Michael Hessel-Mial
@mrpoemguy.bsky.social
Poet and scholar, college writing instructor, wife guy, dad to Melody. I’m an editor at specpoverse.org. Science fiction, PDFs, socialism, Jewish mysticism. Free Palestine 🇵🇸
Pinned
Alright speculative poetry fans! It’s time for my end of 2025 awards eligibility post! This is my first year publishing in speculative markets and I have ten poems out, which are eligible for the Rhysling, poetry Hugo, Best of the Net, and others. Let’s get started!
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” isn’t responsible for being overplayed, it can’t help being that good!
December 2, 2025 at 1:28 AM
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” isn’t responsible for being overplayed, it can’t help being that good!
Alright speculative poetry fans! It’s time for my end of 2025 awards eligibility post! This is my first year publishing in speculative markets and I have ten poems out, which are eligible for the Rhysling, poetry Hugo, Best of the Net, and others. Let’s get started!
December 1, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Alright speculative poetry fans! It’s time for my end of 2025 awards eligibility post! This is my first year publishing in speculative markets and I have ten poems out, which are eligible for the Rhysling, poetry Hugo, Best of the Net, and others. Let’s get started!
I’m sure the Good Place is an awesome show, I trust the judgment of everyone who recommends it, I will watch it sometime and probably love it, but for whatever reason there is no stupider show ever made than the Good Place *in my head*
December 1, 2025 at 1:55 PM
I’m sure the Good Place is an awesome show, I trust the judgment of everyone who recommends it, I will watch it sometime and probably love it, but for whatever reason there is no stupider show ever made than the Good Place *in my head*
Based on certain relatives’ statements, there is a nonzero probability I ate my first dish from an AI-generated recipe
December 1, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Based on certain relatives’ statements, there is a nonzero probability I ate my first dish from an AI-generated recipe
I’m reading The City and the City and totally engrossed, it’s really scratching a good itch for me
November 29, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I’m reading The City and the City and totally engrossed, it’s really scratching a good itch for me
The thing that’s so awesome about Miss Piggy is after all the other great things about her (beautiful, glamorous, confident, pushes her nerdy boyfriend to stand up for himself), she also sometimes does karate
November 28, 2025 at 4:50 AM
The thing that’s so awesome about Miss Piggy is after all the other great things about her (beautiful, glamorous, confident, pushes her nerdy boyfriend to stand up for himself), she also sometimes does karate
D’Angelo
Of Montreal
Ravi Shankar
Sheila E.
Antony and the Johnsons
Of Montreal
Ravi Shankar
Sheila E.
Antony and the Johnsons
Alanis Morrisette
Tori Amos
GWAR
Ghost
The Mountain Goats
Tori Amos
GWAR
Ghost
The Mountain Goats
Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen
The Cure
GWAR
Dropkick Murphys
Prince
Elvis Costello & the Imposters
The Cure
GWAR
Dropkick Murphys
Prince
Elvis Costello & the Imposters
November 28, 2025 at 2:58 AM
D’Angelo
Of Montreal
Ravi Shankar
Sheila E.
Antony and the Johnsons
Of Montreal
Ravi Shankar
Sheila E.
Antony and the Johnsons
I’ve crossed over to five hundred followers. I understand this to mean that five hundred people think I’m the greatest poet to ever live, and if asked, would give me ten thousand dollars without any strings attached
November 27, 2025 at 5:28 PM
I’ve crossed over to five hundred followers. I understand this to mean that five hundred people think I’m the greatest poet to ever live, and if asked, would give me ten thousand dollars without any strings attached
1. Poetry is fundamentally plastic, can take any form to make new meaning.
2. Form is a tool for world-building in speculative poetry.
Read these thoughts and more in my column up at Angry Gable Press!
angrygablepress.com/2025/11/26/t...
2. Form is a tool for world-building in speculative poetry.
Read these thoughts and more in my column up at Angry Gable Press!
angrygablepress.com/2025/11/26/t...
The Angry Gable #28
Featuring Michael Hessel-Mial
angrygablepress.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:30 PM
1. Poetry is fundamentally plastic, can take any form to make new meaning.
2. Form is a tool for world-building in speculative poetry.
Read these thoughts and more in my column up at Angry Gable Press!
angrygablepress.com/2025/11/26/t...
2. Form is a tool for world-building in speculative poetry.
Read these thoughts and more in my column up at Angry Gable Press!
angrygablepress.com/2025/11/26/t...
There’s something very vulnerable about writing something you’re passionate about. The first person to be moved by a work is the creator themself, but then comes the question: “Will other people see and feel it too? Or is it just me?”
Gonna work as hard as I can to try to make that thing work!
Gonna work as hard as I can to try to make that thing work!
November 27, 2025 at 3:45 PM
There’s something very vulnerable about writing something you’re passionate about. The first person to be moved by a work is the creator themself, but then comes the question: “Will other people see and feel it too? Or is it just me?”
Gonna work as hard as I can to try to make that thing work!
Gonna work as hard as I can to try to make that thing work!
For those of you following my science fiction poetry, this essay is a statement on the poetics side of it all. If you’re interested in form/style questions, I hope this gives you some cool expansive ideas about them! Hoping to write more essays about speculative poetics & would love your questions!
Michael Hessel-Mial’s “Speculative Poetry and The Plasticity of Form” is our Angry Gable #28! angrygablepress.com/2025/11/26/t...
