Kubla Khan or, A Vision in a Dream. A Fragment.

Poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Free online and in the public domain.

I like to play the amateur critic, especially with new stories that tend to receive few, if any, reviews. Kubla Khan has a Wikipedia page over 11,000 words long, with 162 citations. That's longer than many novelettes I review. I don't want to write a doctoral dissertation on this poem, and so I'm unwilling to engage in debate with nearly 200 years of critics, including T. S. Eliot. Read the Wikipedia page for in depth analysis. Or don't. But I do urge you to read this classic poem, and read it again if it has been a while. It's worth your time.

I'm blogging about it because I did reread it recently, inspired by Jesse Livingston's "The Blood Garden" over on Pseudopod. And I quite enjoy this poem, although it isn't my favorite. The imagery is my favorite in all of Coleridge's work that I've read (admittedly not as much as I'd like, but after the Big Three of Kubla Khan, Ancient Mariner, and Christabel I've never really been enthralled enough by his writing to keep reading much of it.) It's not just my weakness for the gothic, I like the rhythm of these poems better as well.

And that's really what my love of Kubla Khan comes down to. It opens all Romantic and green but the second and third sections achieve this breathless, frantic quality. The rhymes and rhythm are exciting. They get your heart beating. In a lot of ways, "Kubla Khan" reminds me of Poe's "The Raven" (I don't read everything in publishing order).

For what it's worth, I'm in the camp that counts "Kubla Khan" as a complete poem. Screw authorial intent, the poem climaxes and then gives us a haunting two-line ending, better than the endings of countless other complete poems. Coleridge is dead, it's no longer a work-in-progress, and he gave us a brilliant ending. I'm not convinced another 400 lines would have done anything but dilute it. Do yourself a favor and read or reread this today. It doesn't take long. And if you're alone, or don't mind looking like a crazy person, read it aloud.

4 pleasure domes out of 5.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's January 2011

Five Pounds of Sunlight by Geoffrey A. Landis

Kittens are nice and like sunlight in several ways. An interesting comparison, but entirely based on being cutesy.

Retired Spaceman by G.O. Clark

Some nice rhythm in this melancholy bit about a kid who loved space, tried hard to be an astronaut, and looks back from old age regretting his failure to become part of the future he dreamed of. Best of issue, but not great.

Poetry Roundup: Strange Horizons January 2011

Cold War Champions: Bobby Fischer and Yuri Gagarin Descend to Earth by Mary A. Turzillo

Comparison between two different types of Cold War hero. A lot of overlap between the two, but the poem left me lukewarm. To much just factually stated, not quite enough resonance. And I admit, Fischer's death as a "descent to Earth" is underexplored, but a neat idea to compare with a space mission.

Merlin by Lorraine Schein

I quite like the rhythm and neat rhymes of this one. Merlin is obsessed with time and clocks and his lack of control and limited knowledge. A nice take on the character, and a nice poem.

The Skin Walker's Wife by Lisa M. Bradley

Whole poem is the course of a woman having sex with a random guy, and thinking of her body-stealing husband who she has trouble actually recognizing anyway, after he has been away getting a new body. Maybe she should stop spending her whole life waiting for him to come back to her again. A tad more graphic that it needs to be, but the supernatural, absent husband is an interesting, if obvious, metaphor for the more normal type of absent husband.

Dark Matter by Timons Esaias

Hatred, bigotry, authoritarianism, and blind adherence to tradition will always be with us, no matter how many times science or reason try to push them back. Told through the weirdly bigoted astronomy commentary of the narrator's great-uncle. Neat way to make an important observation.

Shoe by Robert Borski

The Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe thinks about how much she loves her children in the giant shoe that fell off a giant, perhaps in the vicinity of a beanstalk. Neat images making the nursery rhyme more grounded, but not a whole lot here.

Dark Matter and Merlin are the obvious standouts; I'd give the edge to Merlin as Best of Issue, but only by a hair. I have to say, this being my first time reading Strange Horizons' poetry, that it is MUCH stronger than the typical Asimov's issue. Here's to hoping that is a trend, not just an outlier.

