Eye to the Telescope 55, (Non)Binaries, will be edited by Haley Bossé.

Binary systems—be they of astronomical bodies, numerical values, or sociological categories like gender—exist to simplify the expression of complex ideas and existences. While sociological binary pairings like man and woman, human and animal, artificial and natural, forcibly categorize beings into absolute and unchanging opposites, binary pairings among astrological bodies mark the relationship between two bodies without insisting on their utter difference. Further, the Binary Number System seeks to represent the spectrum of non-infinite numbers using the least characters possible. How do these systems of categorization limit us? How does their rigid structure lead to new forms of expression and being

For this issue, we seek speculative poems that utilize, interrogate, re-enchant, and abandon binary systems of all kinds. What cannot be binaried? What can be non-binaried? How can a binary representational system speak? How can binaries in science and beyond speak to our human experiences of existence? Show me lines of numbers and letters with surprising keys. Show me a binary that is true. Show me what leaks and flows from the broken sociological binary containers. Show me your (non)binaries.

Submission Guidelines

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

• Use the form at https://bit.ly/SFPAettt55 to submit.
• Please submit 1–3 unpublished poems in English (ideally, attached as .docx or .txt) and include a short bio. Translations from other languages are acceptable with the permission of the original poet (unless public domain).
• Inquiries only to ettt55@sfpoetry.com with “ETTT” in the subject line.
• Deadline: December 15. The issue will appear on January 15, 2025.

Payment and rights

• Accepted poems will be paid for at the following rate: US 4¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25. Payment is on publication.
• The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association normally uses PayPal to pay poets, but can also send checks.
• Eye to the Telescope is an online publication. Therefore, First Electronic Rights (for original unpublished poems) are being sought.

Who can submit?

Any human writing speculative poetry. Please no AI-generated works or AI-human collaborations. Note SFPA’s new AI policy: https://sfpoetry.com/ai-statement.html

What is Speculative Poetry?

Speculative poetry is poetry which falls within the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural horror, plus some related genres such as magic realism, metafiction, and fabulation. It is not easy to give precise definitions, partly because many of these genres are framed in term of fiction rather than poetry.

A good starting point is “About Science Fiction Poetry” by Suzette Haden Elgin, the founder of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Despite its title, this article is applicable to all forms of speculative poetry.

Tim Jones, editor of Issue 2, had a go at defining science fiction poetry on his blog, in two parts (These blog posts date from 2009, and the Voyagers anthology has since been published. These posts do refer specifically to science fiction poetry, rather than the broader field of speculative poetry.):

timjonesbooks.co.nz/2009/02/08/what-is-science-fiction-poetry-part-1-definition/

.timjonesbooks.co.nz/2009/02/15/what-is-science-fiction-poetry-part-2-history/

What Is the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA)?

As the SFPA says on its website at sfpoetry.com, “The Science Fiction Poetry Association was founded in 1978 to bring together poets and readers interested in science fiction poetry. What is sf poetry? You know what they say about definitions—everybody has one. To be sure, it is poetry (we’ll leave that definition to you), but it’s poetry with some element of speculation—usually science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Some folks include surrealism, some straight science.”

See the SFPA site for lots more information—and please consider joining.

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Interested in editing an issue of Eye to the Telescope? See the Editors’ Guidelines for information and requirements.