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SCIFAIKUEST AUGUST 2023 

ONLINE EDITION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWIN SUNS BY JOHN REINHART

 

EDITORIAL

 

Happy Anniversary!

 

As our regular Readers know, August is Scifaikuest’s anniversary, and we try to give you our very best issues with the most amazing poetry, articles and artwork.

 

Speaking of artwork, our Door is “Twin Suns” by John Reinhart.

 

We have an interesting article, An Aversion to Counting Syllables by Roxanne Barbour.

 

The Featured Poet section, usually reserved for the PRINT edition, has now become a regular part of our ONLINE version as well, and our Featured Poet this time is Lee Hudspeth. I’m sure you will enjoy the poetry he has to offer!

 

All of the wonderful material you find in this issue is multiplied in the PRINT edition, so if you don’t subscribe, please check out the PRINT edition in our store at:  https://www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/scifaikuest 

 

Scifaikuest  finally has its own ISBN!!! Please inform your local book stores and library that they are now able to ORDER SCIFAIKUEST!!!

 

You can always find us here, at Hiraeth Books at:

https://www.hiraethsffh.com/home-1 

 

If you don’t have a subscription to our PRINT edition, they are available at:

https://www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/scifaikuest  

 

And, if you would like to join the select group of contributors by submitting your poetry, artwork or article, you can find our guidelines at:  

https://www.hiraethsffh.com/scifaikuest 

 

Pssst! Looking for something to read? Check out t.santitoro’s newest offering, Those Who Die, “a story of tragedy, danger and moral decline, a Frankenstein-esque, careful-what-you-wish-for  tale of creating that which threatens to destroy one's very existence”, at:

https://www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/those-who-die-by-t-santitoro

You can order t.santitoro's novella, Adopted Child, at:

https://www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/adopted-child-by-t-santitoro

 

You can also get a copy of her vampire/western novelette, The Legend of Trey Valentine, at: https://www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/legend-of-trey-valentine-by-teri-santitoro 

 

A huge Scifaikuest Welcome to our newest Contributors: Sarah Cannavo, Robert Fleming  and Shelli Jankowski-Smith

 

an anniversary apart

the star-skiff’s cat

sharing my berth

 

-sakyu-


 

SCIFAIKU

 

odd sensor readings…          
asteroid crater shifts
revealing an eye

 

Stephen C. Curro

 

*

 

solar flare aftermath  

a mass grave
of androids

 

Stephen C. Curro

 

*

 

lipstick

made from stardust 
envy of the party

 

Stephen C. Curro

 

*

 

sentimentary

the geologist finds 
a memory card

 

Tyler McIntosh

 

*

 

study abroad
my passport returned      
covered in slime

 

Tyler McIntosh

 

*

 

moons rising

at both ends

of the pond

 

Shelli Jankowski-Smith

 

*

 

underground 

the richness of

our implosion

 

Shelli Jankowski-Smith

 

*

 

the northern lights

shifting south

with mint juleps

 

Shelli Jankowski-Smith

 

*

 

Mars
retirement villages
system wars survivors

 

Roxanne Barbour          

 

*

 

snaring
personal thoughts
additions to database

 

Roxanne Barbour          

 

*

 

the best minds
left behind
Earth

 

Roxanne Barbour

 

*


glowing faces
change from happy to sad
radioactive

Guy Belleranti

*

 

traditions ossified 

lectures recorded
by professors long dead
school spirits revived

 

Herb Kauderer
 

*

 

catering to the clientele 

the robot’s dentist
stocking stainless steel floss
& diamond-tipped drills

 

Herb Kauderer
 

*

 

water premium 

laundry day in space
crank up the sonic washers 
reaching for the earplugs

 

Herb Kauderer
 

*

 

fighting writer’s block  

completely unaware of

Martian invasion

 

Gabriel Smithwilson

 

*

 

reunited   

with our forebears

paradox

 

semi

 

*

  

soft landing  

how our minds

were slowly wiped

 

semi

 

*

 

singing lullabies  

during a lightning storm

rescue mission

 

semi

 

*

 

"Devourer of Helios"  

 

pregnant dragon

eating sun

keeping babies warm

 

Matthew Wilson

 

*

 

empire state building

honeymooners on the roof top

Godzilla King Kong

 

Robert Fleming

 

*

 

cyborg's funeral

the remains are buried in

the scrapyard

 

Ngo Binh Anh Khoa

 

*

 

SENRYU

aliens avoid
laundromats on Saturn
they leave dirty rings

Guy Belleranti

 

*

 

HORRORKU

 

Conduit            

the medium writhes 

unknown syllables 

wrenched from her throat

 

Sarah Cannavo

 

*

 

cracked mirror            

I shudder to think

what came through

 

