The nominees for each year’s Rhysling Awards are selected by the membership of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Each member is allowed to nominate one work in each of the two categories: “Best Long Poem” (50+ lines) and “Best Short Poem” (0-49 lines). All nominated works must have been published during the calendar year for which the present awards are being given.

Here are my Rhysling-eligible poems (all short):

• “Thirteen Scifaiku for Blackbirds.” Strange Horizons. 12 October 2009.
• “The Butterfly Factory” and “Charon’s Midlife Crisis.” 42 Magazine, print magazine, Summer 2009.
• “matter and anti-matter.” Scifaikuest. February 2009 online edition.
• “afternoon heat.” Scifaikuest. February 2009 print edition.

Personally I think “Thirteen Scifaiku for Blackbirds” is the best of these. I’ll be happy to email complete texts of any of the above on request to SFPA members at joannemerriam at gmail dot com.