“poem” broadside #319: Conditions of the shudder, by rob mclennan

1.

Bent over, everything.

The reasons for the words
were plenty, numerous

and latent.

2.

Don’t forget to vote.

Black ants trickle
in, below

attention.

3.

There is a fear

of writing, such
an urge

to crash.

4.

Am like a living tomb,
so very messy.

Understating every mouth,

a girl.

Conditions of the shudder

rob mclennan

above/ground press broadside #319

The author of more than twenty trade books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, rob mclennan won the John Newlove Poetry Award in 2011, and was longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2012. His most recent titles is the poetry collections Songs for little sleep, (Obvious Epiphanies, 2012), and a second novel, missing persons (2009). An editor and publisher, he runs above/ground press, Chaudiere Books, The Garneau Review, seventeen seconds: a journal of poetry and poetics and the Ottawa poetry pdf annual ottawater. He spent the 2007-8 academic year in Edmonton as writer-in-residence at the University of Alberta, and regularly posts reviews, essays, interviews and other notices at robmclennan.blogspot.com