The award name was dubbed by Andrew Joron in reference to a character in a science fiction story: the blind poet Rhysling, in Robert A. Heinlein's short story "The Green Hills of Earth".
[1] The nominees for each year's Rhysling Awards are chosen by the members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association (SFPA).
Now only these finalist are compiled into the anthology and put to a final vote by the SFPA membership.
[2] From 2005 to 2011, the Awards were presented in July at a ceremony at Readercon.
[2] In 2005, the SFPA published an anthology of the winning poems, The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase.