Kevin Ahearn writes about...

Supply and Demand in Science Fiction

Is there poetry in science fiction? A better question: should SF be poetic? Unfortunately, a close look at both SF and poetry reveals that rather than their content, the fate of one may be soon be joined by the other.

Everyone in the universe enjoys at least one poem. C’mon, admit it. Of the thousands of poems written over thousands of years, at least one struck you and stuck with you.

Are people still writing poems? Now more than ever. Thousands upon thousands of poets scribbling and submitting away. So why has poetry almost vanished from the popular mainstream?

The answer is heartbreakingly simple: nobody READS poetry any more. Lots of poets and very few customers. And those few customers for books of poems — wannabe poets.

Science fiction is headed that way, especially the short story, once the backbone and lifeblood of the genre. Hundreds of SF short stories are posted on the net. How many of you out there have turned off your video game and TV and actually read one of them?

See what I mean? But I bet there are plenty of you who have submitted stories.

“Everybody wants to be a writer,” said the hero of World According to Garp and maybe he’s right, but who out there wants to be a reader?

Do any young people read SF anymore? Go to a free SF short story site and you’ll find a forum full of wannabe writers discussing their stories. It’s getting like poetry: the only people who read it are aspiring poets.

All those writers and stories looking for readers and can’t find them anywhere. That’s why Sci-Fiction shut down.

The fate of science fiction lies with its fans. If you are like so many others who believe that “Ours is not to make reply. Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do and die,” then science fiction is headed for the dustbin of literature and it won’t be poetic.

Kevin Ahearn

Copyright © 2006 by Kevin Ahearn

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