Spectral Realms No. 7: Summer 2017

This seventh issue of Hippocampus Press's acclaimed journal of weird poetry features nearly 60 original poems of fantasy and terror from such renowned poets as Ann K. Schwader, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, John Shirley, Christina Sng, and Richard L. Tierney. Among the more distinctive works are "Dracul's Demesne," a sonnet sequence by Frank Coffman; two acrostic sonnets on H. P. Lovecraft by Manuel PErez-Campos; Adam Bolivar's ingenious poetic reinterpretation of Lovecraft's "The Rats in the Walls" ("The Ballad of the de la Poers"); and moving prose-poems by David Barker, Liam Garriock, Maxwell I. Gold, and Charles D. O'Connor III.As classic reprints, the issue includes the long title poem by Ernest A. Edkins, from his fabulously rare poetry collection Amenaphra and Other Poems (1889), as well as a selection from Paul Eldridge's Baudelaire-inspired collection Vanitas (1920). S. T. Joshi contributes a searching analysis of George Sterling's celebrated fantasy poem "A Wine of Wizardry," concluding that the poem is "a self-fulfilling justification for the entire realm of weird literature." Leigh Blackmore reviews Benjamin Blake's much-heralded volume Standing on the Threshold of Madness, while John Shirley covers Tim Powers's limited-edition booklet, Poems.In all, Spectral Realms #7 carries on the tradition of meticulously crafted weird verse, which is enjoying an unprecedented renaissance in our time.TABLE OF CONTENTS:Poems:This Mountain of Skulls / John ShirleyLightless Oceans / Ann K. SchwaderThe Dream-Wife / Adam BolivarMore Than the Shark / M. F. WebbThe Embrace /Jessica Amanda SalmonsonA Rude Awakening / Ian FutterFor Sale / Deborah L. DavittInvocation to the Daemon for Modern Times / Liam GarriockAenid’s Dream / Christina SngThe God Within / Ronald TerryThe Dark Pharaoh / Richard L. TierneyAve Augustissime: An Acrostic Sonnet on H. P. Lovecraft, Esq. / Manuel Pérez-CamposPortrait of H. P. Lovecraft, Esq.: A Scrambled Acrostic Sonnet / Manuel Pérez-CamposDracul’s Demesne / Frank CoffmanThe Reaper’s Garden / Ashley DiosesTestament of the Scribe / David BarkerThe Graveyard Knows My Name / Ross BalcomTeratology / F. J. BergmannRepoman Homunculus / Chad HensleyImprisoned / Mary Krawczak WilsonHis Voice in the Whisper of Waves / Deborah L. Davitt and Kendall EvansMary of the Rosy Grave / K. A. OppermanThings Come out of the Fog / G. O. ClarkMoment / Nathaniel ReedAd’Naigon / Maxwell I. GoldDoll in the Wall / Jessica Amanda SalmonsonFrom the Yellow Text of Thanos Khan / Don WebbAngry Sun/Bloated Moon / Claire SmithSecret Tree / John ShirleyOnly 13 / Ian FutterExpanding Universe / Ronald TerryThe Final Turn / Ann K. SchwaderArrival / M. F. WebbHe Dreams of Beauty / Liam GarriockPull / Christina SngInnsmouth Shanty / David BarkerMetamorphosis / Frank CoffmanThe Wyrde of the Bibliognost; or, Another Solitude / Manuel Pérez-CamposSilent Songs / Deborah L. DavittThe Ballad of the de la Poers / Adam BolivarCorridors Enough / Ann K. SchwaderThe Daughter of Death / Charles D. O’Connor IIIUnder the Blood Moon / Sunni K BrockHer Skull and the Sea / Mary Krawczak WilsonWhat It Means When You Dream of Swords / F. J. BergmannMy Beloved Bones / Jessica Amanda SalmonsonRising Damp / M. F. WebbNight Terrors / Ian FutterDavid Lynch / Liam GarriockIt’s Hell Being Your Guardian Angel / John ShirleyThe Spiders of Kepler 452B / Kendall Evans Classic ReprintsAmenophra / Ernest A. EdkinsFaces and Souls / Paul EldridgeArticlesOn “A Wine of Wizardry” / S. T. Joshi ReviewsTim Powers, Poet / John ShirleyThe Virtues and Drawbacks of Free Verse / Leigh BlackmoreCover art: “The Game is Done!” by Gustave Doré, from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by S. T. Coleridge.