Niteblade #30

It is not quite December yet, so it will be just a little longer before this issue of Niteblade is live, but all the same, I thought I'd give the poetry a little head start.

This issue comes with five poems and four poets. Some of the authors are not new to the zine.

[ETA 12/01: I have linked to all poems, but please note that the issue will only be partially available to visitors until we have reached this month's goal of $50 in sales and donations. Of course, for only $2.99 you can own a PDF copy of Niteblade and show your support for everyone involved in the making of the zine.]

Let me start with Abominable Snowman by Ada Hoffmann (we've published her work before, please check out the gorgeous The Mermaid at at Sea World). This one is a haiku (ETA 12/02: no, it is not intended as one, see the author's post here), and one that gets it just right, you will enjoy this wintry morsel.

(Perhaps of particular interest to potential submitters: Personally, I think haiku are hard to get exactly right, it's not enough to put words into the correct form after all. A haiku, especially because it is short, needs to be eloquent content-wise, that is there has to be an entire story behind just three lines. Actually, let me give you an example of how this can be done with even less, just six words to be precise.)

Vampyrics by John Philip Johnson is next. Yes, it's a vampire poem, but no, not your average vampire poem:

"You look so pretty

in that red woolen cap.

Our bundled arms

are touching."

What I like about Vampyrics is that it is very immersive and manages to touch you deeply in just three stanzas.

Poet Anne Carly Abad has two poems in this issue (she's also not new to Niteblade, check out The Bitter Gourd's Fate <-- a="" been="" has="" href="http://www.rhondaparrish.com/this-years-pushcart-nominations?fb_action_ids=10153042953525579&fb_action_types=news.publishes&fb_ref=pub-standard" incidentally="" poem="" this=""> nominated for the Pushcart Prize

, ETA 11/30), Nameday and Ghost Engine Updates an Ad for Angry Spirits.
Nameday begins by telling us that

"Woman wears many selves,"

and from there takes us along on its thoughtful path at the end of which the reader might want to question given circumstances and histories, possibly even the names we choose or don't choose but are carrying anyway.

Ghost Engine Updates an Ad for Angry Spirits should best be savored as a whole, just like Abominable Snowman. It is just one of the many examples of how versatile poetry can be, how versatile indeed language can be.

The last poem in the issue is The Art by notorious Niteblade poet Sandi Leibowitz (go read Awakened, Braiding, and Labyrinth of Sand). This poem starts out just a little bit like a dance:

"He leads, you follow,

[...]

your footsteps predicting

his stride’s rhyme."

And maybe it even ends like some balls do or some proms (but do remember, we publish horror too, not just fantasy).

I hope you'll check out Niteblade #30 once it's here. Enjoy!