The 2022 Dwarf Stars Anthology: The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Short Poetry of 2021
2022 Chairs: Adele Gardner (gardnercastle.com, none/they, Mx.) is a fiction writer & award-winning poet with a poetry collection, Halloween Hearts, forthcoming from Jackanapes Press and work in Analog, Strange Horizons, PodCastle, and Daily Science Fiction. This genderfluid night owl loves libraries, samurai films, and reading comics with cats. Adele serves as literary executor for father, mentor, and namesake Delbert R. Gardner.
Greer Woodward is a poet whose work appears in Star*Line, Scifaikuest, Silver Blade, Eye to the Telescope, Illumen, Blōō Outlier Journal and Troutswirl. She was a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, and the lyricist for Theatreworks/USA's Sherlock Holmes and the Red-Headed League. She also wrote for the musical revues Pets! and That's Life!, an Outer Critics Circle Awards nominee for Best Off-Broadway Musical. She lives upcountry on the Big Island of Hawaii with her husband, actor John Sucke, and their four cats.
Cover Art: Oberon © 2016 Elisabeth Alba
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Layout: F. J. Bergmann
Publisher: Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association
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2022 Award Winners
Winners (tie):
Poem with Lines from my Son • Jen Stewart Fueston • Bracken VIII
What Trees Read • Mary Soon Lee • Uppagus 48
2nd Place:
Colony • Jamal Hodge • Penumbric V:4
3rd Place:
Future Portrait of Dark Matter • Gene Twaronite • NewMyths.com 55
Honorable Mentions:
Mexico City, 2101 AD • Juan Manuel Pérez • Eye to the Telescope 41
fury • Lee Murray • Tortured Willows: Bent, Bowed, Unbroken by Christina Sng, Angela Yuriko Smith, Lee Murray, and Geneve Flynn (Yuriko Publishing)
Mother • Merie Kirby • Strange Horizons, 20 December
Past Equinox • Ann K. Schwader • Unquiet Stars (Weird House Press)
“—And They All Lived Together—” • Andrew J. Wilson • Star*Line 44.1
[cricket song] • Joshua Gage • Wales Haiku Journal, Summer
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Jen Grace Stewart is a writer, editor, and educator from Colorado. She teaches writing and rhetoric at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and for St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in South Florida. Her first collection of poetry, Madonna, Complex, was published by Cascade Books in 2020 as part of its long-running Poiema Poetry Series. She has also published two chapbooks of poetry, Latch (2019, River Glass Books) and Visitations (2015, Finishing Line Press). Her poems have recently appeared in the Colorado Review, AGNI and EcoTheo Review. Jen is a reviewer for Whale Road Review and was interim editor at Ruminate Magazine where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. Jen lives in Longmont with her two adventurous sons and two mischievous cats. You can find her on Twitter @jengracestewart or her website: www.jenstewartfueston.com. |
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Mary Soon Lee was born and raised in London, but has lived in Pittsburgh for over twenty years. Her latest books are from opposite ends of the poetry spectrum: Elemental Haiku, containing haiku for the periodic table, and The Sign of the Dragon, an epic fantasy with Chinese elements, winner of the 2021 Elgin Award. She hides her online presence with a cryptically named website (marysoonlee.com) and an equally cryptic Twitter account (@MarySoonLee). | |
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Jamal Hodge is a multi-award-winning filmmaker and writer from Queens NYC who has won over 80 awards with screenings at Tribecca Film Festival, Sundance, and the Cannes Short Film Corner. As a writer, Hodge is an active member of The Horror Writer's Association and the SFPA, being nominated for a 2021 & 2022 Rhysling Award for his poems “Fermi's Spaceship” and “Loving Venus.” His poetry is featured in the anthology Chiral Mad 5 alongside such legends as Stephen King and Linda Addison. His written work was featured in the historical all-black issue of Star*Line (43.4), Space & Time Magazine, Hybrid: Misfits, Monsters & Other Phenomena, Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine, Savage Planets, and many others. linktr.ee/directorh | |
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A former New Englander, Gene Twaronite is a Tucson poet and author of eleven books, including two juvenile fantasy novels as well as collections of poems, essays, short stories, and a children’s picture book. His first poetry book, Trash Picker on Mars (Kelsay Books), was the winner of the 2017 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for Arizona poetry. His scifi/fantasy collection What the Gargoyle Sees was nominated for an Elgin Award in 2021.His latest poetry book, Shopping Cart Dreams, has recently been published by Kelsay Books. Gene’s poems have been described as: “ranging from edgy to whimsical to inscrutable… playfully haunting and hauntingly playful.” Though he is not chiefly known for his speculative poetry, he frequently makes use of myth, fairy tale, scifi and fantasy themes in his poems. Follow more of Gene’s writing at his website: genetwaronitepoet.com |
106 members voted. Voting is now closed.
