Mythic Delirium is delighted to celebrate our 10th anniversary of publishing the best off-beat and eclectic speculative poetry with a landmark event in the history of our little do-it-yourself 'zine. Our newest issue, No. 20, showcases an original poem from best-selling and multiple award-winning author Neil Gaiman. For many Neil needs no introduction, with his newest novel The Graveyard Book winning the Newbery Medal just before Henry Selick's 3D animated adaptation of his Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker Award-winning novella Coraline debuted in multiplexes nationwide.
A true jack-of-all-mediums and a master entertainer, Neil has exhibited astonishing versatility over nearly three decades, whether writing for comics, writing novels, writing screenplays, writing children's picture books, or writing poems, a number of which appear in his short story collections. It's hard to express how proud we are to have him on board for the final issue of our first 10 years, but take our word for it, we're proud. And we're certain you'll find his new poem, titled "Conjunctions," a surreal vision centered around an image both comic and disturbing, to be a genuine treat for both Neil's fans and for fans of speculative verse. The first 350 copies of the issue feature an illustration for Neil's poem hand-colored by artist Tim Mullins. But Neil's contribution isn't the only ingredient that makes our 20th issue the largest and most exquisitely strange confection we've ever produced. This outsized issue contains 40 pages of odd and adventurous verse, featuring such voices familiar to long time subscribers as Sonya Taaffe, Darrell Schweitzer, F.J. Bergmann, Kendall Evans, Samantha Henderson, G.O. Clark, Danny Adams, Jessica Paige Wick, Amal El-Mohtar and Deborah P Kolodji. Over the years Mythic Delirium has given a number of writers and poets their very first publications, a source of considerable pride for us, and our anniversary issue is no exception, with nearly half of the poems scribed by contributors who, like Neil, are appearing in our pages for the first time. There's a surprise on every page. This is certainly an issue you shouldn't miss. (Click here to see the complete table of contents.) (Click here to see the complete wraparound cover art.) Mythic Delirium 20 is available directly from this website via PayPal or credit card at special prices beginning at $6.50; however, should you choose instead to subscribe, you'll receive this extra-large special issue as the first issue of your subscription at no extra cost whatsover. All prices for domestic, Canadian, U.K. and world purchases are listed to the right above the appropriate PayPal buttons. If you wish to pay via postal mail, the same prices apply; checks or money orders in U.S. Funds should be sent to Mike Allen, 3514 Signal Hill Ave NW, Roanoke VA 24017. |
Order our 10th Anniversary Issue featuring Neil Gaiman Domestic: $6.50 Canada/United Kingdom: $7.50 World: $8.50
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Featured PoemsFrom Mythic Delirium, Issue 20, Winter/Spring 2009
GenesisHolly Dworken Cooley
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This is the moment we wait for.
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The third, fourth, and even the fifth day
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On the sixth day we pause to feast,
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Of course, we’ve followed the manual’s instructions
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A Mythic Delirium ClassicFrom Mythic Delirium, Issue 6, Winter/Spring 2002.WerechihuahuaIan Watson
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He’s fierce for six inches high Small wonder he’s fierce Noble families might house When he retransforms at dawn In fact not all of him But I’ve spied a tiny pet dog
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 “Genesis” first appeared in Mythic Delirium, Issue 20, Winter/Spring 2009. “Genesis” copyright © 2009 by Holly Dworken Cooley. Illustration by Daniel Trout, copyright © 2009. Voice recording by Kate Baker, © 2009; all rights reserved. “Werechihuahua” first appeared in Mythic Delirium, Issue 6, Winter/Spring 2002. “Werechihuahua” copyright © 2002 by Ian Watson. Accompanying illustrations by Bob Snare, copyright © 2002. Voice recording (in the original language) by Ian Watson, © 2009; all rights reserved. These poems and illustrations may not be reproduced in any form without the authors’ and artists’ express written permission.
