Ali Householder

Sep 9, 2024 | strangehorizons.com | David Lewis |Ali Householder |Mary Lee |Jan Cronos

Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow—Dreams, Langston HughesA voyager from another planet arrives on a desolate Earth which has seemingly gone grey and lifeless; the alien goes on a quest to remind humanity of its better nature, which ends with the rediscovery and glorious revival of the Olympics and the spirit of human solidarity. That’s the simple analysis of Thomas Jolly’s dystopian SF show at the Closing Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Sep 9, 2024 | strangehorizons.com | Mary Lee |Jan Cronos |Octavia Cade |Ali Householder

The fields unplowed, the cars at rest,no rush to school, no changing shifts,but as the Earth turns round to faceeach post-apocalyptic dawna chorus breaks from shore to shore. No spoken word, nor beat of drum,nor flute, nor grand orchestral score,but as the Earth spins into daythe birds all pause to sing in praiseof rain and sky, of egg and nest.

Aug 19, 2024 | strangehorizons.com | Jonathan Olfert |Mary Lee |Jan Cronos |Ali Householder

The first month was a laugh about excusesEat your greens and dieOnce the death toll mounted (same old story)You knew bad times were back in some new wayThe rule this round: cook fruitCook plantsIt’s in their waterSo pie is fine,And cider, jam, pea soup (but cook it hot)A baked potato’s unsafe; chips are betterJenn T.

Aug 19, 2024 | strangehorizons.com | Lowry Poletti |Ali Householder |Mary Lee |Max Banshees

A woman drags a white doe out of the ice room; it hangs from the ceiling rails by two brass hooks, one caught beneath its pelvis and the other behind the scapulae. As she pulls, the metal wheels whine. When she works in her lab, she is a butcher. She lays the doe on her bench and makes an incision from sternum to pelvis. Beneath translucent skin and shimmering hair coat, she expects to find the pink, glassy meat, which should flake against her scalpel blade like white-fleshed fish.