Review of Casey Lucas, “Lekythos,” Small Wonders no. 7 (January 2024): 20 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There’s a lot of mythological allusions in this poem, but for me they didn’t quite all seem to hang together in a coherent way. I was a bit underwhelmed by the poem until the final two lines, which are brilliant.
Review of Marie Brennan, “Damnatio Memoriae: A History of the Past That Used to Be,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 37 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The power of this beautiful, depressing poem lies in the way in which it purports to be a fantasy, and yet reading it, we all know what it is describing is reality.
Review of Ubong Johnson, “Kumbaya,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 35 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Fantasy poetry is a tricky genre, in part because even ordinary poetry is itself often fantastical in nature. I felt that this poem could be read in two ways, one, merely as using metaphorical language to express grief and loss, the other in a more fantasy light; how I read it was definitely influenced by the nature of the venue it was published in. Without that, I’m not sure I’d call it “fantasy,” but I would still call it beautiful.
Review of Myna Chang, “Let Us Dream,” Small Wonders no. 3 (September 2023): 25 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This beautiful piece straddling the boundaries of prose and poetry is full of sorrow and loss and regret.
Review of Devan Barlow, “Shears,” Small Wonders no. 3 (September 2023): 17-18 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was the most hilarious retelling of Sleeping Beauty I’ve ever come across, and I loved it. Top marks, two thumbs up, and a chef’s kiss.
Review of H. V. Patterson, “Seducing the Supervillain,” Small Wonders no. 3 (September 2023): 10 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an absolute smasher of a poem, containing all the things I like: Beautiful language, a clear story with a lot of character development, and that thing that leaves me wanting more.
Review of Colleen Anderson, “Machine (r)Evolution” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 70-74 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This multi-page poem traces the history of machines, from the point of view of the people whose lives they changed. It’s a pretty depressing read, but well constructed.
Review of Angel Leal, “The Machines Had Accepted Me For So Long,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 62-64 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an absolutely gorgeous poem about both masking and transitioning.
Review of Sebastian Cole, “Reboot: Upgrade,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 61 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is a poem of many layers, allowing for many different readings and interpretations, with beautiful lines like:
Some days I am “no preference,”
androgynous as a lamp post.
I really loved it.
Review of Bobby Parrott, “A Robot Would Never Kiss You With Its Tongue,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 58 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This sort of felt like a case of “how many SF terms can I throw into this poem?” People who prefer poetry that is more about words than about story may like this poem; for me, I’m a bit more on the “story” side of things for this to really be my type of thing.
SFF Reviews