Previous classic and featured poems by:Amal El-Mohtar and Jessica Paige WickDavid C. Kopaska-Merkel and Gene van Troyer Jeannine Hall Gailey and Charlee Jacob Theodora Goss and Sonya Taaffe Samantha Henderson and Ann K. Schwader Catherynne M. Valente and Anna Tambour |
| Send checks in U.S. funds to Mike Allen, 3514 Signal Hill Ave. NW, Roanoke VA 24017, USA, or order via PayPal or credit card using the buttons below. |
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Purchase a sample copy! Domestic: $5.00 Canada/United Kingdom: $6.00 World: $8.00 |
One Year Subscription (2 issues) Domestic: $9.00 Canada/United Kingdom: $11.00 World: $15.00 |
Two Year Subscription (4 issues) Domestic: $16.00 Canada/United Kingdom: $20.00 World: $28.00 |
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 "Mythic Delirium Twenty") |
| Issue Eighteen
(contents) Read The Fix review! |
Issue Nineteen
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Issue Twenty
10th Anniversary Issue (contents) IT'S HERE! |
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| Issue Fifteen
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Issue Sixteen
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Issue Seventeen
(contents) Read THE FIX review! |
All cover art by Tim Mullins, Copyright © 2006, 2007, 2008.
All site logos by Tim Mullins.
Mythic Delirium proudly announces the release of In Deepspace Shadows: A Dramatic Poem in Two Acts, a ground-breaking work from Rhysling Award-winning poet Kendall Evans — a two-act science fiction play in verse, fully illustrated. Nebula Award-winning author Sheila Finch dubs Evans' unique creation "rich and strange, as Christopher Marlowe might have written about Deep Space if he'd only known." With a color cover, 36 pages, fully illustrated by Mythic Delirium regulars Don Eaves, Terrence Mollendor and Tim Mullins.
"Why journey to a place of nothingness? For the language that takes you there. Kendall Evans' In Deepspace Shadows: A Dramatic Poem in Two Acts is the future scripted by Cyril Tourneur after Isaac Asimov, an eerie and elegant creation within which conspiracies, mutinies, and madness unfold in electromagnetic pulses and static recharge — stage directions, set design, iambic pentameter and all. Gather four friends; read this mechanical fantasia aloud. Like the light of dead stars, its images will haunt your sky long after their words have been put away." — Sonya Taaffe In Deepspace Shadows is available directly from this website via PayPal or credit card for $6, shipping included; via postal mail, checks or money orders for $6 in U.S. Funds should be sent to Mike Allen, 3514 Signal Hill Ave NW, Roanoke VA 24017.
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STILL AVAILABLE!
Click here for the complete cover, table of contents and sample passages
Read
the Strange Horizons review.
The world's greatest sorcerer is losing his mind, and all the nations wait in fear for his next move. The faces of the future gaze forward and back, and sirens don't always sing the songs you expect. Deserts speak with the voices of girls, mothers and stepmothers are two pages of the same book, and churches house things stranger than angels. But in the afterlife, you never know when an absinthe spoon will come in handy . . . .
With new writings by Leah Bobet, Richard Parks, Cherie Priest, Catherynne M. Valente, Ekaterina Sedia, Lawrence Schimel, Sonya Taaffe, Steve Rasnic Tem, Jo Walton and more
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STILL AVAILABLE!
Click here for the complete cover, table of contents and sample passages
Read
the SF Site review.
Amid the hard-scrabble West Virginia coal mines, a terrible magical vengeance takes an equally terrible toll on a young boy's heart. Ancient gods provide metaphors for a father's love and a child's grief, and Cinderella's shattered glass slippers become a window into the horror of the Holocaust. A mythic tale of a little girl's rebellion explains all the craziness of weather, and the Wandering Jew reveals the truth about the Loch Ness Monster ... Off-beat new talents like Matthew Cheney, Theodora Goss, Richard Parks and Sonya Taaffe alongside veterans such as Joe Haldeman and Ian Watson ... unique literary smorgasbord of humor and horror, wonder and wisdom. |
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We at Mythic Delirium were proud to get the news that F.J. Bergmann claimed the 2008 Rhysling Award in the short poem category from the Science Fiction Poetry Association for her whimsical and satirical poem "Eating Light" in Issue 17. Bergmann's poems and stories have appeared in numerous other venues, both genre-oriented and literary; we're certainly glad that we could be the venue for her winning poem. Congratulations, Jeannie! |
In total, eleven poems we first published in 2006 were nominated:
From MYTHIC: "Sakhmet the Destroyer" by Gary Every; "god is dead short live god" by Joe Haldeman; "Kristallnacht" by Lawrence Schimel; "The Eight Legs of Grandmother Spider" by Catherynne M. Valente.
