 red earth
rob mclennan is one of the hottest new poets in this country. In a matter of just a few years, he has produced seven collections of poetry. This is his eighth fll-length collection. In the eighth full-length poetry collection by award-winning poet.
Hard to label, mclennan is constantly in motion, quickly moving from point to point, whether in his writing, his publishing, or in his travels for the craft. One of the most productive poets of his generation, mclennan is able to reference a range of subjects in a small space, underwriting language in such a way that the reader becomes the lightning rod between the connections.
As reviewer Antje M. Rauwerda wrote in Paperplates magazine, this is "...the inner landscape of a Canadian poet interested in how words mean." In this new book, his focus is the maritimes, specifically Prince Edward Island, hence the “red earth” of the soil that dominates the province. rob mclennan lives and works in Ottawa.
He has published seven books of poetry, and poetry, fiction & critical writing in dozens of journals & anthologies throughout Canada, the US, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Australia, the UK & India. He edited evergreen: six new poets for Black Moss Press in 2002. He has won the Canadian Authors Association / Air Canada Prize for most promising writer (in any genre) in Canada under 30.
Poetry, Palm Poets Series, 97 pages, $17.95
ISBN 0-88753-381-7
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 evergreen
With new writers appearing constantly, it becomes harder to search out the cream from the dross. evergreen: six new poets highlights half a dozen young poets from different parts of the country who have already started to make noise, much the way Al Purdy did in his two Storm Warning anthologies of the 1970’s. Given generous sections to allow a strong sense of each writer, most of these six are without first books, but extremely close, with the exception of Jon Paul Fiorentino of Montreal who has managed two this year.
Besides this latter writer, the others include Ottawa-based Laurie Fuhr, Calgary’s Ryan Fitzpatrick, Hamilton’s Meghan Lynch, Edmonton’s Andy Weaver, and Montreal-based Susan Elmslie. rob mclennan — poet, publisher, and editor of STANZAS magazine and author of side/lines: A Poetics (Insomniac Press) — is the editor of this anthologyWith the onslaught of new writers appearing almost constantly, it becomes harder to search out the cream from the dross. evergreen: six new poets highlights half a dozen young poets from different parts of the country who have already started to make noise, much the way Al Purdy did in his two Storm Warning anthologies of the 1970’s.
Given generous sections to allow a strong sense of each writer, most of these six are without first books, but extremely close, with the exception of Jon Paul Fiorentino of Montreal who has managed two this year. Besides this latter writer, the others include Ottawa-based Laurie Fuhr, Calgary’s Ryan Fitzpatrick, Hamilton’s Meghan Lynch, Edmonton’s Andy Weaver, and Montreal-based Susan Elmslie. rob mclennan — poet, publisher, and editor of STANZAS magazine and author of side/lines: A Poetics (Insomniac Press) — is the editor of this anthology.
Poetry, Black Moss Anthologies, 124 pages, $19.95
ISBN 0-88753-369-8
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Interview with rob mclennan
Tell me about this new book, the red earth. What is it about? What issues/themes/motifs/subjects are addressed?
Most of the way I've been building books the last few years has been a mixture of thematic & stylistic. For the series "voice-over," the pieces bounce off lines from other writers, but do so in an almost electric way,
bouncing from synapse to synapse in (seemingly) arbitrary ways. Even I don't want to know where they are going. The title series, written out of a brief trip through the east coast in a car, worked out of the same notions of quick movement, leaping into notions of what is & isn't possible in the text. The poems tell not only the story of the trip, but the story of what surrounded the trip, & other things that came into the geography that I deliberately wanted little control over, as far as direction.
How does the writing in this book differ from other things you have written & published?
It differs, I suppose, in that I'm furthering my notion of the non-sequitur through the work of various sequences. The alphabet sequence
at the end has no beginning, middle or end but for the arbitrary order of the alphabet, & pieces written to go with each letter. For years, I've been working to boil away the excess of a text, & simply leave there what needs to be there. It's made writing fiction strange, since my writing isn't terribly "wordy." I now have to learn how to go on for a while,
extend instead of clip my images, & fight against that now-natural impulse to cut back before I wander.
If you had to characterize your style, or your approach to writing, what would you say?
I would characterize my style as attempting various different motifs to see how they fit, to see how they work. I don't want to remain in any place for too long. The painter Diane Woodward once told me, once you learn how to do something, move on. Every piece becomes a movement, then, in baby steps.
When did you become serious about your writing?
I became serious about my writing a little over twelve years ago, when I was twenty-one.
What importance does your writing take in your life now?
I write. It's what I do. I get up every morning, make coffee, go to my desk, & write.
Poetry really isn't a barnburner, & if you're writing to communicate, then why would you chose poetry? Why not a novel? Or make a film?
That's true, certainly. They say the best way to affect culture one hundred years ago was the poem, fifty years ago the novel, & currently, film. But that presupposes that poetry is merely a communicative form.
Once photography started, we no longer needed the 17th century style of painting that rendered silk so well, that you would be afraid to breathe, to interrupt the image. Poetry is continually being forced into different directions, & this is what interests me. There is very little point writing a poem that has already been done. It's not about telling a story or getting an issue out. Poetry is a form unto itself, everything else boiled away to get to that essence.
Depending on my day, I think that part of my job as a writer of poetry is to capture a moment. Other days, toboil down disperate information into a form that is easier to grasp. Stillother days, to be oblique, or simply to play with the language. When thewriting is best, is when a combination of all of the above occurs.
As far as writing a novel, or anything else, I've been working on fiction for nearly a decade, but haven't shown too much of it to anyone. Early on, I knew I had to focus on something, & for some reason, it was poetry. Over the last couple of years, though, I've had two shows of artwork, finished a novel & am far into another one, & done hundreds of reviews, working my slowly way into a collection of essays. I was in a short film in 1991, but haven't done any further work there simply because I (usually) prefer to work alone. It's so much easier that way.
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