I love the ideas of solarpunk, but I’ll be honest — despite every idea in it appealing to me, I’ve had a hard time getting into the actual body of work. Some of this is a personal aversion to utopias. Solarpunk tends to prioritize positive ways forward over the dystopic futures of cyberpunk; this is excellent, but not how my creative mind tends to work. I distrust utopias so much that I can’t sit still long enough when presented with one to stop going ‘okay so what’s the catch?’.

That’s why I’m immediately impressed with Water-Kin, a poetry collection-slash-verse narrative that doesn’t advertise itself as solarpunk, but might be my favourite example of the genre yet. Mahaila Smith, one of the co-editors for Sprawl Mag, is both a gifted poet and satirist, and the collection starts off with upfront satire before stepping back, bit by bit, and resolving into a multi-generational tale. I hesitate to use the word ‘uplifting’ in this day and age, but it really is.

I’m also always deeply pleased by poetry that’s clearly meant to be read aloud and almost dances off to the page to insist on it. Not all of the poetry in here is like that, but many of the standouts are, including my personal favourite ‘Hi! I am your Cortical Update!’

I’m so shy!!!
I drink wine as long as the moon crosses the sky.
I follow directions from a ten-year-old.
I write words on any blank piece of skin, until I am blue blue.
I subvert zombies, drugged into rasping stasis.
I stuff hungry vampires with rejected manuscripts.
–Excerpt from ‘Hi! I am your Cortical Update!’

My other favourite is one I think is worth not spoiling, but it made me coo over the page like I’d been presented with a three-week-old kitten. If you like solarpunk/biopunk and verse narrative, and want to support an indie queer poet, definitely check this one out.

“But Elliott,” you say, “you put this on Little Free Archive!” AND SO I DID. Because — while I was lucky enough to get a beautiful paper copy — you can read this chapbook for free from Metatron Press. You can also read more about Smith’s work on their website here, including their upcoming full-length collection Seed Beetle from Stelliform Press!

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