From MYTHIC 2: "Siren's Call" by Deborah P. Kolodji; "Homecoming" by Sonya Taaffe.
From Mythic Delirium 14: "Africa Screams" by Mikal Trimm; "The Descent of the Corn-Queen of the Midwest" by Catherynne M. Valente; "The Minotaur's Last Letter to His Mother" by JoSelle Vanderhooft; "Cobwebs in Heaven" by Ian Watson.
From Mythic Delirium 15: "To a Lover Dying Old" by Lida Broadhurst.
In addition, several writers published in Mythic Delirium and the MYTHIC anthologies in 2006 have received Honorable Mentions in the 2007 volume of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant.
From MYTHIC: "Beauty to the Beast" by Theodora Goss; "Cemetery Seven" by Charles Saplak; "Exorcisms" by Sonya Taaffe; "The Eight Legs of Grandmother Spider" by Catherynne M. Valente.
From MYTHIC 2: "Bluebeard's Second Wife" by Helena Bell; "The Immigrant" by Cherie Priest; "Simargl and the Rowan Tree" by Ekaterina Sedia; "Homecoming" by Sonya Taaffe; "The Tale of the Desert that Vanished Inside Her" by JoSelle Vanderhooft; "Moonstone" by Erzebet Yellowboy.
From Mythic Delirium 14: "The Descent of the Corn-Queen of the Midwest" by Catherynne M. Valente.
From Mythic Delirium 15: "Tarahamura Chiles" by Gary Every; "Bal Macabre" by Theodora Goss; "Transformation" by Julie Shiel; "Two Rivers" by JoSelle Vanderhooft.
We want to heartily congratulate all these authors for their fine work.
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Mythic Delirium editor and publisher Mike Allen's newest collection, Strange Wisdoms of the Dead, was reviewed by The Philadelphia Inquirer book review editor Frank Wilson in his Editor's Choice column. Wilson wrote that Mike's poems "do a fine job of making the human scary and the scary human." |
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We're proud to announce that six poems published in Mythic Delirium in 2005 received Honorable Mentions
from the 2006 volume of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant.
From Issue 13: Constance Cooper, "How the Sea People Mourn"; "Les Berceaux" by Jaida Jones; "Arise" by Aurelio Rico Lopez III; "Crow Eats Carrion" by Carma Lynn Park; "The Queen of Hearts" by Catherynne M. Valente. From Issue 12: "Tarot in the Dungeon" by Sonya Taaffe. Seven poems we published in 2005 were also nominated for the Rhysling Award, given each year by the Science Fiction Poetry Association: From Issue 13: "Utnapishtim on Friday After Dessert" by Danny Adams; "How the Sea People Mourn" by Constance Cooper; "Lost Over East Texas" by Ann K. Schwader; "Ibis, Scribe" by Sonya Taaffe. From Issue 12: "Rapunzel, Rapunzella" by Kendall Evans; "Genetics" by Charles Saplak; "Tarot in the Dungeon" by Sonya Taaffe. We want to congratulate all these authors for their fine work. Editor Mike Allen also received honors from these venues. His poem "The Strip Search" won the 2006 Rhysling Award for Short Poem. Five others were nominated: "Chagall's Lamp," "Picasso's Rapture," "Rattlebox" (with David C. Kopaska-Merkel), "TimeFlood" (with Ian Watson, Asimov's Science Fiction, Feb. '05) and "Thanomorphosis" (with W. Gregory Stewart, The Magazine of Speculative Poetry, Dec. '05). Mike also received ten Honorable Mentions from The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror for poems published in 2005. They were: "The Disturbing Muses," "The Golden Helmet (Casque d'Or)," "Picasso's Rapture," "Pollock's Knives" (all from his collection Disturbing Muses); "The Elders," "The Night Gardeners" and "Asunder" (with Christina Sng), from Star*Line; "The Captive Pleads with the Memory Carver" (Tales of the Unanticipated 26); "The Clairvoyant, Between Dark and Dream" (Jabberwocky 1); "The Unseelie Tree" (Space & Time 99). |
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2005 was a landmark year for books with Mythic Delirium associations.
