I am pleased to announce the return of Astropoetica: Mapping the Stars through Poetry. The summer issue is now up, featuring:

• Faraway Suns, by Bruce McRae
• The Neophyte, by A. B. S. Dudevant
• Observatory, by F.J. Bergmann
• Call and Response, by Mary Krane Derr
• Castor and Pollux at Rest, by Gila Mon
• The Astronomer, by Kelly Cressio-Moeller
• Astronomy Lessons, by Casey FitzSimons
• A Tanaga, by David Edwards
• Stars Dream, by Craig W. Steele
• Vesta Variations: Two Poems, by Kendall Evans and Samantha Henderson
• Away, by Kelly Cressio-Moeller
• 20/20 Florida Vision or, The Miracle of the Great Turtle Mother, by Karla Linn Merrifield
• Paradox of Return, by Shannon Connor Winward
• Promotion, by Rich Magahiz
• Starring the Dream of Horses and Angels, by Jane Røken
• Specola Vaticana, by Gila Mon
• Why, Sky?, by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
• Star-Struck Utopias of the 21st Century, by Antler

Astropoetica is pleased to announce the launch of its summer issue, featuring:

• As Others See Us, by Jared Carter
• Galileo Flies at Midnight, by Mary A. Turzillo
• Libration, by Christine Klocek-Lim
• Cosmologies, by Patrick Kanouse
• Emergent Property, by Howard V. Hendrix
• Violent collision of stellar winds detected, by Christine Klocek-Lim
• Hevelius, by Judith Skillman
• Saving the Appearances, by Maryann Corbett
• Separation, by Maryann Corbett
• The Astronomer, by Judith Skillman
• The Crab, by John Blakeslee
• The Grand Design, by Danny Adams
• Leonids, NM 14, by Gwen Wille
• Upon Attending the Unveiling of Galaxy Messier 101, by Jennifer Clark
• Observable Universe, by Audrey Walls
• The Golden Fleece II after Susan Mitchell, by Barbara Regenspan
• Warring Constellations, by Carmen Eichman
• CDM, by Kayleigh Ayn Bohémier
• A Day in the Life of the Universe, I, by Teegan Dykeman-Brown
• I Still Have the Sky, by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

Astropoetica: Mapping the Stars through Poetry is pleased to announce the launch of its winter issue, featuring:

• Invocation, by Aratus, translated by Aaron Poochigian
• What Newton Knew, by Katie Fesuk
• The Physics Major Agrees to Take the English Major Star Gazing, by Andrew Rihn
• Bringing to Light, by Andrew Rihn
• Saturn at First Sight, by O.J. Cade
• Alexander von Humboldt Visits the Moon, by Sharon Mock
• Circadian, by Katie Fesuk
• The Diary of the Sun, by Trevor Price
• Rebel Angels, by Pat Tompkins
• A Hail of Pebbles and Dust, by Bogi Takács
• Search, by Geoffrey A. Landis
• Relativity Theory, by Kim Goldberg
• Water on the Moon, by Ray Sharp
• Bailly, by Robert Borski
• The Reverend’s Fantasy, by Mark Blaeuer
• Different Stars, Different Sky, by Aalix Roake
• Earthrise, Viewed from Meridiani, Sol 687, by Geoffrey A. Landis
• Starstruck, by John Philip Johnson
• Saturn’s moon may have hidden seas, by Christine Klocek-Lim
• Spirit at Troy, by Mary A. Turzillo
• Phobos, Deimos, by Robert Borski
• The Lives of The Stars, by Meg Smith
• The Anonymous Stars, by Aratus, translated by Aaron Poochigian
• Virgo, by Aratus, translated by Aaron Poochigian
• Strategic Place, by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
• Progress, by Rae Spencer

Astropoetica: Mapping the Stars through Poetry celebrates Global Astronomy Month with the launch of its spring issue, featuring:

• Starfruit, by J. C. Runolfson
• Comet Girl, by Claudine R. Moreau
• The Moon and Venus, by Jim Culleny
• Volcanoes on Io, by Melissa Frederick
• Like Craters, by Stephanie Suhr
• Deep Solar Minimum Blues, by Ann K. Schwader
• Eros, by Melissa Frederick
• Lithopedion, by Robert Borski
• Dark River to Antares, by Stefanie Maclin
• Heliopause, by Raul Garcia
• The Reform of the Calendar, by Maryann Corbett
• Orbit, by Jen D. Clark
• Chant, by Raul Garcia
• Total Lunar Eclipse, by Elissa Malcohn
• Dying Butterfly, by Ann K. Schwader
• The Crab Nebula, by Albert Melear
• Not in Our Stars, by Maryann Corbett
• Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, by Stephen Lefebure
• The Eighty-Eight, by Claire Webber
• A Conclusion after the International Year of Astronomy 2009, by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

