MYTHIC DELIRIUM

Featured Poems | News | Subscribe
Latest Issues | Previous Issues
Mythic Delirium Books
Editor's Home Page | Editor's LiveJournal
Guidelines | Contact Editor


 

Featured Poems

From Mythic Delirium, Issue 18, Winter/Spring 2008

Awaré for the Woman who Disappears in Silence

Jeannine Hall Gailey

Illustration by Paula Friedlander.

this is here to make the spacing work
Based on “The Bush-Warbler’s Home” and other stories

The man will chop wood for a living, yet still
get lost in the forest. The woman appears,
surprises him. (You will know her by the flame
in the peony lantern,

the slim trunk of the green willows. Her hair falls
down her back like water.) Her splendid castle
amid the trees he has never seen before.
She is beautiful.

He bows down. She asks him to watch the castle,
to sweep the floor. Don’t touch anything, don't go
exploring, she commands, and disappears. (She
is not what she seems.

She rules rivers, perhaps, or is truly a fox
spirit. How can he know?) He sweeps, obedient
for a time. He can’t stop himself wandering
from room to room.

There are many treasures. He thinks he sees three
girls sweeping in a far room. They sing songs that
sound like wind through the pines. He touches things.
A nest with three eggs.

He drops them and hears a sorrowful cry, when
three small birds fly out a window. The rush of them
like spring. The woman returns, crying, how could you
lose me my daughters,

no one is less trustworthy than a human!
Before his eyes she becomes a bush-warbler,
bringer of spring, and flies away. For a hundred
years he stays, waiting,

in the castle, though it remains empty. He
touches nothing. In his dreams he marries her,
their three daughters sweep obediently.
He feeds birds with hope.

According to Hayao Kawai in The Japanese Psyche: Major Motifs in the Fairy Tales of Japan,
“awaré” means “softly despairing sorrow.”

this is here to make the spacing work

 

A Mythic Delirium Classic

From Mythic Delirium One, 1998

Co-Authoring the Delirium

Charlee Jacob

Illustration by Mike Allen.

this is here to make the spacing work

and after she lit the flame
and undid the strings which held
her milky breasts together,
and after she had opened
the window where my love and
hate crystallized in ginger,
and after she painted my
naked eyes with snowmelt from
the alps of topmost shadows,
and after she ground pepper
out of stars for me to season
winter’s flavorless lips with,
then we moved together down
the helltunnel of temples;
then we stuffed the shocked windpipes
of nightingales with our vows;
then we occupied the dark,
an army of obsessed suitors,
and imprinted our bible...
unholy manifesto
of hawthorne wormwood revel
and our turned-inward nightmares...
on the unsuspecting dawn.

this is here to make the spacing work

Awaré for the Woman who Disappears in Silence” and accompanying illustration first appeared in Mythic Delirium, Issue 18, Winter/Spring 2008. “Awaré for the Woman who Disappears in Silence” copyright © 2008 by Jeannine Hall Gailey. Illustration copyright © 2008 by Paula Friedlander. Voice recording by Jeannine Hall Gailey, © 2008; all rights reserved. “Co-Authoring the Delirium” first appeared in Mythic Delirium One, 1998. “Co-Authoring the Delirium” copyright © 1998 by Charlee Jacob. Illustration by Mike Allen, copyright © 2008. Voice recording by Jessica Paige Wick, © 2008; 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:

Theodora Goss and Sonya Taaffe
Samantha Henderson and Ann K. Schwader
Catherynne M. Valente and Anna Tambour


New from Mythic Delirium Books!

In DeepSpace Shadows 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.

MYTHIC, volume two

STILL AVAILABLE!
($11, includes shipping)

Click here for the complete cover, table of contents and sample passages

Read the Strange Horizons review.
Read the SF Site review.
Read the Locus 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

MYTHIC, volume one

STILL AVAILABLE!
($11, includes shipping)

Click here for the complete cover, table of contents and sample passages

Read the SF Site review.
Read the Strange Horizons review.
Read the Tangent Online 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.


MYTHIC reading!

The authors of MYTHIC participated in a group reading at ReaderCon 17, Saturday, July 8, 2006, 1 p.m. For photos of the event, look here.


Subscribe to Mythic Delirium!

All payments for U.S. subscriptions should be sent to Mythic Delirium at the address below. Mythic Delirium accepts subscriptions from readers outside the U.S.

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.

Purchase a sample copy of Mythic Delirium for just $5. (Issues displayed on this page are available for purchase.)

Domestic
One Year Subscription (2 issues): $9.00
Domestic
Two Year Subscription (4 issues): $16.00
Canada/United Kingdom
One Year Subscription (2 issues): $11.00
Canada/United Kingdom
Two Year Subscription (4 issues): $20.00
World
One Year Subscription (2 issues): $18.00
World
Two Year Subscription (4 issues): $32.00


Available Mythic Delirium Issues

To view the complete wraparound covers, click on the cover images below.

Mythic Delirium Fifteen Mythic Delirium Sixteen Mythic Delirium Seventeen
Issue Fifteen
(contents)
Issue Sixteen
(contents)
Issue Seventeen
(contents)
IT'S HERE!

Previous Issues

All cover art by Tim Mullins, Copyright © 2006, 2007.
All site logos by Tim Mullins.


Mythic Delirium News

More honors for Mythic Delirium writers!

We're proud to announce that two of the poems published last year in MYTHIC were honored by the Science Fiction Poetry Association's 30th annual Rhysling Awards, winning second place in their respective categories: "The Eight Legs of Grandmother Spider" by Catherynne M. Valente (long) and "god is dead short live god" by Joe Haldeman (short). Congratulations to both these excellent writers for their great work.

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.

Mythic Delirium editor reviewed in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Strange Wisdoms of the Dead 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."

Mythic Delirium writers receive honors!

Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 19

Mythic Delirium 13

Mythic Delirium 12

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).

Books by Mythic Delirium authors in 2005

POSTCARDS FROM THE PROVINCE OF HYPHENS by Sonya Taaffe SINGING INNOCENCE AND EXPERIENCE by Sonya Taaffe SEPARATE DESTINATIONS by Kendall Evans & David C. Kopaska-Merkel DISTURBING MUSES by Mike Allen STRANGE WISDOMS OF THE DEAD by Mike Allen
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.

Nine Mythic Delirium poems receive honors from 2005 Year's Best

Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 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.

Theodora Goss wins 2004 Rhysling Award for long poem

Theodora Goss 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!

Seven Mythic Delirium poems receive honors from 2004 Year's Best

Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 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.

Poems by Ursula K. Le Guin to appear in Mythic Delirium

Ursula Le Guin 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 Guidelines

Mike Allen, Editor and Publisher
3514 Signal Hill Ave NW
Roanoke, VA 24017-5148

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.


This Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Net Ring site
is owned by
Mike Allen.

[ Previous 5 Sites | Skip Previous | Previous | Next | Skip Next | Next 5 Sites | Random Site | List Sites ]