F.I. and Joel Goldhaber, poet and authors of science fiction and fantasy

September 15, 2026

"A Matter of Privilege"

Crime poetry weekly, The Five-Two, has featured a number my poems recently, including: "A Matter of Privilege" on August 24, 2026.

At the end of the poem, under "F.I. confesses", I state: "As an anti-Zionist Jew, the hypocritical outrage shown by countries who arm Israeli slaughter of Palestinians because IOF soldiers treated their citizens poorly -- but not nearly as despicably as they treat the Indigenous people of the land they illegally occupy -- has been a disgusting display of empire and privilege." You can also listen to me read "A Matter of Privilege" on editor Gerald So's YouTube channel.

"Missing Info" and "Identity"

I've had publishers that accepted my work go out of business before publishing it, not get funding for whatever it was accepted for, and give up on a project because of staffing issues. But in a first for me, both "Missing Info" and "Identity" were rejected by an editor who was unable to continue with an anthology and then later accepted by the editor who took it over.

Cicada Song Press founders Dr. Johanna Haas and Mona Mehas sent a phrase out to the world as a challenge: write a poem that uses 'reality detonates' anywhere except the title. I was one of the poets who responded. The result of their poetic game, Reality Detonates includes my poems "Missing Info" and "Identity" and many others from all over the globe.

The call for the anthology inspired completion of two poems I was already working on. "Identity" had two stanzas, but I wasn't happy with it. Reading the call led to creation of an additional two stanzas which completed the poem. "Missing Info" was still a work in progress, but the call precipitated the penultimate stanza which finished it perfectly.

According to editors Mona Mehas and Alana Smithee although every poem in the wide-ranging collection includes the phrase reality detonates, "you will never encounter it the same way twice." In Reality Detonates, "No two poems are similar. Not in subject. Not in tone. Not in emotional landscape". That includes both of mine which appear in different sections.

The poems in Reality Detonates "move from deep inner conflict to exploding galaxies. There are love stories, prayers for the world, and reflections on aging. The writers range from known poets with long resumes to first-time submitters. If you read one poem, turn the page and the next will be completely different."