My Goodreads review: The 2015 Rhysling Anthology

The 2015 Rhysling Anthology by Rich Ristow

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



[Full disclosure: I have a poem in this anthology. I won’t be discussing it here.]

This year’s Rhysling Anthology (which serves as an awards voting tool for members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association) seems particularly strong. Offering nearly 160 pp. of speculative poetry in short (under 50 lines) and long (50 lines & over) form categories, it represents a good sampling of current styles, themes, and trends in this genre.

I found less emphasis on fairy tales and myths this year, and more concern with various sciences. A fair percentage of the poems read close to mainstream, though favorite SF tropes (starflight, extee colonies, aliens, etc.) are still going strong. Horror and dark fantasy – some of it Lovecraftian – also made a showing. I was interested to notice that several long-form poems this year were formal, either rhymed or in blank verse. There seemed to be an unusual number of poems inspired by other poems or authors, as well.

The anthology itself is a very nicely produced trade paperback, with full-color cover and generally good layout, though I did notice a few broken stanzas. All in all, it makes an excellent “yearbook” for lovers of spec poetry.




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