Scan barcode
mary_soon_lee's review
4.0
Initial disclaimer: [a:F.J. Bergmann|3340332|F.J. Bergmann|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] has edited a book of mine and I consider her as a friend.
F. J. Bergmann has won both the Elgin Award and the Rhysling Award for her speculative poetry, and this chapbook contains excellent examples of her work in both science fiction and fantasy flavors. Bergmann's wordplay is often clever, a cleverness which is showcased in the anagrammatic acrobatics of "Atonal Bisque," but that is slipped into poem after poem. (I think my favorite verbal cleverness is the masterfully named "disorient express" in "Imaging Dept.")
Being a lapsed mathematician, I particularly enjoyed "i is for Imaginary," a poem which charmed me from its second line: "i peers over the windowsill of algebra." I was likewise beguiled by "Captivity" with its fugitive houses:
I loved the whimsical idea of the opening poem, "Moonlighting." I loved how "Astroculture" conveyed situation and character so compactly. I loved the humorous yet affectionate angle on child-rearing in "First Contact." I loved the strangeness of "Angels Move into the House Next Door," a poem that reminded me of Kathy Koja's superb short story, "Angels in Love." I derived disproportionate entertainment from the shortest poem, "New Physics." I loved the details of "Memento Mori."
But my favorite poem in the collection is "Haute Cuisine with Elementary Particles," a poem that nods to Douglas Adams, a poem that plays with physics, a poem that delights.
F. J. Bergmann has won both the Elgin Award and the Rhysling Award for her speculative poetry, and this chapbook contains excellent examples of her work in both science fiction and fantasy flavors. Bergmann's wordplay is often clever, a cleverness which is showcased in the anagrammatic acrobatics of "Atonal Bisque," but that is slipped into poem after poem. (I think my favorite verbal cleverness is the masterfully named "disorient express" in "Imaging Dept.")
Being a lapsed mathematician, I particularly enjoyed "i is for Imaginary," a poem which charmed me from its second line: "i peers over the windowsill of algebra." I was likewise beguiled by "Captivity" with its fugitive houses:
Houses escaped when they got the chance,
skidding along briskly on wooden runners,
stalking sedately on scaly legs, floating on the foaming surge
of a rising tide, driven by the wind.
I loved the whimsical idea of the opening poem, "Moonlighting." I loved how "Astroculture" conveyed situation and character so compactly. I loved the humorous yet affectionate angle on child-rearing in "First Contact." I loved the strangeness of "Angels Move into the House Next Door," a poem that reminded me of Kathy Koja's superb short story, "Angels in Love." I derived disproportionate entertainment from the shortest poem, "New Physics." I loved the details of "Memento Mori."
But my favorite poem in the collection is "Haute Cuisine with Elementary Particles," a poem that nods to Douglas Adams, a poem that plays with physics, a poem that delights.
More...