Brandon O’Brien

Brandon O'Brien is a writer, performance poet, teaching artist, and tabletop game designer from Trinidad and Tobago. His work has been shortlisted for the 2014 and 2015 Small Axe Literary Competitions and the 2020 Ignyte Award for best in speculative poetry, and has been published in many genre magazines and collections. He is the former poetry editor of FIYAH. His debut poetry collection, Can You Sign My Tentacle?, available from Interstellar Flight Press, is the winner of the 2022 Elgin Award. He is the poet laureate for Seattle Worldcon 2025, and the first poet laureate of any Worldcon.

Con-Verse: Chatting with David C. Kopaska-Merkel

March 24, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

We should keep acquainting ourselves with some of the standout poets in this wonderful genre, so this week we’re chatting with SFPA Grand Master and editor David C. Kopaska-Merkel!

Con-Verse: Speculative Poetry and The Body

March 18, 2025March 17, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

Now that we have enough early-stage tools to discuss what makes poetry speculative, it’s a good time to consider something just a little bit more complex: what is the poem confronting that is valuable for us?

Con-Verse: Two Reasons To Trust Your Own Poetic Sense

March 10, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

Consider this a breakdown of not just the avenues to read your way into speculative poetry but also as an encouragement as to why you should.

Con-Verse: Pop Culture as Speculation in Verse

March 3, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

At this point, we’ve been building up our muscles in finding ways to approach poems that intrigue and challenge us. Today, let’s consider yet another one of those reading tools: considering pop culture as an element of the speculative.

Con-Verse: Chatting with Bryan Thao Worra

February 24, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

This week’s poetry chat is with the inimitable former president of the SFPA and an ambassador of speculative poetry, Bryan Thao Worra!

Con-Verse: The “Art of Speculating” in Verse

February 17, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

We’ve been talking about some of the ways one can start discovering and interacting with the speculative heart of these poems. Let’s keep going by using another question-metric one can apply while reading: What is the poem speculating about?

Con-Verse: Chatting with Colleen Anderson

February 10, 2025February 10, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

Following up with our wonderful chat with Science Fiction Poetry Association Grand Master Mary Soon Lee a fortnight ago, today we’re chatting with current SFPA President Colleen Anderson!

Con-Verse: Symbolic Intensity in Speculative Poetry

February 3, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

Today, let’s chat about (my probably controversial thoughts on) symbolic intensity and how even the most challenging poem can clearly reveal a speculative core.

Con-Verse: Chatting with Mary Soon Lee

January 27, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

When we started this Con-Verse-ation, we invited several standout poets to answer the pressing question of how to define and identify speculative poetry. Today, we’re chatting with multiple-award-winning poet and SFPA Grand Master Mary Soon Lee!

Con-Verse: Speculative Poetry Primer

January 20, 2025 by Brandon O’Brien

The text Con-Verse against a retrofuturistic design of a rounded triangle shape with a pink swirl pattern.

We’ve discovered some commonalities among the answers to last week’s questions, enough that there are some things we can definitely say about speculative poetry, but how much deeper can we dig?