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mary_soon_lee's review
This anthology contains this year's contenders for the Dwarf Stars award for best short-short speculative poem (10 lines or fewer). There are 72 poems contained in 23 pages, ranging from science fiction to fantasy to horror, brief but potent. (Sometimes very brief: half a dozen of the entries are pared down to a single line.) You could read the whole anthology in half an hour, but there's quite a bit to absorb. Since the voting deadline is not yet past, I will skip commenting on individual poems, other than to say that, as per my general policy, I will not vote for my own work (I have two poems in the anthology).
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
divadiane's review
4.0
My first pass through. All nice poems. Nothing’s really jumping out at me though...
On my second pass through I marked 20 poems that I liked enough to consider further. Now I'll divide them into groups of 5 and choose the best 2 from each group.
On my second pass through I marked 20 poems that I liked enough to consider further. Now I'll divide them into groups of 5 and choose the best 2 from each group.
cathepsut's review
4.0
More SF poetry. The Dwarf Stars Award is an annual award, presented by the Science Fiction Poetry Association to the author of the best horror, fantasy or science fiction poem of ten lines or fewer, published in the previous year.
Official website: https://www.sfpoetry.com/dwarfstars.html
Here are the poems I liked during my first read-through:
1. [The knife blade flutters] • Colleen Anderson 1
2. [hoping for the best …] • Johannes S. H. Bjerg 2
3. [she had broken] • Susan Burch 3
4. [Balancing Act] • Deborah L. Davitt with D. A. Xiaolin Spires & Gretchen Tessmer 4
5. [space station yoga] • John J. Dunphy 5
6. [Erwin Schroedinger] • Jean-Paul L. Garnier 7
7. [Feast of St. George—] • C.R. Harper 8
8. [Epitaph for John Carter] • Herb Kauderer 9
9. [Notes for the Next Letter Home] • Herb Kauderer 10
10. [pi day] • Deborah P Kolodji 11
11. [red shirts] • David C. Kopaska-Merkel 12
12. [Standing Up] • John C. Mannone 14
13. [Cold Weather Accessories for Imaginary Creatures] • Lorraine Schein 17
14. [the ghost wife] • Gloundan Smorpian 19
15. [seeing stars] • Christina Sng 20
16. [iron in the dunes] • Greer Woodward 22
17. [stargazing on Olympus Mons] • Greer Woodward 23
After my first read-through I narrowed the selection of favourite poems down further. To make the decision easier, I looked for poems that created interesting imagery in my mind, wanting me to spin the story forward...
My favourite three:
1. [seeing stars] • Christina Sng
2. [stargazing on Olympus Mons] • Greer Woodward
3. [hoping for the best …] • Johannes S. H. Bjerg
These slightly longer ones are my runner-ups:
1. [Notes for the Next Letter Home] • Herb Kauderer
2. [Balancing Act] • Deborah L. Davitt with D. A. Xiaolin Spires & Gretchen Tessmer
3. [Standing Up] • John C. Mannone
To be honest, if I read the whole anthology again in a few weeks, I would probably end up with a completely different set of poems!
Official website: https://www.sfpoetry.com/dwarfstars.html
Here are the poems I liked during my first read-through:
1. [The knife blade flutters] • Colleen Anderson 1
2. [hoping for the best …] • Johannes S. H. Bjerg 2
3. [she had broken] • Susan Burch 3
4. [Balancing Act] • Deborah L. Davitt with D. A. Xiaolin Spires & Gretchen Tessmer 4
5. [space station yoga] • John J. Dunphy 5
6. [Erwin Schroedinger] • Jean-Paul L. Garnier 7
7. [Feast of St. George—] • C.R. Harper 8
8. [Epitaph for John Carter] • Herb Kauderer 9
9. [Notes for the Next Letter Home] • Herb Kauderer 10
10. [pi day] • Deborah P Kolodji 11
11. [red shirts] • David C. Kopaska-Merkel 12
12. [Standing Up] • John C. Mannone 14
13. [Cold Weather Accessories for Imaginary Creatures] • Lorraine Schein 17
14. [the ghost wife] • Gloundan Smorpian 19
15. [seeing stars] • Christina Sng 20
16. [iron in the dunes] • Greer Woodward 22
17. [stargazing on Olympus Mons] • Greer Woodward 23
After my first read-through I narrowed the selection of favourite poems down further. To make the decision easier, I looked for poems that created interesting imagery in my mind, wanting me to spin the story forward...
My favourite three:
1. [seeing stars] • Christina Sng
2. [stargazing on Olympus Mons] • Greer Woodward
3. [hoping for the best …] • Johannes S. H. Bjerg
seeing stars with
my final breaths
hull breach
These slightly longer ones are my runner-ups:
1. [Notes for the Next Letter Home] • Herb Kauderer
2. [Balancing Act] • Deborah L. Davitt with D. A. Xiaolin Spires & Gretchen Tessmer
3. [Standing Up] • John C. Mannone
To be honest, if I read the whole anthology again in a few weeks, I would probably end up with a completely different set of poems!
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