Size / / /

Yes, Pluto is small.

Near Jupiter, he'd be one

of the myriad masses,

smaller than Titan, Triton, et. al.

Uneven, unbalanced, elliptical,

not even the farthest out,

when he hides within the seas.

But consider, if you will

keeping Pluto a planet.

For consider, if you will,

this: would you rather death

remain the farthest god,

outer edge of the norm,

be given titles undue, due

to his chill and final powers?

Or would you rather death

be one of many Kuiper bodies

slowly infiltrating our system,

a thousand thousand deaths

minute, uneven, unfair

drifting into the family,

until all our rounded,

sunlit orbits fill with tiny,

icy deaths intrusive that

flare and strike unwarranted?

Let's keep Pluto a planet,

shall we then?

For the sake of a single death.




Any rumors you've heard about Greg Beatty's time at Clarion West 2000 are probably true. Greg (email Greg) publishes everything from poetry about stars to reviews of books that don't exist. Greg Beatty lives in Bellingham, Washington, where he tries, unsuccessfully, to stay dry. Greg recently got married. You can read more by Greg in our Archives.
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Strange Horizons
Strange Horizons invites non-fiction submissions for our March 30 special issue on “Fungi in SFF.”
Once I’ve finished writing, I will fold this letter up and tuck it into the Tristram you kindly loaned me (may it be our Galeotto … ). I’ll knock on your door, at which point I will most likely encounter a puzzled maidservant, who will ask who in the world I am, and I will explain that I am returning a book you were kind enough to bestow on me (generous creature that you are and clearly down-on-their-luck weatherworn would-be poet that I am).
the trees were softening, their bark for the hungry to scrape and scrape and spread it on whatever bread they could beg or bake
i must warn you before all else / before you poke and prod
Paul Kincaid and Dawn Macdonald join Dan Hartland to discuss style.
Strange Horizons
2 Mar 2026
Strange Horizons invites non-fiction submissions for our March 30 special issue on “Fungi in SFF.”
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Spec Fic and the Politics of Identity 
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