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 September 2010

The Now We Almost Inhabit by Roger Dutcher and Robert Frazier

The Singularity is approaching, and while that is one "Now" we almost inhabit, once it gets here, things will change so fast that anything we know will only be almost. And maybe the end implies the Singularity is like The Rapture? I don't get this one entirely but it is poetic and nicely worded and not blinding obvious, which is always nice. Best of issue.

Egg Protection by Ruth Berman

Some robins protect their eggs from Berman's fourth bad poem of the year. She muses on how she doesn't want their eggs and they don't trust her. I'm getting too sick of Berman to even get up any sarcasm at this point. Long, meaningless, non-poetic story.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's August 2010

Cultural Boundaries by F.J. Bergmann

Visitors to a small alien world are amazed by how fast learning they are. And then they all die of contamination as we leave. This ground has been covered a million times, and in better poetics. A tad amusing, but nothing special.

A Wrong Turn by Elizabeth Penrose

Folded infinities don't make good glove-compartment maps. Neatly written and not obvious. Amusing.

The Great Peeloff by Qadira P. Garger

Best of the issue. Double meaning, neat poem, well written. Not a ton of depth, but there is something, and this one is fun without being obvious.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's July 2010

The Gears of New August by Bruce Boston and Todd Hanks

A fairly interesting poem about the hardship of a farmer on an alien world. Drops a reference to The Green Hills of Earth, but he misses Earth in a more sad way, especially considering he once yearned for the stars. A more thoughtful, sad poem than anything else thus far this year in Asimov's.
My third favorite Asimov's poem for the year, overall.

Neosaur by Robert Borski

In the future, we can recreate prehistoric goldfish pets for our children. Okay, not great, not really thoughtful either. But not poorly written.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's June 2010

Human Potential by Geoffrey A. Landis

There is a lot of potential energy in humans, in the nuclear sense. Would blind all the aura people. Funny, not deep or beautiful, but not bad.

Crushed by Susan Abel Sullivan

Never fall in love with a black hole. Funny, but the metaphor breaks down a bit halfway through. Black holes don't technically suck, unlike relationships.

Of Lycanthropy and Lilacs by Sandra Lindow

Werewolves in spring. Nice rhythm, very good imagery, not as obvious as I thought. Still not too deep, but this was a very nice poem. Best of the issue.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's April/May 2010

Kitchen Deities by Ruth Berman

Meaningless 23-word thing on cooking. No rhyme, no rhythm, no metaphor, no deep meanings, no humor, no interest.

Martian Opal by Ruth Berman

Okay little joke about geology and astrology and difficulties settling Mars. Not great, but best of issue in this rather meager, one-woman double-issue of Asimov's.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's March 2010

Marble People by Bruce Boston

Three types of marble that fantasy people could be, generically described. Meh.

Crazy Man by Mark Rich

A time traveler from the past comes to the future. He can't go back, and is crazy for ending up in our shitty time and leaving his. Again, Rich has a good flow and some internal rhymes and wordplay.

Our Canine Defense Team by Vincent Miskell

Cute little story where all animals were uplifted, and now dogs defend us against charges of genocide. Better than the touchy-feely ending I was expecting, still not much of a poem though, but worth reading.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's February 2010

Reincarnation by Peter Swanson

Awkward line breaks, little to no rhythm but an interesting concept: Certain knowledge that we reincarnate leads to suicide. No humans left, only animals. This is a little more depressed than I find the concept though. World might be better off for everyone without us humans.

Subatomic Redemption by Michael Meyerhofer

Electrons randomly go everywhere. No reason to fear growing up, death, adolescence, or anything else. Our electrons have already been there, done that. Pretty good, thoughtful, some clever use of pauses and breaks.
My second favorite Asimov's poem of the year.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's January 2010

DoT Acolytes by Ruth Berman

The MN department of Transportation are acolytes to the God of roads. When they don't fix potholes, he gets angry and makes worse potholes. Not funny, not clever, not complex. Blah.