Astropoetica: Mapping the Stars through Poetry celebrates the International Year of Astronomy with the release of its fall issue, featuring:

• Duet for Leviathan and Glass, by Mary Alexandra Agner
• Constellations, by Jim Culleny
• Looking for the Comet Halley, by Barbara Crooker
• Beyond These Thin Apartment Walls, by Emily K. Bright
• Apparition, by Mary Alexandra Agner
• When the Seeing is Good, by Shelly Bryant
• Myth Of Aether, by Claudine R. Moreau
• Dissolution of the Moon, by Rae Pater
• River: 18, by Jeff Streeby
• Missing A Comet, by Meg Smith
• A Dark Matter, by Kath Abela Wilson
• A Letter to the Moon, by F.J. Bergmann
• Blue Hand, by G. O. Clark
• Haystack Observatory, by Meg Smith
• Mother of the Moon, by Dan Mitrut
• Tilt Your Satellite Dishes, by Claudine R. Moreau
• Observatory, by John Colvin
• Black Hole Theorem: ‘The Great Alexander’, by Dave Shortt
• Dumbbell Nebula, by Tree Riesener
• Astro-Memorial, by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

This issue is dedicated to the memory of Steliana Gheorghe, mother of longtime Astropoetica contributor Andrei Dorian Gheorghe. She was a dear friend of astropoetry and left us much too soon.

One of my poetry professors often urged us to enjoy a leisurely après-midi de poésie, to step away from our own manuscripts and read, read, read what our contemporaries were publishing. As a student, I found it easy to take this advice, to curl up in the library for hours with a stack of journals, to scribble down thoughts and impressions, to breathe it all in. Inspired, provoked, or bored, I found it all so instructive and rejuvenating.

Of course, now, with so many demands and a gravity-defying toddler in the mix, I find it harder and harder to carve out those quiet afternoons of poetry. Working on Astropoetica is still rewarding and exciting, but it is structured, subject-specific reading, and the process of accepting and rejecting can hardly be described as leisurely. Now more than I ever I find those stolen hours for pure pleasure reading more and more precious.

Most recently I have been delighting in Mary Alexander Agner’s new collection, The Doors of the Body (Mayapple Press, ISBN 978-0932412-799). I admit upfront I am more fangirl than reviewer, so forgive me if I gush. Agner is deft of craft and fierce in voice. In The Doors of the Body, she gives fangs and heat and agency to the women of myth and fairy tale. A few of the included poems can be sampled on online, such as “Wear the Lighting” in Goblin Fruit, and “Sleeping Beauty” in Strange Horizons. Such delicious work! Check it out!

I have had the great joy of publishing Agner’s work in previous issues of Astropoetica, and two of her poems will be appearing in our next. I hope she can be persuaded someday to release a chapbook of her science-based poetry, because it too is absolutely divine.

I enjoyed the AP story “No Strain for Andromeda: Galaxy Is Cosmic Cannibal” about M31’s savage treatment of dwarf galaxies unfortunate enough to cross its path. If you have access to Nature you can read the nitty gritty here; otherwise, I recommend a peek at the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey’s images and a trip to Astropoetica’s archives to read Greg Beatty’s fabulous “One Man’s Cannibalism.“

Astropoetica: Mapping the Stars through Poetry is pleased to announce the launch of its summer issue, featuring:

• Under the Geography of Heaven, by Taylor Graham
• Gardening Space, by F.J. Bergman
• Astronomy in the Dark, by Taylor Graham
• The Names of Distant Stars, by Kendall Evans
• Birds and stars, by P.S. Cottier
• Constellation, by John Mirisola
• Moonsong, by Rae Pater
• The Surface of Venus, by Geoffrey A. Landis
• Force Fields IV, by F.J. Bergman
• Losing Weight, by Tim Jones
• Fireflies, by Geoffrey A. Landis
• Absolute Zero, by Neil Ellman
• Comet, by John Bennett
• The Strange Attractor, by S. A. Kelly
• The many lives of stars, by P.S. Cottier
• The Blue of Neptune, by Meg Smith
• The Arecibo Message, by Dave Shortt
• The Yap is Forbidden in the Heavens, by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
• The Moon, Again, by Mary Cresswell
• Magician on a Bed of Stars, by Dan Mitrut

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, Astropoetica invites you to enjoy these lunar gems from our past issues:

• July ’69, by Tim Myers
• Inconstant, by J. C. Runolfson
• The Moon, by C. John Holcombe
• There Are No Imagists on the Moon, by Greg Beatty
• Apogee, by Jennifer G. Cuthbertson

More poems about the moon can be found in our archives.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I would like to share Greg Beatty’s poem HD179949 (for Mother’s Day) from Astropoetica’s Spring 2006 issue.

I love you, Mom.