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Direct link: February poetry (MP3)

In this episode of the Strange Horizons podcast, editor Ciro Faienza presents poetry from the February issues.

  • “The Hawk-Woman's Prophecy" by Kavitha Rath, read by Kavitha Rath. You can read the full text of the poem and more about Kavitha here.
  • “Fantasy of Hans Christian Andersen" by KH van Berkum, read by Romie Stott. You can read the full text of the poem and more about KH here.
  • “Plesiosauria" by D. Eric Parkison, read by Ciro Faienza. You can read the full text of the poem and more about D. Eric here.
  • “Lady Agnes" by Carlene Kucharczyk, read by Carlene Kucharczyk. You can read the full text of the poem and more about Carlene here.



Carlene Kucharczyk is a graduate of the MFA program at North Carolina State University, where she now teaches. She is originally from Connecticut.  
Ciro Faienza (pronounced CHEE-roh) is an American/Italian national. He has acted on stages and screens throughout Texas and Massachusetts, and his work as a filmmaker has shown at the Dallas Museum of Art, the Dallas Hub Theater, and the National Gallery, London. His fiction is featured in numerous publications, including Daily Science Fiction and Futuristica, Vol 1. His short story "J'ae's Solution" was a top finalist in PRI's 3-Minute Futures Contest. You can see his visual artwork at his web gallery, Postmedium.
D. Eric Parkison grew up in a town near Rochester, NY.  He received his MA in English at the University of Rochester, where he studied literature and poetry.  His poetry has appeared in American Chordata, Midwest Quarterly, and Zyzzyva, among others.  He is currently an MFA Candidate and Teaching Fellow at Boston University.
Kavitha Rath has lived in Atlanta, Chennai, and London. Her poetry has appeared in Danse Macabre, Fickle Muses, and New Asian Writing. You can find her at https://kavitharath.wordpress.com/.
KH van Berkum is a New England based poet and teacher whose poems have appeared in publications such as Curio Poetry, Vine Leaves Literary Journal, and Eunoia Review.  She is currently an MFA Candidate in Poetry and Teaching Fellow at Boston University.  She lives in Cambridge, where she can often be spotted dog-walking or spontaneously dancing.   
Romie Stott is the administrative editor and a poetry editor of Strange Horizons. Her poems have appeared in inkscrawl, Dreams & Nightmares, Polu Texni, On Spec, The Deadlands, and Liminality, but she is better known for her essays in The Toast and Atlas Obscura, and a microfiction project called postorbital. As a filmmaker, she has been a guest artist of the National Gallery (London), the Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston), and the Dallas Museum of Art. You can find her fairly complete bibliography here.
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16 Mar 2026

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