The Angry Gable #28
Featuring Michael Hessel-Mial
angrygablepress.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:57 PM
For those of you following my science fiction poetry, this essay is a statement on the poetics side of it all. If you’re interested in form/style questions, I hope this gives you some cool expansive ideas about them! Hoping to write more essays about speculative poetics & would love your questions!
Periodic reminder that I’d love a poetry sub acceptance and ten thousand dollars
November 25, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Periodic reminder that I’d love a poetry sub acceptance and ten thousand dollars
In the long poetry thing I’m doing intense rewrites on, there was a sequence of maybe 30 lines maximum that took two weeks of sweating out, but it couldn’t have gone any other way.
November 25, 2025 at 12:51 PM
In the long poetry thing I’m doing intense rewrites on, there was a sequence of maybe 30 lines maximum that took two weeks of sweating out, but it couldn’t have gone any other way.
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
November 24, 2025 at 11:46 PM
I post a lot about loving writing poetry, and I do, but alas, there are times when writing poetry is disrupted by anxiety about it being good
November 24, 2025 at 12:36 PM
I post a lot about loving writing poetry, and I do, but alas, there are times when writing poetry is disrupted by anxiety about it being good
EVERYTHING YOU SAY TO MEEE
(TAKES ME ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EDGE
AND I’M ABOUT TO BREAK)
(TAKES ME ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EDGE
AND I’M ABOUT TO BREAK)
November 23, 2025 at 5:36 PM
EVERYTHING YOU SAY TO MEEE
(TAKES ME ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EDGE
AND I’M ABOUT TO BREAK)
(TAKES ME ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EDGE
AND I’M ABOUT TO BREAK)
Did the “stay up late riffing on music videos” thing with my wife and a good friend, and I have only good things to say about riffing on music videos with friends
November 22, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Did the “stay up late riffing on music videos” thing with my wife and a good friend, and I have only good things to say about riffing on music videos with friends
It feels like it’s a pretty challenging transitional time in speculative fiction publishing. Its mainstream prestige has grown but at the same time a lot of publications are financially slipping. I wonder if there’s been a comparable period in SFF publishing history, or if it’s a uniquely hard time.
November 21, 2025 at 7:34 PM
It feels like it’s a pretty challenging transitional time in speculative fiction publishing. Its mainstream prestige has grown but at the same time a lot of publications are financially slipping. I wonder if there’s been a comparable period in SFF publishing history, or if it’s a uniquely hard time.
Just met with my second writers group of the week, and the piece I was excited to share completely belly-flopped, dead in the water
November 21, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Just met with my second writers group of the week, and the piece I was excited to share completely belly-flopped, dead in the water
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
Incredibly honored to have 5 speculative poems in this anthology!
November 20, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Incredibly honored to have 5 speculative poems in this anthology!
I have three poems in this beautiful anthology! My entries do a lot more genre play this time, doing science fiction sendups of T.S. Eliot and the ancient Greek Olympian ode. Thanks to @angrygablepress.bsky.social and @nsborwein.bsky.social for including me!
November 20, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I have three poems in this beautiful anthology! My entries do a lot more genre play this time, doing science fiction sendups of T.S. Eliot and the ancient Greek Olympian ode. Thanks to @angrygablepress.bsky.social and @nsborwein.bsky.social for including me!
I have poems in this! Coming out tomorrow!!!
Katabatic Circus Volume 2 Out November 20th! a.co/d/gt0JNrs
Katabatic Circus (Volume 2)
Amazon.com: Katabatic Circus (Volume 2) eBook : Borwein, Naomi Simone, Arnzen, Michael A., Bruner, Pixie, Patterson, H.V., Newton, Kurt, LoSchiavo, LindaAnn, Hessel-Miel, Michael, Magee, Alan, St. Claire, Joshua, Borwein, Naomi Simone: Kindle Store
a.co
November 19, 2025 at 2:47 PM
I have poems in this! Coming out tomorrow!!!
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
Shimaas tent has fallen apart in the cold and the rain, and she desperately needs another. Please do what you can gofund.me/bec64b33
November 19, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Shimaas tent has fallen apart in the cold and the rain, and she desperately needs another. Please do what you can gofund.me/bec64b33
The sympathetic framing of both the Epstein revelations and the Nuzzi scandal is meant to encourage a fawning intoxication with power, promote the idea that anyone small could be caught up in the allure of someone so big. It’s cool that people are mostly seeing through it.
November 18, 2025 at 1:01 PM
The sympathetic framing of both the Epstein revelations and the Nuzzi scandal is meant to encourage a fawning intoxication with power, promote the idea that anyone small could be caught up in the allure of someone so big. It’s cool that people are mostly seeing through it.
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
615 of the estimated 3,000+ detained immigrants who were kidnapped in Chicagoland during Midway Blitz are expected to be eligible for bond this week. The Midwest Immigration Bond Fund shows up for people in detention who need bond, but it costs, at minimum, $1,500 per person. Pls help them.
A Midwest Bond Fund Is Helping Detained Chicago Immigrants Return To Their Families
The Midwest Immigration Bond Fund launched in 2020 to provide bond assistance to people navigating the complex immigration legal system. That mission has become more difficult under the second Trump a...
blockclubchicago.org
November 17, 2025 at 10:08 PM
615 of the estimated 3,000+ detained immigrants who were kidnapped in Chicagoland during Midway Blitz are expected to be eligible for bond this week. The Midwest Immigration Bond Fund shows up for people in detention who need bond, but it costs, at minimum, $1,500 per person. Pls help them.