I have now completed the often thrilling and sometimes painful task of working through Astropoetica’s slush pile. I have responded to everything in my submission inbox, so if you sent me something and haven’t heard from me yet, please feel free to query. It’s entirely possible your work fell victim to my rather zealous purging of spam a few weeks ago.

This batch was a hard one — so many excellent pieces to choose from! Alas, I had to go on a bit of a poetry diet, stick to my budget (for once), and turn down some fine poems. I’m hoping I’ll see them again in the pages of other publications.

We are now officially closed to new submissions until 2008. Once I figure out life post-baby — if that even happens — I’ll announce a reopening date.

The Spring/Summer issue of Astropoetica is now up, featuring:

• Homo sapiens: A Stew of Time, by Peggy Miller
• Overcoming Distance, by Drew Morse
• Wound, by James Owens
• X, by Amal El-Mohtar
• The Lover of the Stars, by Malcolm Deeley
• Clinamen, by Carri M. Campanile
• Test-tube Universe, by Sarah Glass
• Sound, by Robert Lebling
• Termination Shock, by Ann K. Schwader and Deborah P. Kolodji
• Apium graveolens: Starlight, by Peggy Miller
• Water on Mars, by M. Frost
• Ursa Major, by Mary Alexandra Agner
• White Goddess, by Lee Clark Zumpe
• The Suffering Man, by Greg Beatty
• Eating Cake, by Jaime Lee Moyer
• The Helix Nebula, by Bob Bradshaw
• a cloudless night: instructions for meditation, by Peter Roberts
• Villanelle, by Allison Parker
• Aster ascendens: Good Morning, by Peggy Miller
• Solidago speciosa: Within the Parentheses, by Peggy Miller
• Your African Fold, by Danny Rosen
• Snowball’s Chance, by Ann K. Schwader
• Hollywood Star Map, by Greg Beatty
• littering, by Peter Roberts
• Once, by Kristine Ong Muslim
• Southern Cross, by Carri M. Campanile
• Returning Stardust, by Deborah P. Kolodji
• Touching Titan, by Robin Mayhall
• Then she asked, by Danny Rosen
• SN 1006, by Lee Clark Zumpe
• Disciplinary Questions, by Greg Beatty
• Dimensions of Cosmogonic Doubt, by Bruce Boston
• U.S.S. Constellation, by M. Frost
• Double Space, by Graham Burchell
• 10th Planet? (2003 UB₃₁₃), by TWhite
• The More Things Change, by Greg Beatty
• Tharsis Lil, by Mary Jo Rabe
• The Sun God Bids Farewell to His Lover, by Marsheila Rockwell
• Tectonics: from China to Pyrex, by Rich Murphy
• Eating Stars, by Shelley Lesher
• Pearls in Galactic Oysters, by John Charles Mannone
• New Cosmogony, by Florian Saioc
• Starry Spectacle, by Guy Belleranti
• Take an Eclipse, by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
• Another Lunar Eclipse, by Dan Mitrut
• Skylight, by Valentin Grigore
• Hale-Bopp, by Vasile Micu
• The Primordial Enigma, by Dominic Diamant
• International Astropoetic Dialogues (8), by David R. Keedy and Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

Proofs have gone out for the Spring/Summer issue of Astropetica. I’m still resolving a few minor details, so the full issue should go up within the next few days.

In the meanwhile, those jonesing for an astropoetry fix should take a look at Bryan Thao Worra’s webcast of Little Bear (Ursa Minor). “Little Bear” originally appeared in Astropoetica’s constellation themed issue, and I’m pleased to find Bryan’s excellent reading of his work on Youtube.

I also recommend the Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy-SARM’s Comet McNaught Haiku project. Lots of gorgeous gems to savor here, though I have to admit, I sympathize most with all of the poets frustrated in their attempts to view the comet. Ãron and I had a devil of a time trying and failing to see it, but we’re content with the little hitchhiker we picked up from it.

Yes, I still exist, and I’m putting some order to my chaos. Some of you know a good bit of what’s been going on, and those who don’t have been so graciously patient that I consider myself most fortunate to know you.

Last fall was a bit overwhelming — new job, graduation, and the passing of an old friend. This year I’ve gotten married, and we’re expecting our first child in October. That cold I had in January transitioned into the joys of morning-noon-night sickness and exhaustion, and it was all I could do to get through my day job. Many things fell to the wayside — Astropoetica sadly among them.

Now that I have finally wrapped up my responsibilities in the Digital Media Center, I have more time to catch up with my other passions. It helps that I’m not feeling quite as badly as I did during my first trimester, though it would appear that I’m one of those lucky women who gets to enjoy her morning sickness throughout her pregnancy. Hooray.

So! Astropoetica! I’ve finished the mock-ups for the Spring/Summer issue, and proofs will be going out this afternoon. This issue will be a bit larger than the usual, but I still have a good bit in inventory that will have to wait until the Fall issue. If you’ve had work accepted and don’t hear from me today, then rest assured that your work will be appearing in the Fall issue. (I completely understand if you’re a little anxious about this — feel free to drop me a line.)

I have a great deal of unanswered mail. I’ve killed about two thousand spam messages so far, and what’s left looks doable in the next week. Once I finish with the mail, I will be putting together the Fall issue. I want it done ahead of time in case my little one decides to show up early.

As for the future of Astropoetica, I will not be reopening to submissions this year. I may reopen early next year, but I’m afraid I cannot (and should not) make any promises. It would be so much easier to let this project go if I didn’t have the opportunity to work with such exceptional poets. Every time I dive into a new issue, I am reminded why I started. Given a quick peek at the slush pile, I’m pretty confident I have enough gems to put together a beautiful Winter issue. I may have to leave it up to kisbaba, but given how active it’s been while I’ve been working on the current issue, I cannot imagine it objecting.

After all, this one flew in on a comet. Astropoetry’s in the blood.