Sarah Cannavo

 

*

 

winter chill

a sudden phone call from

my late mother

 

Ngo Binh Anh Khoa

 

*

 

TANKA 


 

interlude on Mars
low-gravity dancing
competition
travelling to Earth
adjusting to gravity

 

Roxanne Barbour           

 

 

rehabilitation
educational instruction
understanding space wars
politicians alongside
veterans

 

Roxanne Barbour   

 

*

 

SCI(NA)KU  TANKA

 

In the Royal Garden

 

delighted

dragons daintily

devouring delicious dandelions  

despite destructive

dentition

 

Lauren McBride

 

*

 

OTHER FORMS (including: Sijo, Fibonacci, Cinquain, Minutes, Diminuendo, Ghazals,Threesomes, Brick, etc.)

 

ACROSTIC

Stranded on a Strange World

 

Cautiously approaching lights

In the distance to get help.

Totally alone here after

Yesterday's deadly shuttle crash.

 

Lauren McBride

 

*

FIBONACCI 

when
they
ask how  
I can be
so calm and serene
while werewolves prowl neighborhood streets
I let out a growl
and bare teeth,
then pounce
and
eat
 
Guy Belleranti

 

*
 

SATURNE BINARY  

 

 

Occultation by a Derby Hat

 

the

woman

ahead wears

a globe-sized hat

me -

now

a moon swaying

from side to

side to

see

 

 

Lauren McBride

 

*

 

 

SATURNE BINARY

 

We Should Run!

 

what

does NOT

make sense is

opening the

door

when

closet monsters

want to kill

all that

breathes

 

Lauren McBride

 

*

 

ARTICLE

 

An Aversion to Counting Syllables by Roxanne Barbour

 

A hay(na)ku sonnet comprises five hay(na)ku stanzas (of the three-line form: 1 word / 2 words / 3 words, or reverse) with the last stanza compressed into a couplet (2 lines of three words each), in order to satisfy the sonnet requirement of fourteen lines.


This type of sonnet is considered a minimalistic form.

I do not like to count syllables because there are so many variations/disagreements stemming from language, accent, and such.

However, I love the possible speculative nature of minimalistic poetry, so I converted the hay(na)ku sonnet into a sci(na)ku sonnet, to appease myself. We also have the sci(na)ku tanka, which I will discuss later.

 

To summarize, a sci(na)ku sonnet has the form:

-          Scifaiku (6 words over 3 lines: 1 word / 2 words / 3 words , or reverse)

-          Scifaiku

-          Scifaiku

-          Scifaiku

-          Couplet (2 lines of 3 words each)

 

A personal example of a sci(na)ku scifaiku sonnet:

 

Flinch

flinch
a reaction
meant to signal

twitch
a signal
meant to discourage

glancing
down left
discouraging further discussion

discourse
future integration
bringing worlds together

series of meetings
ignoring past negatives

 

Now, from an expert in the form, Vince Gotera (speculative poet; editor of Star*Line, etc) gives us:

 

9/11 plus 12

Wingless
sparrows fell
from ashen skies.

 

Ghosts
loomed from
fog of ash.

 

Twelve years later
still entangled:
Afghanistan.

 

Bin Laden dead.
Hourglass sand
slipping

 

us downslope: ash
inferno downfall empire.

 

This sonnet was reprinted in Hay(na)ku 15, a commemorative 15th year Anniversary Anthology edited by Eileen R. Tabios.

 

‘The hay(na)ku sonnet is Vince Gotera`s invention, made up of five hay(na)ku stanzas, with the last one compressed into a couplet (3 words per line) in order to get the sonnet requirement of 14 lines. This poem`s title comes from its first publication in 13,’ as written in Hay(na)ku 15, p. 64.

 

Since many variations of Hay(na)ku, Sci(na)ku continue to be created, `Eileen Tabios has a comprehensive (but inevitably incomplete) list available at https://eileenrtabios.com/haynaku/haynaku-variations.’

 

There we find the definition of a Hay(na)ku / sci(na)ku tanka sonnet:
Fourteen (14) lines of the form:

 

Couplet (2 lines of 3 words each)

Tanka  (1 word / 2 words / 3 words / 2 words / 1 word), or ( 3 words / 2 words / 1 word / 2 words / 3 words)

Tanka  (1 word / 2 words / 3 words / 2 words / 1 word), or ( 3 words / 2 words / 1 word / 2 words / 3 words)

Couplet (2 lines of 3 words each)

 

And here`s a try:

 

Flash

flash of light
awakening planted seedlings

 

seedlings
on Mars
experiencing temperature challenges
humans understanding
extremes

 

gardening challenges encouraging
interspecies cooperation
extremes
planet variables
considered scientific milestones