Anthology Table of Contents
(120 poems)
| [across eons] • Barun Saha • Star*Line 44.4 |
| [adding ellipses] • Hifsa Ashraf • Frogpond 44:3 |
| [after a downpour] • Anatoly Kudryavitsky • Shamrock Haiku Journal 45 |
| After All This Time • Robin Mayhall • Scifaikuest print, February |
| [all the different] • Michael J. Galko • The Heron’s Nest XXIII:4 |
| [all this rain] • Christina Sng • Star*Line 44.1 |
| “—And They All Lived Together—” • Andrew J. Wilson • Star*Line 44.1 |
| [as galaxies form] • Wendy Van Camp • Eccentric Orbits: An Anthology of Science Fiction Poetry, Vol. 2, ed. Wendy Van Camp (Dimensionfold Publishing) |
| [between her breasts] • Tyler McIntosh • Scifaikuest print, November |
| [bewitching hour] • Francis W. Alexander • Otoroshi Journal 1:2 |
| Black Beak (a Nonet) • B. Sharise Moore • Fantasy Magazine 65 |
| Black Swan • Sharmon Gazaway • Octavos, January 28 |
| Blow • Holly Day • Star*Line 44.4 |
| [brother beamed] • Guy Belleranti • Scifaikuest print, August |
| the burning river • Hal Y. Zhang • Uncanny 43 |
| Callisto Dreaming • Mariel Herbert • Star*Line 44.2 |
| closer • Matthew Daley • Star*Line 44.3 |
| The Closet • Jennifer Loring • Constraint 280, December 30 |
| [cold soup] • Roland Packer • NOON: journal of the short poem 20 |
| Colony • Jamal Hodge • Penumbric V:4 |
| [cricket song] • Joshua Gage • Wales Haiku Journal, Summer |
| Damsel in Distress Redux • Marsheila Rockwell • Star*Line 44.3 |
| [dark sky country] • Deborah P Kolodji • horror senryu journal, Oct. 6 |
| [Down in the river] • Denise Dumars • Star*Line 44.2 |
| [Earth fills the window] • Stephen C. Curro • Star*Line 44.1 |
| Epitaph for the Old Ones • Maxwell I. Gold • Oblivion in Flux: A Collection of Cyber Prose (Crystal Lake Publishing) |
| [exoplanet fossil] • Greer Woodward • Scifaikuest print, February |
| Expect Them to Arrive with Song • Jordan Hirsch • Octavos, June 17 |
| Exsanguination • Lena Donnarumma • The Sirens Call 56 |
| Fatherless • Roger Dutcher • Star*Line 44.3 |
| Feline Reinforcements • Adele Gardner • Scifaikuest print, August |
| Fetch • Gerri Leen • Departure Mirror 2 |
| The Final Fairy • Anna Cates • Canary 52 |
| [fingers stroking spines] • Joshua St. Claire • The Starlight Scifaiku Review 1:1 |
| [freeze-dried] • sakyu • Scifaikuest print, August |
| Funeral for a Star • Yuna Kang • Strange Horizons, 6 September |
| fury • Lee Murray • Tortured Willows: Bent, Bowed, Unbroken by Christina Sng, Angela Yuriko Smith, Lee Murray, and Geneve Flynn (Yuriko Publishing) |
| Future Portrait of Dark Matter • Gene Twaronite • NewMyths.com 55 |
| ghost writer • Hemapriya Chellappan • horror senryu journal, July 19 |
| [Globules of light] • Katerina Bruno • The Starlight Scifaiku Review 1:1 |
| A Haiku Howdunit Murder Mystery • John H. Dromey • Star*Line 44.4 |
| [half-heard whispers] • Tracy Davidson • horror senryu journal, February 1 |
| Hard Return • Michele Mekel • Eccentric Orbits: An Anthology of Science Fiction Poetry, Vol. 2, ed. Wendy Van Camp (Dimensionfold Publishing) |
| The Heart of the House • M. J. Holmes • The Horror Zine, August |
| [a hissing leak in the airlock] • LeRoy Gorman • Star*Line 44.2 |
