Poetry Roundup: Asimov's October/November 2010

Roadside Stand by Mark Rich

A settler on Mars haggles over tomatoes, and poetically enjoys memories of home. Not bad.

Foxwife by Jane Yolen

Either a fox attaches herself to a scholar hanging out in some ruins, or a woman protects her husband. Maybe both. This one is nicely weird.

Welcome Home by Janis Ian

A nice rhyming song about how reading (SF in particular) makes it easier for the weird kids to make it through a lonely childhood. References so many things I can't list them here, but I'm glad to see Cordwainer Smith in there. Best of issue, although this averages out to the most poetically strong issue of the year.

All That Matters by Roger Dutcher

Colonizers of the outer solar system feel insignificant on the scale of space. Is there any point? Okay.

Tourists from Outer Space by Darrell Schweitzer (Unlisted in the Table of Contents by editorial error, appears on page 141)

Tourists to Earth from other species and planets don't absorb our culture, they just party and leave. Like America is with underdeveloped countries. This is just taking something from everyday life and saying "hey, what if someone did this to us." Not interesting. The only poem in this issue I didn't at least somewhat enjoy.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's February 2009

They Believed in Fairies During World War One by Darrell Schweitzer

A sad, meaningful one about soldiers hoping for miracles and not getting any. I like the message and the ending, but the poem doesn't flow like I'd like it to.

The Silence of Rockets by G.O. Clark

Religion versus science in a non-flowing, non-rhyming, not particularly lyrical bunch of words with frequent linebreaks.

Singularity Song by David Lunde

An outward-zooming music metaphor about universe creation. The unpoetic fact that sound cannot travel through vacuum and the stanzas ending and beginning in the middle of

phrases distract me too much to feel anything but an oncoming

facial tic.

Regular Riders by Ruth Berman

Magical girl on a merry-go-round? I liked this well enough, sentimental but not overkill. A bit long, but it had flow, even if there was no rhyme or wordplay.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's December 2009

The Anti-World by Andrew Gudgel

Six Anti-stanzas of words beginning with anti-, anti-strung together into anti-sentences making anti-sense. The last stanza tries to tie it all together with some actual meaning, but falls flat. I anti-love this anti-poem, because I find it anti-anti-annoying.

The World's Ending Again in 2012 by Darrell Schweitzer

Not the most poetic piece, but still a fun look at end-of-the-world prophecies. James Randi should factor into more poetry.

Shiner by G.O. Clark

An okay poetic pun.