Review of Jordan Hirsch, “Every Moment Hereafter,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 65-66 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an excellent example of a good story-telling poem that is still a poem first and foremost, and not an oddly formatted story. Beautiful.
Review of Deborah L. Davitt, “Aqua Vitae,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 76 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
If water is the source of our life, what kind of life would water on another planet be the source of? It’s the sort of question that is apt for turning into poetry, as Davitt does — though maybe those who haven’t studied 20th C analtyic philosophy and the question of whether water is H2O or not will appreciate the poem more than I did!
Review of Brian U. Garrison, “Domestic Tranquility,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 75 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This poem was a clever retelling of the fairy tale of the Elves and the Shoemaker, turned into a cutting commentary on modern capitalism.
Review of Lisa Timpf, “Run Run Renegade,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 69 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I liked the story that this poem told, but I think I would have preferred it as a story, rather than as a poem.
Review of Darius Jones, “In the Dose,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 67 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This poem was a lovely little commentary on the ways in which one and the same thing can both kill us and give us life.
Review of Rachel Ayers, “They Came In Tiny Ships,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 59 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a sparse, spare little poem, giving away very little — including who “they” are, which I found a bit frustrating. But this verse was gorgeous:
They tried to fix us but we
liked the parts they thought broken.
Review of Bruce Boston, “Double Down on Darkness,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 56-57 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a dark and desperate poem, easy to read as a commentary on the current state of the US.
Review of Mikaela Kesigner, “Ste·nog·ra·phy,” Radon Journal 3 (January 2023): 60 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This poem illustrated the fact that Radon Journal isn’t all about spec fic (or spec poetry) — there’s nothing at all speculative about this critique on the justice system, it’s unfortunately rather prosaically ordinary. Perhaps that’s why it didn’t hit me as strongly as some of the other poems in the issue; it’s just a bit too depressing without any imaginative relief.
Review of Avra Margariti, “When I’m Thirty I Receive a Box Full of Your Steel Bones,” Radon Journal 3 (January 2023): 54 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The title is itself almost a flash fic story, and it sets up a lot of pressure on the rest of the poem to rise to the occasion. We don’t find out who “you” is until the end of the first stanza, and the reveal makes sense of the title. I almost think the poem would’ve been stronger ending there; the second stanza felt a little unnecessary, to me.
(First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction
Review of James Ph. Kotsybar, “Epitaph for the Monarch Butterfly,” Radon Journal 3 (January 2023): 63 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This poem about extinction treads a fine line, balancing ambiguously between pessimism and optimism.
SFF Reviews