ILLUMEN Spring 2026

Illumen is a quarterly digest of science fiction and fantasy poetry, including
traditional as well as minimalist forms such as haiku, haibun, empat perkataan,
cinquains, and others, as well as more traditional formats for poetry, such as
rhyming and free verse and experimental.

Contents
Poems
Sycamore by Maureen Bowden
Lady-like by Christina Rau
Thrice Blessed by Darrell Lindsey
The K. S. Hardy Page
How the Solar System Really Lost Its Tenth Planet by Tyree Campbell
The Gwragedd Annwn by Lee Clark Zumpe
Two Ku by Guy Belleranti
When Tyrants Fall by Maureen Bowden
Appetites by Jacqueline West
The Planet Dreamed Us Wrong by Philip Madden
the irony by Lee Clark Zumpe
Wayside Shrine by Maureen Bowden
Horns by Amanda Niamh Dawson
Athena in the Age of Technology by Maureen Bowden
Lucy by Maureen Bowden

Color Illustrations
In the Morning by Sandy DeLuca
Mermaid by Richard Schell
Aliens on Antarctic Expedition by Sonali Roy
Cover: Dragon Nebula by Lorraine Pinelli Brown