 

seedlings growing remarkably
light emission welcomed

 

*
 

FEATURED POET Lee Hudspeth

 

running downhill...

out in the Oort cloud

a comet breaks free

 

*

 

a mason jar

of fireflies...

pocket universe

 

*

 

nav tech—

praying that all the subroutines

are perfect

 

*

 

between stars we dream in light-years

 

*

 

cosmic inflation

the quintessential

“aha” moment

 

*

 

between raindrops

countless quantum kingdoms

rise and fall

 

*

 

aliens

lighting up a pulsar—

Fermi paradox

 

*

 

Saturn outpost—

no birdsong

in the diamond rain

 

*

 

first probe

of a black hole...

message in a bottle

 

*

 

autumn Venus

just past the horizon

still tugging on me

 

*

 

zero-dimensional space

where nothing

is everything

 

*

 

clearing my head

of cobwebs—

Sting

 

*

 

Saturn sans rings...

they attacked

from above the ecliptic

 

*

 

time machine I would unread her diary

 

*

 

soft sounds of the ship...

waiting for the meds to kick in

cryosleep

 

*

 

particle accelerator did we just create a black h

 

*

 

nuclear winter—

the talking heads

not talking

 

*

 

pale blue dot

a prologue

as we reach for the stars

 

*

 

mood stabilizer

for an android...

all zeroes

 

*

 

dandelion seeds so many multiverses

 

*

 

INTERVIEW WITH FEATURED POET 

Lee Hudspeth


 

How long have you been writing poetry?

 

I remember working on my high school newspaper, realizing that it was like assembling a puzzle comprised of pieces that my classmates and I created ourselves. It was invigorating. Since then, I’ve been fascinated with inventing stories and the process of creativity. I didn’t become a creative writer immediately after college, but I was always writing in some capacity. For example, as an entrepreneur I wrote courseware about how to use PCs and I taught that curriculum to business clients. I was also the co-author of ten nonfiction books about information technology. A few years ago, I set out on a “second act” that included creative writing, especially poetry.

 

Did you begin writing haiku before you branched out to scifaiku?

 

Yes, I did write haiku before I discovered scifaiku. I started out not knowing much about the form of haiku. To educate myself, I read online articles and then I read several classic haiku guidebooks; for example, Haiku: A Poet’s Guide by Lee Gurga, and The Haiku Handbook by William J. Higginson and Penny Harter. I was also reading as much contemporary haiku as I could, both in journals and anthologies.

 

How did you learn about scifaiku?

 

I remember seeing science fiction themed haiku on Twitter and that intrigued me. I had already found good publication sources for modern English haiku and senryu, but simply wasn’t aware of other genres of haiku like scifaiku, etc. Around that time, I discovered The Haiku Pea Podcast’s episode “Scifaiku: A Workshop with Deborah P Kolodji” and it provided an excellent framework for writing scifaiku.

 

Where did you learn to write scifaiku?

 

I kept reading scifaiku wherever I could find it. Then I would apply the techniques I had learned from the books and the podcast episode I mentioned earlier, with a focus on sci-fi and fantasy themes that resonate for me: cosmology, astronomy, philosophy, and physics.

 

Do you write poetry other than genre poetry? If so, what kind?

 

In addition to haiku, scifaiku, and haiku split sequences, I write free verse and rhymed verse. I’ve also dabbled with structured forms like villanelles. I hope to write some haibun this year.

 

Whose poetry has influenced you the most?

 

Two contemporary haiku anthologies I’ve found to be inspiring and influential are Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years edited by Jim Kacian, Philip Rowland, and Allan Burns, and The Haiku Anthology edited by Cor van den Heuvel. In addition to the many timeless, beautiful haiku presented in these reference books, the editors’ comments in the Forewords and Introductions are very informative.

 

Who is your favorite poet?

 

I’m currently enjoying the collections of Emily Dickinson and T. S. Eliot. For haiku, I can’t select one favorite poet, but I always find inspiration by reading (and re-reading) the work of the poets included in the haiku anthologies I mentioned earlier, as well as the haiku and scifaiku published in contemporary haiku journals.

 

What/who is your main inspiration?

 

Writing haiku involves taking the time to keenly observe moments that occur in the world around us, which could be nature, human civilization, or the intersection of the two. Being out in nature can inspire a fully formed haiku or a fragment of an idea, which I’ll jot down on my phone or on paper. I also take pictures that I can refer to later. Memories of childhood and other past experiences are great sources of inspiration. We also observe (and create) worlds in our imagination. Since I was a young boy I’ve loved science fiction short stories, novels, TV shows, and films; I’m sure that material plays a role in the inspiration for my scifaiku.

 

What poetry magazines do you read/contribute to?

