We’re joined by Naomi Simone Borwein, author of the wonderful poem “The Void Is in a Playful Mood Tonight” in The Future Fire #74, to talk about alienation, transmateriality, and writing.
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| Art © 2025, Carmen Moran |
TFF: What does “The Void Is in a Playful Mood Tonight” mean to you?
Naomi Simone Borwein: On one level, this poem is about the conscious universe and “our” presence in it. On another level, it is about alienation.
TFF: Is poetry a speculative genre or medium by default, would you say?
NSB: Metaphor can be envisioned as a conceptual network of meaning(s) linked by more or less abstract layers of motile, sensory, and visual codices that are actualized through poetry; it is a somatic slippage of meaning. That transmateriality of meaning, which embodies divergent manifestations or reinterpretations of “reality” again and again, can be pretty surreal, speculative even, so potentially yes.
TFF: If you were the captain of a ship, what would you name her?
NSB: Dearly Departed.
TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?
NSB:
- It’s trite but read every day and write every day, and if you cannot write, read read read until you can
- Writing is like channeling vengeful spirits
TFF: What are you working on next?
NSB: Some academic volumes, a spec fic novel, and the usual insomnia-fuelled poetry and short fiction… that may never see the light of day.
Extract
This is your fault, witch.
It had a voice like rusty chains.
And cracking joints.
Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2025/09/new-issue-202574.html.
![[ Issue 2025.74; Cover art © 2025 Barbara Candiotti ]](http://futurefire.net/images/f74cover.jpg "[ Issue 2025.74; Cover art © 2025 Barbara Candiotti ]")
Issue 2025.74