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This is a little magazine for horror poems — not horribly bad, but horrible in terms of subject matter. I feel that I should perhaps mention that this is far from being my favourite kind of verse. It seems to me that the actual world is frightening enough, thank you very much. But it's only fair to add that Dreams and Nightmares is labelled as "The magazine of fantastic poetry", and that not everything in it could be called gruesome. I believe that there are, roughly, three kinds of horrifying poetry.

• One is "Gothic", in other words a sub-species of romantic verse. Here one finds vampires, werewolves, ruined castles, attractive but cruel ladies, and other such traditional motifs.
• A second category is based on nightmares and/or science fiction scenes. While "Gothic" poems look back in time, this kind often projects its concerns into the future.
• A third variety deals with some controversial facts in today's society — genetic manipulation, for instance — and underlines their risks.

From a strictly literary point of view, it's possible to like the "Gothic" offerings best — they sometimes have a stark (if predictable) beauty. The horrific experiences may permit a certain cosiness, as well as an ironic slant.

In this issue of Dreams and Nightmares, several pieces are quite striking. Eliot's WASTE LAND may be glimpsed behind Marge Simon's AT THE STONE OPERA:

	You carry the weight
	of suppressed rain,
	the death of land,

	a tree of owls in your eyes

	Arias bleeding
	through the trees

Truly nightmarish are Mike Allen's THE NIGHT WATCHMAN DREAMS HIS ROUNDS AT THE REM SLEEP FACTORY, although the final insight that the dreamer is also the feared "Manager" implies possible liberation; and Mikal Trimm's THE GAME OF NOT KNOWING.

Billy Wolfenbarger's mood in THE KISS OF AEIATHA is sad rather than menacing:

	And always the chilling wind blowing in
	from the melancholy unknown,
	blowing dust from cities forlorn,
	forgotten, unnamed
	blowing myths of lost love songs.

	the broken-backed
	serpent twisting like a promise
	underfoot

So, if this is the kind of thing you like, Dreams and Nightmares might — just conceivably — be something you like a lot.

I must admit to a certain sense of dread as I picked up Dreams and Nightmares — fantastical poetry? With all the pitfalls of genre poetry that that thought can conjure up! However this is good stuff, actually a lot of it is excellent. There is a wide range of styles here, covering the whole spectrum of fantastical writing from science fiction to historical fantasy. Some of the historical pieces are written in a slightly archaic style that usually grates on this reviewer but which, given the context and theme of the writing, is here entirely appropriate.

The best of the poems here are beautifully written but also make the reader really think about ideas and issues, which much contemporary poetry fails to do. For example, Robert Frasier's beautiful MUTABILITY / ACCESSING THE IMAGO considers the possible devolution of humankind:

	becoming primordial or primal
	or merely primes

	now capable of a nightly pupal 
	state mankind devolves unrhymes melts

	someone who is a 

	high-pitched scream must be
	treated as information

The other poem that particularly struck me was Ruth Berman's GRAVE GIFTS, in which the ancients in their graves ponder the possessions that have been buried with them to ease the transition to the next life:

	The dead wait to learn 
	What they can shoot. If they do not kill their dead cow yet again,
	They'll need to find dead grass
	For her to remember eating.

Dreams and Nightmares is not only essential reading for anyone interested in fantastical and science fiction poetry, but also is an excellent publication to expand the mind and the writings of any poet!

Bedtime Reading?

Publisher David C. Kopaska-Merkel describes Dreams And Nightmares as a magazine of fantastic poetry. Aimed at readers with an interest in science fiction, I did not find any of the poems worthy of the accolade fantastic, yet the content of many was fantastical, covering many of the well known themes from the Sci-Fi genre.

The skill of the contributors varied markedly, ranging from the delicate touch of Elizabeth Barrette in EXCOMMUNICATION:

	The slow dance of planets
	is the sign language of gods.

	Some city needs stompin',
	mayor screamin' on the phone,
	fighter planes doing barrel rolls:
	"Hey! Want a piece of me?!"