“Strange Oblivion” was inspired by a piece of literature
that has, alas,
been forgotten, coupled with a news article about the frightening
intelligence of crows. David Kopaska-Merkel describes rocks for the
State of Alabama. His poems, short stories, etc. have been published
hither and yon since 1972. He won the SFPA Rhysling award for best long poem
in 2006 for a
collaboration with Kendall Evans. His latest book is The
Edible Zoo, a
book of poetry for children published by samsdotpublishing.com. Blog at
dreamsandnightmaresmagazine.blogspot.com ~ “Night of the Living Ted” This poem was written specifically to celebrate Halloween
here on the SFPA site. This year Dennis's poems have been seen in Star*Line,
Itch, and Eye to the Telescope and heard on Starship
Sofa and Tales To Terrify. His latest book, The
Poring Dark, was published in September 2012. It contains 24 science
fiction poems, 12 short stories, and 24 flash fictions. The electronic version
can be found at smashwords.com/books/view/230284 ~ “Alone with the Astronomer
Ghosts” “Alone With the Astronomer Ghosts” was written for the 2012 SFPA Halloween Poetry Reading Page. David Lee Summers works at Kitt Peak National Observatory, and the poem was inspired by a set of events that happened one lonely winter night. In addition to his work in astronomy, David serves as the Vice President of SFPA. He's also the editor of Tales of the Talisman magazine and the author of seven novels and over one hundred short stories and poems. David shares his latest writing news at davidleesummers.wordpress.com ~ “Nocturne” Linda D. Addison is Poetry Editor for Space & Time Magazine. Her work has made frequent appearances over the years on the honorable mention list for Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and Year’s Best Science-Fiction, and she has received three Bram Stoker awards for her poetry. More at lindaaddisonpoet.com Stephen M. Wilson is Poetry Editor for Abyss & Apex Magazine of Speculative Fiction and edits (@microcosms). He ís a multi-Rhysling Award nominee and won a Dwarf Stars award in 2011. More at http://speceditor666.livejournal.com “Nocturne” is from their collaborative poetry collection Dark Duet, forthcoming soon from Necon E-Books and read by the authors. ~ “Democracia” “Democracia” appeared in the 2007 collection On the Other Side of the Eye, from Sam's Dot Publishing. Bryan Thao Worra is a Lao-American writer. An NEA Fellow in literature and a professional member of the Horror Writer Association, his work appears internationally, including Innsmouth Free Press, Tales of the Unanticipated, Illumen, Astropoetica, Outsiders Within, Dark Wisdom, Journal of the Asian American Renaissance, and Mad Poets of Terra. He is the author of the speculative books of poetry On the Other Side of the Eye, BARROW, and the forthcoming DEMONSTRA. As a Cultural Olympian, he represented the nation of Laos during the 2012 London Olympics. Visit him at thaoworra.blogspot.com ~ “Shadows” The poem was originally published in Heliotrope. It is included in Vera’s collection Transmissions to the Mystic Nebula. More information at chrisvera.com ~ “Escaping the Dawn” “Escaping the Dawn” is based on the superstition that on Halloween, all the souls in hell are released for forty-eight hours. The poem was originally published in the May 2011 issue of Cover of Darkness and was subsequently nominated for the Rhysling Award. Jacqueline West's poetry has recently appeared in Fantastique Unfettered, Ideomancer, and Niteblade. She is also the author of the award-winning middle grade fantasy series THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE (Dial/Penguin). Visit her at jacquelinewest.com ~ “Persian Garden” F.J. Bergmann espied this rug in the small, dim shop of a dealer specializing in such things. It is surprising that the design of the carpet would comprise such subjects, and mistakes may have been made: perhaps it was only the effect of galloping pareidolatry and Rorschach-ing. Perhaps. This poem first appeared in the Raintown Review. Further iniquities and divagations may be viewed at fibitz.com ~ “The Attack of the You will not think about the Blue Man Group in quite the same way after hearing Michael Arnzen’s hilariously dark version of an imaginary concert with a French tribute band to those famous blue-faced performers. This is a live recording from Arnzen’s reading to the Morgantown Poets society in June 2012. You can hear the original version of this piece, set to music, among other Halloween audio treats from this four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award on his website at gorelets.com ~ “Mrs. Winchester” Maria Alexander is a Bram Stoker Award-nominated poet. Her poem “Mrs. Winchester” originally appeared on Gothic.net back in 2000 and has been published twice since. It was in part the inspiration for her script of the same name, which was a finalist at the 2012 Shriekfest Film Festival. Maria’s had a 20-year love affair with the Winchester Mystery House and is much too fascinated by its deeply haunted owner, Sarah. Listen and see if you can uncover why. ~ “When Zombies Go Steady” The Etheree “When Zombies Go Steady” originally appeared in Eye To The Telescope #4: Speculative Poetry in Form. This year Elissa has also published in ETTT #5, The Fifth Di..., Exploring the Cosmos: minimalist science poetry, The 2012 Rhysling Anthology, and (outside the genre) anthologies Comedy and Forgiveness, available from Caregiving.com. The latter benefit CareGifters, which provides $500 grants to caregivers in need. Visit her at home.earthlink.net/~emalcohn/ ~ “What We Didn't Read Published in Poets on Site On Earth (Poets on Site Press, 2008). Musical accompaniment: Early Native American Desert Flute played by Rick Wilson, percussion by Kath Abela Wilson (wood block, maraca, tambourine, spring drum, and rubber band). ~ “Ghosts of Purchased Flesh” Originally published in Dreams and Nightmares #54, September 1999. Accompaniment is Native American Desert Flute played by Rick Wilson; percussion by Kath Abela Wilson: maraca, Tibetan singing bowl, flipping pages of a book, small bells. ~ Previous Halloween Readings |
Werewolf
Moon
Carved
Insectoid
Xieng
Khuan Park, Laos
Circles
Touching (found art)
Halloween
Cat
Portrait
Stone
Face in CactusThanks to the SFPA members who have contributed their poetry and art to this page. All recordings and images are copyrighted by their respective authors and used by permission.
Liz Bennefeld, Coordinator: sfpoetry@quietspaces.net.
