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The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook
QUESTIONS & TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
- How do you feel about the author's decision to use only her own poems as examples in this handbook? Do you think the reasons she offers for doing this are valid? Do you think it was a wise choice?
- The handbook separates the writing of poetry into a set of levels — graphics, phonological, lexical, and syntactic/semantic. What do you think of this way of organizing the topic? Did you find it useful? Do you think it made the material easier to understand and remember?
- Are there topics you would have liked to see discussed in the handbook that aren't there? What would you have added?
- Elgin quotes B.F. Skinner's claim that poets know no more about how they write poems than chickens know about how they lay eggs; she strongly disagrees with that claim. Who do you think is right about this, Elgin or Skinner?
- What is your opinion of Elgin's proposal that a science fiction poem should include both a science component and a narrative component? Does that make sense? If it were followed, would it accomplish the goal of making science fiction poems immediately recognizable? Do you think it's reasonable to set that goal? Why would it be important for sf poems to be immediately recognizable?
- Do you agree with Elgin's claim that changing a poem either ruins it or turns it into a different poem?
- Do you think poetry is important? Why or why not? Do you think that science fiction poetry has an importance of its own? Can you see any need for sf poetry?
- Why do you think support for poetry is weaker in the U.S. than it is in a number of other countries? Can you imagine an American poet being a cultural "star" the way musicians often are? Why or why not?
- What section of the handbook did you find most useful? Least useful?
- Does the idea of poets promoting and marketing their poems the way automobile companies promote their cars offend you? Does it seem inappropriate for poetry in any way?
- What did you think of Elgin's presentation of the concept of the "stress maximum" as a tool for understanding the rhythm of lines of English poetry? Did you find it useful?
- Would you be interested in trying the technique of making a "word palette" (pp. 28-29) before writing a poem? Why or why not?
- A certain number of science fiction short stories appearing in publications that pay professional rates will qualify you for membership in the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). But no quantity of science fiction poetry, published anywhere at any price, will qualify you for SFWA. Why do you suppose this is the policy? How do you feel about it? Is a great poem worth less as literature than a great short story, for example? Why or why not?
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