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Taking Submissions: Eye To The Telescope #30: Witches

September 15, 2018

Deadline: September 15th, 2018
Payment: US 3¢/word rounded to nearest dollar; minimum US $3, maximum $25.

Eye to the Telescope 30, Witches, will be edited by Ashley Dioses.

A witch is defined as someone who is said to possess usually malignant supernatural powers. Since speculative fiction covers fantasy and science fiction as well as horror, we’re going to focus on ‘usually’ in that definition. I want any take on witches with any gender. Horrific witches, saintly witches, pretty witches, ugly witches, witches from different planets, witches from different dimensions, historical witches with a speculative spin. I want witches performing rituals, witches celebrating the sabbats, witches casting spells or curses. I know sorceresses, conjurers, enchantresses are similar but they are not the same. I prefer traditional formal and metrical verse done well. Prose poetry is fine. For free verse, enchant me with imagery and beautiful language. That doesn’t mean archaic language (though a little is fine). Think of Edgar Allan Poe, Clark Ashton Smith, George Sterling, David Park Barnitz, Charles Baudelaire.

Submission Guidelines

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

  • Please submit 1–3 poems in English (in body of e-mail, or attached as .doc, .docx, or .rtf).
  • Please send submissions to [email protected] with the subject line “ETTT sub:” followed by the poet’s name.
  • Include a short bio.
  • Deadline: September 15. The issue will appear on October 15, 2018.

Payment and rights

  • Accepted poems will be paid for at the following rate: US 3¢/word rounded to nearest dollar; minimum US $3, maximum $25. Payment is on publication.
  • The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association normally uses PayPal to pay poets, but can also send checks.
  • Eye to the Telescope is an online publication. Therefore, First Electronic Rights (for original unpublished poems) are being sought.

Who can submit?

Anyone writing speculative poetry.


What is Speculative Poetry?

Speculative poetry is poetry which falls within the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural horror, plus some related genres such as magic realism, metafiction, and fabulation. It is not easy to give precise definitions, partly because many of these genres are framed in term of fiction rather than poetry.

A good starting point is “About Science Fiction Poetry” by Suzette Haden Elgin, the founder of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Despite its title, this article is applicable all forms of speculative poetry.

Tim Jones, editor of Issue 2, had a go at defining science fiction poetry on his blog, in two parts (These blog posts date from 2009, and the Voyagersanthology has since been published. These posts do refer specifically to science fiction poetry, rather than the broader field of speculative poetry.):

timjonesbooks.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-is-science-fiction-poetry-part-1.html

timjonesbooks.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-is-science-fiction-poetry-part-2.html


What Is the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA)?

As the SFPA says on its website at sfpoetry.com, “The Science Fiction Poetry Association was founded in 1978 to bring together poets and readers interested in science fiction poetry. What is sf poetry? You know what they say about definitions—everybody has one. To be sure, it is poetry (we’ll leave that definition to you), but it’s poetry with some element of speculation—usually science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Some folks include surrealism, some straight science.”

See the SFPA site for lots more information—and please consider joining.

Via: Eye to the Telescope.

Details

Date:
September 15, 2018