Louisa Drifting by Mark Rich

Like this one quite a bit. Two astronauts dying after an accident, drifting apart. Metaphor for ending a relationship. More serious that Berman, but also funnier. Implication is obvious, but Rich doesn't completely spell it out.
Actually, in the final reading of things, I consider this the best Asimov's poem of the year.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's December 2010

Xenoaesthetics by F.J. Bergmann

Nice language, a touch of amusing imagery, but I'm not sure I can get behind the concept. A species who doesn't use adjectives or appreciate beauty is not just secretly desperate for it. Stop anthropomorphizing very alien aliens!

Sailor by Mark Rich

Very nice rhythm and wordplay about a solar-sail ship leaving Earth behind.

Blueprint For a Domed City by Jessica Taylor

A beautiful, safe, organized domed city is pretty awful in the grand scheme. Much like the turns-of-phrase in this poem.

Mark Rich is the clear standout this issue, nailing both language and concept. Bergmann has the language only, and Taylor murders even that. But I'm still not sure Sailor is good enough for any awards.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's June 2009

And Drunk the Milk of Paradise by Robert Frazier

Oblique, poetic bit about a revolution on Mars, doesn't say anything much but not awful.

Within Your Shoes by Mark Rich

When everyone is extraordinary, the normal guy is the only unique one. This one was great on the first reading, but somehow diminished on the second one. Not to say I didn't like it, but although it is a real poem, has rhythm and depth and something to say, and tells a story on top of that, it ends up being almost too trivial? That review is almost ironic, considering the content.

Split Decisions by Kendall Evans & David C. Kopaska-Merkel

Navajo spirituality meets quantum physics. Lots of toying with wave-particle duality wave-form collapse, has a nice lyrical quality, but not as original as it thinks it is. Good, not great.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's April/May 2009

Small Conquerors by Geoffrey A. Landis

I don't like the "Here's the lesson" at the end, but this was a nice little story about mice conquering humanity. Fast, fun, but not amazing.

We Ignore Him by PMF Johnson

Pan adapts to modern civilization, moderate nature symbolism ensues.

Bridges by Peter Roberts

Space elevators non-poetically, extrapolated to cosmically unlikely dimensions.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's March 2009

First Beer on Mars by David Lunde

Just what it says on the can; story about the building of the first Mars brewery. Adequate.

Nightlife by Sandra Lindow

Grammar is sexy. Great fun, the only part I didn't love was the last line. But it needed something like that, so I'm calling this page-full-of-wordplay pretty great.

Cabaret by J.E. Stanley

Blues musicians held captive by aliens and made to perform. Good enough in a shortshortshort story sort of way.

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 January 2009

Just one poem this month:

On Zurlygg Street by Bruce McAllister

"Run Spot, Run" is updated so it has the word "computational" in it. The last two lines are funny, but the sing-song tone wore me down. Read it to your kids if you want to explain the term "sentience".

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.

Poetry Roundup: Asimov's October/November 2009

The top 5 poems of the year are split between this issue, and August's.

Derivative Work by Elissa Malcohn

Frankenstein's Monster has legal troubles: fun concept, mediocre poem.

For Ye, of Very Little Faith by W. Gregory Stewart

As physics puns go, this one's electroweak.

Monsters by Geoffrey A. Landis

Commercial Halloween makes monsters unscary, this could be a mistake. Like spending too much time on this poem. And I like Werewolves of London.

Unghost Stories by Greg Beatty

A haunting poem about how one does not need ghosts to feel haunted. Excellent.

The Hedge Witch's Upgrade by Sandra Lindow

Fantastic gardening inspired by the world record for World's Longest Herbaceous Border. Magical description of the mundane is always fun.

Edgar Allan Poe by Bryan D. Dietrich

I like his poem, but I'm not letting Mr. Dietrich run my Dead Writers Action Figure business.

In the final evaluation, this was an excellent issue for poetry: I rate Unghost Stories as my favorite poem of the year, with Edgar Allan Poe and The Hedge Witch's Upgrade as fourth and fifth place, respectively.