 

In addition to Scifaikuest, I am honored to have my work (haiku and other forms) appear recently or forthcoming in Akitsu Quarterly, Autumn Moon Haiku Journal, tsuri-dōrō, Presence, Five Fleas, Poetry Pea Journal, Prune Juice, The Heron’s Nest, Acorn, Front Porch Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, and Star*Line, among other journals. My work has also appeared in several haiku anthologies, including The Red Moon Anthology.

 

Bio

 

Lee Hudspeth is a Touchstone nominated poet. His debut, full-length poetry book Incandescent Visions was self-published in 2019. Since then, his poetry has appeared in numerous journals and several anthologies. You can find out more about Lee at his author website www.leehudspeth.com

 

*

 

FAVORITE POEM by editor t.santitoro

 

Occultation by a Derby Hat

 

the

woman

ahead wears

a globe-sized hat

me -

now

a moon swaying

from side to

side to

see

 

 

By Lauren McBride

What a perfect picture this poem captures! Well done, Lauren!

 

*

 

 

WHO?

 

Sarah Cannavo: When I'm writing I often want to do anything but. When I'm not writing, all I want to do is write. I believe that while there's sometimes light to be found in darkness, shadows can't exist without light to cast them in the first place, and oftentimes what isn't said can haunt far longer than what is. Despite living in south Jersey I have yet to see the Jersey Devil, but I always keep an eye out

Stephen Curro hails from Windsor, Colorado.  Along with Scifaikuest, his short fiction and poetry has appeared in The Fifth Di... and Daily Science Fiction, among other venues. His sci-fi novelette The Spark is also available through Hiraeth Publishing.  In addition to speculative fiction and poetry, Stephen writes educational materials for the nonprofit Taproot Guru.  When he isn't writing, he works as a high school paraprofessional.  When he isn't working, he enjoys scuba diving and plotting to trick his dad into watching Lord of the Rings.  You can keep up with his shenanigans at www.stephenccurro.com

*

Robert Fleming lives in Lewes, DE. Published in United States, Canada, England, Ireland and Australia. Member of the Rehoboth Beach, Eastern Shore, and Horror Writer’s Association. 2022 winner of San Gabriel Valley CA broadside-1 poem, 2021 winner of Best of Mad Swirl poetry and twice nominated for Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Follow Robert at Log in or sign up to view

*

Lee Hudspeth is a poet living in Southern California. His debut, full-length poetry book Incandescent Visions was self-published in 2019. Since then, his poetry has appeared in numerous online and print journals. He has recently become interested in the scifaiku form.

*

Shelli Jankowski-Smith lives on Boston’s North Shore, where she works as a Reiki healer, Tarot/ tea-leaf reader, and educator. She has served as the town’s Poet Laureate since 2018. Shelli spends regular time visiting and camping in her native Michiana (southwest Michigan/ northwest Indiana), and on Maine’s Mount Desert Island. A few of Shelli’s recent haiku publications include Trash Panda Haiku (a journal for the poetic expression of life in the Anthropocene), Eastern Structures, and Tsuri-doro. Her poems have also appeared in such anthologies as “Pluto: New Horizons for a Lost Horizon” (ed. Richard Grossinger, North Atlantic Books), and she is co-editor of the literary anthology “In My Life: Encounters with the Beatles” (Fromm International Pub.).

*

Herb Kauderer lives in a windstorm where his sighs cannot be heard.

*

Lauren McBride finds inspiration in faith, family, nature, science and membership in the SFPA. Nominated for the Best of the Net, Rhysling and Dwarf Stars Awards, her poetry has appeared in dozens of publications including Asimov's, Dreams & Nightmares, and Fantasy & Science Fiction. She enjoys swimming, gardening, baking, reading, writing and knitting scarves for our troops. 

*

Tyler McIntosh was born and raised where the mountains meet the valley to the south of Jackson, Wyoming. He is an environmental scientist, skier, and map-lover now based out of Boulder, Colorado.

*

Ngo Binh Anh Khoa is a teacher of English in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In his free time, he enjoys daydreaming and writing dark verses for entertainment. His poems have appeared in Scifaikuest, Weirdbook, Star*Line, Spectral Realms and other venues. 

*

semi aka Terrie Leigh Relf aka The Boortean Ambassador to Haura lives by the beach in San Diego. In addition to being on staff at Hiraeth Publishing and Tales from the Moonlit Path, she is a life and writing coach and teaches English at National University. You can learn more about her at the following websites: terrieleighrelf.com;

tlrelf.wordpress.comtlrelfreikipractitioner.wordpress.com

*

Gabriel Smithwilson is finally getting around to watching Stranger Things, between writing haiku and scifaiku, and submitting them to various publications across the infinite multiverse.

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