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by S. T. Joshi (Editor)
This fourth issue of the acclaimed magazine of weird poetry contains outstanding work by some of the leading figures in contemporary weird literature, including Scott Thomas, Wade German, Ann K. Schwader, John Shirley, William F. Nolan, and Darrell Schweitzer. Also included are prominent and rising figures in the realm of weird verse, such as D. L. Myers, David Barker, Adam Bolivar (whose "Fiddler Jack" is another impressive weird ballad, a form he has mastered), David Barker, Chad Hensley, Leigh Blackmore, Kyla Lee Ward, K. A. Opperman, and many others. A section of classic reprints features striking work by the world-renowned poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and W. B. Yeats, along with a Lovecraftian sonnet by David E. Schultz.
The issue also features the first of a two-part essay on "The Poets of Weird Tales" by Frank Coffman, a detailed examination of the many poems published in the classic pulp magazine. In this segment, Coffman provides an overview of the poetry featured in the magazine along with an analysis of the topics, themes, and forms that poetry took. The issue also contains Adam Bolivar's review of K. A. Opperman's recently published volume, The Crimson Tome, along with Donald Sidney-Fryer's extensive review of Wade German's acclaimed poetry collection, Dreams from a Black Nebula. With this issue, Spectral Realms continues to foster the renaissance of weird poetry by the publication of new and old poems as well as trenchant reviews and criticism.
