The Best Poem category is top notch this year. All the pieces made great impressions on me. I’m getting better and better at appreciating good poetry. I think it’s because I’ve been exposed to great prose over the past fourteen years or so with all the genre lit I read. It still surprises me that you can write sci fi, fantasy, and horror poetry. Edgar Allen Poe was always the exception in my mind. Well, I stand corrected and better educated. Also, I included links for the poems, on some of which there is an option to hear the poem being read. Here are this year’s nominees in order from favorite to least favorite, which is tough based on their high quality.
“Landing: Seattle,” by Brandon O’Brien. 5 stars - This poem was composed for and read at the opening ceremony of the Seattle WorldCon last year by the very first Poet Laureate of a WorldCon. It was extraordinary! I’m probably biased by getting to hear it read by the poet himself and hear the live audience reactions. I think he exhilarated all the attendees at the ceremony with his reading. It was about a landing party coming to observe and participate in the WorldCon with Best Poem being an experimental category that year.
“Hex Supply Customer Support Log,” by Elis Montgomery. 5 stars - This was a coy satire on customer support experiences with someone calling about a missing order of witchy ingredients for a hex. But the person accuses the customer support rep of being an AI. It’s great tongue in cheek poetry. Found it amusing and sooo relevant, especially after finding out I had made an appointment for a furnace maintenance with an AI. I felt humiliated.
“The World to Come,” by Jennifer Hudak. 4 stars - This poem conveys the intense thoughts of a new revenant grappling with why they were resurrected. They are not happy about it.
“How to Become a Sea Witch,” by Theodora Goss. 4 stars - Delightful poem about becoming a sea witch and all the great things you can do as one. Lovely word choices
“The Mourning Robot,” by Angela Liu. 4 stars - Another beautiful poem about robots who mourn for the dead, like the professional mourners of old. Another with lovely word choices.
“Care for Lightning,” by Mari Ness. 4 stars - This was my least favorite poem, but it’s still a remarkable piece. It’s about being a god and causing destruction, but hey, you get bored and itch for meaning when you’re an immortal.
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