For Now, I'd Rather Have a Riesling Than a Rhysling

THIS kind of Riesling I can enjoy!

I was just notified by the Marketing Editor of the Science Fiction Poetry Association that one of the poems published in Songs of Eretz Poetry Review in 2017 has been nominated for a Rhysling Award--the SFPA's self-proclaimed "equivalent of a Nebula Award" for speculative poetry.  The notice went on to ask if I would like to congratulate and recognize the poem and poet by purchasing an advertisement in the next issue of the SFPA's journal Star*Line. I admit that this made me quite angry and that I sent a rather pointedly-worded reply to that poor Marketing Editor.  While I regret the vitriol that went into that reply, I do not at all regret my message.

I do not recognize the Rhysling as legitimate.  Here's why.  One must be a member of the SFPA in order to nominate a poem for one, and only a fraction of the membership participates (last I checked it was about fifty people).  Worst of all, these members simply have to pay a membership fee to join the SFPA.  Members have no recognized expertise; they do not earn their positions as members of the Science Fiction Writers of America do.  Thirty bucks and you're in the club!

In contrast, the SFWA requires candidates to achieve a certain amount of recognition in the field of speculative fiction before being considered for membership.  In order to be considered for the privilege of becoming a dues-paying member, a writer must meet certain legitimate criteria of professionalism--such as having a science-fiction novel published by a recognized publishing house or having a certain number of short stories published by SFWA-approved venues.  It is an honor to be a member of the SFWA.

In sharp contrast, there is no honor in being a member of the SFPA and no honor in being nominated for a Rhysling.  So, a dues-paying SFPA member read a poem in Songs of Eretz and saw fit to nominate it?  So what?  The poet would have been better served had this person simply posted a comment about the poem in Songs of Eretz.  And the chutzpah in comparing the Rhysling to the Nebula Award is simply beyond the pale!    

If only the SFPA would change its criteria for membership to something modeled after the SFWA.  Doing so might attract accomplished speculative poets to its cause and would serve to legitimize the organization.  Until/unless that transpires, the SFPA and the Rhysling are not legitimate, and the only "support" I can offer the nominee from Songs of Eretz is to decline the Rhysling nomination...and enjoy a Riesling, perhaps.