Sonya Taaffe, whose poems first appeared in our pages, and who has appeared in every issue since Issue 5, produced the poetry collection Postcards from the Province of Hyphens, gathering nearly every poem of hers we've published. In addition, her critically-lauded short story collection, Singing Innocence and Experience contains her poems "Tarot in the Dungeon" and "Eelgress and Blue," first published in Mythic Delirium 12. Kendall Evans and David C. Kopaska-Merkel, both frequent contributors to Mythic Delirium, produced a chapbook of surreal collaborations, Separate Destinations, holding three mind-bending poems that first appeared in our pages (among them a piece titled "Mythic Delirium"). Mythic Delirium editor Mike Allen wrote the books introduction. Editor Mike Allen had books of his own come out, including the chapbook Disturbing Muses collection a series of dark fantasy poems inspired by the paintings of 19th and 20th century masters. His 10-year-retrospective, Strange Wisdoms of the Dead, coming in January from Wildside Press, is now available for pre-order on his website. |
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We're proud to announce that nine poems published in Mythic Delirium in 2004 received Honorable Mentions
from the 2005 volume of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant.
From Issue 10: "Necropolis" by Constance Cooper; "Apocalypso" and "Lilim, After Dark" by Sonya Taaffe; "September" by Bud Webster; "Musings About Seth" by Jane Yolen. From Issue 11: "Azurite Mine" by Gary Every; "The Prairie Whales Are All Extinct" by Nicholas Ozment; "The Laying-Out" and "Tzaddik" by Sonya Taaffe. |
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We at Mythic Delirium were proud to learn that Theodora Goss has won the 2004 Rhysling Award in the long poem category from the Science Fiction Poetry Association for "Octavia Is Lost in the Hall of Masks," her dark-fantastic prose poem from Issue 8. Goss, a graduate student working on her Ph.D. at Boston University, has been nominated for the Nebula Award for her short fiction, and has appeared in two volumes of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. We want to congratulate Dora on adding the Rhysling Award to her list of accomplishments! |
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We're proud to announce that seven poems published in Mythic Delirium in 2003 received Honorable Mentions
from the 2004 volume of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, edited by Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin Grant.
From Issue 8: "After You Die #12: Dark City" by David Bain; "Octavia Is Lost in the Hall of Masks" by Theodora Goss From Issue 9: "Seeing Aphrodite" by Jennifer Finstrom; "Shadow Tales" by Serena Fusek; "While Considering the Possibility of Using the Columbia River Gorge as the Setting for an Epic Fantasy" by Mario Milosevic; "Hadrian" by Darrell Schweitzer; "Kaddish for a Dybbuk" by Sonya Taaffe. In her introduction, Datlow also gave recognition to Mythic Delirium illustration duo Don Eaves and Terrence Mollendor and cover artist Tim Mullins. |
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Over the next year, we at Mythic Delirium will share with our readers three hard-to-find poetic gems from Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grand Master Ursula K. Le Guin. Best known for such classics as The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed and the Earthsea novels, Le Guin is also quite an accomplished poet. We at Mythic Delirium are honored to be able to include fantasy-themed poems from her 1981 collection, Hard Words, in upcoming issues 11 and 12. If you can't wait, some of Le Guin's recent non-fantasy themed poems are readily available on her website. |
Mythic Delirium is a biannual journal that publishes science fiction, fantasy, horror, surreal and cross-genre poetry. We do not publish fiction. While any style of poem is fair game, Mythic Delirium is unusual in that we are not adverse to well-done rhyme and meter. When considering sending a rhyming poem to us, keep in mind that the best rhyme does not call attention to itself and that properly done traditional poems possess consistent rhythm; lines don't just end in words that sound similar.
We are interested in work that demonstrates ambition, that casts new light on genre tropes, that introduces readers to the legends of other cultures, that re-evaluates the myths of old from a modern perspective, that twists reality in unexpected ways.
Payment for all unsolicited work: $5 on publication. No reprints.
Sample copies/Subscriptions: Send $5 for a sample copy to Mike Allen, 3514 Signal Hill Ave NW, Roanoke, VA 24017-5148. (Rate applies to U.S. residents only. If you live outside the U.S., and wish to purchase a sample copy, contact the publisher at mythicdelirium[at]gmail[dot]com.)
Mythic Delirium allows electronic submissions. Most formats acceptable, text format or RTF files preferred. There is no limit on the number of submissions to send, but keep it reasonable (6, for example, is reasonable; 60 is not). Such submissions may be sent to mythicdelirium[at]gmail[dot]com.
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