064: Poem + Prompt (rob mclennan)
A prose poem inspired by a prose poem inspired by a prose poem
rob mclennan
“Torn, burnt and scaled from root to spine.”
Such truth, in the water. Ludic. To shipwreck off-stage. We are not of this world. Camera, pans. How the elegy is made. Unsettled, by sleep. Among folds of cloud. Impossible, season. A white bowl, with flowers. A missive. Grammar, winds. Intangible. What language, turns. A neutral moon. Fissure, of lyric patter. Arithmetic. An idea, stems. How time, flows. Articulate with words.
This is a previously unreleased prose poem from rob mclennan. You can order his latest full-length collection right here, and you can also get your hands on his new chapbook of 16 poems inspired by the prompts of this very Substack! How cool is that?
Today’s poem (part of a manuscript-in-progress) is an homage text for, around and after American poets Laynie Browne and Rosmarie Waldrop. “All poem titles,” explains mclennan about his manuscript, “are taken in order from the last line or phrase of each poem in Browne’s In Garments Worn By Lindens (Tender Buttons Press, 2019), itself an homage text to Rosmarie Waldrop, with all of Browne’s titles taken from Waldrop’s Lawn of Excluded Middle (Tender Buttons Press, 1994).”
Writing prompt: Choose a book by an outside author. It can be a personal favorite, one you haven’t yet read, or simply the one closest to you in this very moment. Using this book as your source text, sift through the book until you find a section with a final line that resonates with you. Take that final line and use it as the title for your new piece. You can also do this by interacting directly with mclennan’s poem above, titling your piece, “Articulate with words.” Now, write toward that title, write around that title, write after that title. Try this again and again (it can be with the same poem, same book, or with multiple books) until you have five poems / prose poems / tiny stories, all with titles from the writing of others. How do these pieces interact with one another? How do they appear as a sequence? Order them accordingly, as if you’re in conversation with the community of books that surround you. Because you are.
If you write something based on this prompt, please credit the line by the original author, and please share it by commenting directly here or posting on socials and tagging myself (neonpajamas on all platforms) or rob mclennan (robmclennan on Bluesky & rob_mclennan_writer on IG). It’s a great day to draft some new writing. Good luck!
While this Substack will always be free, I’d be remiss to not mention my new poetry press. Piżama Press launched in 2025 and its next two releases have been announced: John’s Table by Lesle Lewis and Split / Game of Little Deaths by Réka Nyitrai. Both poetry collections will be released on May 27, 2026. You’d be really helping a small indie press and these wonderful poets by pre-ordering one (or both) of these books, as well as spreading the word (social media, Goodreads, local library, local bookseller). And, if you haven’t done so already, please check out last year’s inaugural release, Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi’s Disintegration Made Plain and Easy, which continues to reach new readers eager to find something strange and surreal, different and unique. After all, Piżama’s mantra is “The weirder, the better.” See you next Sunday!
That opening fragment — "Torn, burnt and scaled from root to spine" — lands like a weather report from somewhere I've never been but recognize completely. The idea of writing toward a title taken from someone else's final line is going right into my practice.
Thanks for this prompt! It's great, and a strategy I've used without fully realizing it. So thanks for that insight too. My offering, not a new poem, but embedded here in this reflection from last week: https://karincope.substack.com/p/we-speak-of-the-war-as-if-we-are?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=ph63x