Although that wasn t the first time poetry was included in WorldCon programming, it was nevertheless one of the earlier excrescences of a science fiction poetry boom that was given impetus by Bob Frazier, Scott Green and other active members of the SFPA in the 1980s, a trend which has continued unabated into the 90s. ConFrancisco was my first opportunity to organize and moderate a WorldCon poetry event, an experience I was eager to repeat at future conventions. Alas, WorldCon committees have been getting more and more bureaucratic as the WorldCon itself has become more and more of a commercial enterprise. Campaigning for this year s poetry panel was a lot tougher than I had expected it to be. Craig Miller of the program committee was initially very reluctant to allocate time and space on the program for sf poets, declaring that sf poetry was much less interesting than something like well, like beer tasting.
Persistence pays off, though.
I never gave up, and Craig finally relented, although he refused to grant the poetry panelists the status of program participants. Poets need lobbyists. Despite the odds, this year s poetry panel was a gratifying success. My only regret was that local poets Michael Collings, Denise Dumars and Greg Stewart weren t there to join us on the dais. Humor was a common thread that ran through many of the poems that were read, something the audience seemed to appreciate.