| Hitting the Red Line • Herb Kauderer • Scifaikuest print, February |
| [horror movie] • Mark Gilbert • horror senryu journal, June 23 |
| [I’m trying to sleep] • Marcus Vance • Star*Line 44.2 |
| [in a deserted garden] • Padmini Krishnan • Shamrock Haiku Journal 46 |
| In Memoriam: Spring • Dan Bornstein • Star*Line 44.4 |
| [Jonbar hinge] • Thomas Tilton • Scifaikuest print, February |
| [a kind of afterlife] • Roberta Beary • Haiku Dialogue, Ad Astra: star clusters |
| [kohl stick] • Vandana Parashar • Poetry Pea 4:6 |
| [landing at the] • Brian Garrison • Star*Line 44.1 |
| [left behind on Earth] • semi • Scifaikuest print, August |
| [left my late father's] • David C. Kopaska-Merkel • Star*Line 44.1 |
| [long-dead stars] • Lev Hart • Haiku Dialogue, Ad Astra: distant suns |
| [longest] • Julie Schwerin • Cold Moon Journal, June 13 |
| Love on Halloween • DJ Tyrer • The Sirens Call 55 |
| [magic mirror] • Susan Burch • Scifaikuest print, August |
| Mexico City, 2101 AD • Juan Manuel Pérez • Eye to the Telescope 41 |
| [The modified plants] • Debby Feo • The Fifth Di…, June |
| [moon walk] • Valentina Ranaldi-Adams • Cold Moon Journal, June 24 |
| [moonscape] • Kat Lehmann • Frogpond 44:3 |
| Mother • Merie Kirby • Strange Horizons, 20 December |
| Narcissus Now • Diane Jackman • Octavos, March 11 |
| Niche • Jason P. Burnham • Constraint 280, December 30 |
| Night Spell • Deborah W. Sage • Eternal Haunted Summer, Winter Solstice |
| Nü Wa and Earth • Ellen Huang • K'in Literary Journal, June |
| [the octopus dreams] • Pippa Phillips • Cold Moon Journal, August 9 |
| [the offworlders didn’t] • Roxanne Barbour • Medium.com, December 28 |
| Older Red Riding Hood in the Woods Behind Her House • Carol Berg • Gingerbread House 47 |
| [One touch] • Doug Gant • Scifaikuest print, February |
| Orbital Mechanics • Ian Goh • Star*Line 44.3 |
| [pad 39] • Topher Dykes • Temple, 2021 British Haiku Society Members’ Anthology, ed. Iliyana Stoyanova (British Haiku Society) |
| Past Equinox • Ann K. Schwader • Unquiet Stars (Weird House Press) |
| [peaceful Halloween] • ayaz daryl nielsen • Haikuniverse, October 31 |
| Penny Dreadful • Stephanie Staab • Ligeia, Spring |
| The Perils of Using Traditional Practices in Modern Cults • Marcie Lynn Tentchoff • Polar Starlight 2 |
| Poem with Lines from my Son • Jen Stewart Fueston • Bracken VIII |
| [pouring rain] • Cherie Hunter Day • Acorn 47 |
| Prince Charming Sleeps with the Fishes • Robert Borski • Octavos, February 17 |
| Reflections on the Rescue of a Fawn • Shelly Jones • The Amphibian Literary Journal 1 |
| Riding Down a Dream • Melissa Ridley Elmes • Star*Line 44.4 |
| [riding lightning] • Akua Lezli Hope • Eccentric Orbits: An Anthology of Science Fiction Poetry, Vol. 2, ed. Wendy Van Camp (Dimensionfold Publishing) |
| Riverside • Avra Margariti • Octavos, March 4 |
| Sasquatch Burial Ground • Raven Jakubowski • Star*Line 44.1 |
| [scratched] • Kelli Lage • Haikuniverse, November 18 |
| [seeking] • Lauren McBride • Eye to the Telescope 42 |
| Slam • Jean Gallagher • Bowery Gothic V |
| Small Blue Poem • Lorraine Schein • Subterranean Blue Poetry IX:VI |
| [Something remains] • Rebecca Lilly • is/let, September |
| Straw Maidens • Meg Smith • Black Petals 94 |
| Strings • Deborah L. Davitt • SFPA Poetry Contest |
| [sturgeon moon] • Nick Hoffman • Eye to the Telescope 42 |
| Sunburn Affairs • Imogen L. Smiley • Lucent Dreaming 9 |
| Sunita Soars • Tony Daly • Utopia Science Fiction 2:4 |
| [superstring] • Helen Buckingham • NOON: journal of the short poem 20 |
| [Take Your Child to Work Day] • Ngo Binh Anh Khoa • Scifaikuest print, November |
| [tattoo inked on your arm] • Matthew Wilson • Star*Line 44.2 |
| Ten Squared • RK Rugg • Illumen, Summer |
| There Goes the Security Deposit • Sarah Cannavo • Star*Line 44.1 |
| [theremin] • Debbie Strange • failed |
| Tracks • Bruce Boston • Asimov’s Science Fiction, November/December |
| [two belief zones are ahead] • Barbara Candiotti • Star*Line 44.2 |
| Two Mountains • Brian Rosenberger • The Sirens Call 53 |
| Typographical Error • John Kaprielian • Riddled with Arrows 4.1 |
| [under the earth] • Tia Haynes • Otoroshi Journal 1:3 |
| [the Universe] • Alan Summers • Haiku Dialogue, Ad Astra: impermanence |
| [unzipping] • John Hawkhead • horror senryu journal, September 10 |
| Vampire Selfies • Alan Ira Gordon • Star*Line 44.1 |
| Watchmaker • Carolyn Clink • Polar Starlight 2 |
| [water lily …] • Francine Banwarth • The Heron’s Nest XXIII:1 |
| [we flip through] • Colleen Anderson • Potter’s Field 7 |
| what they left behind • Richard Magahiz • Star*Line 44.1 |
| What Trees Read • Mary Soon Lee • Uppagus 48 |
| [white balloons] • PS Cottier • AntipodeanSF 276 |
| White Flag • Tim Gardiner • Otoroshi Journal 1:1 |
| [widdershins] • Kirsten Cliff Elliot • horror senryu journal, May 10 |
| [Zen garden] • Adjei Agyei-Baah • Shamrock Haiku Journal 46 |
Nominations per publication: (55 venues)
| 1 | Acorn | |
| 1 | The Amphibian Literary Journal | |
| 1 | AntipodeanSF | |
| 1 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |
| 1 | Black Petals | |
| 1 | Bowery Gothic | |
| 1 | Bracken | |
| 1 | British Haiku Society | |
| 1 | Canary | |
| 3 | Cold Moon Journal | |
| 2 | Constraint 280 | |
| 1 | Crystal Lake Publishing | |
| 1 | Departure Mirror Quarterly | |
| 3 | Dimensionfold Publishing | |
| 1 | Eternal Haunted Summer | |
| 3 | Eye to the Telescope | |
| 1 | failed |
|
| 1 | Fantasy Magazine | |
| 1 | The Fifth Di… | |
| 2 | Frogpond | |
| 1 | Gingerbread House | |
| 3 | Haiku Dialogue | |
| 2 | Haikuniverse | |
| 2 | The Heron’s Nest | |
| 6 | horror senryu journal | |
| 1 | The Horror Zine | |
| 1 | Illumen | |
| 1 | is/let | |
| 1 | K'in Literary Journal | |
| 1 | Ligeia | |
| 1 | Lucent Dreaming | |
| 1 | Medium.com | |
| 1 | NewMyths.com | |
| 2 | NOON: journal of the short poem | |
| 5 | Octavos | |
| 3 | Otoroshi Journal | |
| 1 | Penumbric | |
| 1 | Poetry Pea | |
| 2 | Polar Starlight | |
| 1 | Potter's Field | |
| 1 | Riddled with Arrows | |
| 12 | Scifaikuest | |
| 1 | SFPA Poetry Contest | |
| 3 | Shamrock Haiku Journal | |
| 3 | Sirens Call | |
| 24 | Star*Line | |
| 2 | The Starlight Scifaiku Review | |
| 2 | Strange Horizons | |
| 1 | Subterranean Blue Poetry | |
| 1 | Uncanny | |
| 1 | Unquiet Stars (Weird House Press) | |
| 1 | Uppagus | |
| 1 | Utopia Science Fiction | |
| 1 | Wales Haiku Journal | |
| 1 | Yuriko Publishing |
