The Poet Laureate Podcast

rob mclennan: Episode 5 Season 2

August 22
1h 39m

Episode Description

rob mclennan & Kyeren Regehr: Special Double-interview Episode
Recorded in front of a live studio audience during National Poetry Month, 2026

We recorded this one in front of an audience. No scripts, no agendas—just two poets turning the mic on each other to talk about language, survival, small-press hustle, and why anyone keeps making art in a culture that mostly forgets it exists. rob mclennan doesn’t really need an introduction. He’s one of Canadian poetry’s unofficial laureates—a one-man literary ecosystem who has spent decades quietly building community, publishing thousands of voices through above/ground press, Touch the Donkey, and periodicities, while somehow managing to write fifty-some books of his own.

In this special double-interview episode, Kyeren and rob sit down at Haus of Owl Creation Lab to trade roles: interviewer/interviewee. Their conversation moves between the public weight of municipal laureateships and the quiet discipline of the page, digging into city politics, writer's retreats, and the art of the occasional poem  They trace the strange ways poetry sneaks into everyday life—through street-naming campaigns, library gumball machines, and $70 wine labels—before turning to the long hustle: raising kids in the cracks of time, anti-narrative logic, rob's pragmatic, blue-collar approach to daily output, and why he keeps a full year’s worth of press projects lined up in advance. It’s an unscripted, wide-ranging conversation about creative momentum, memory, missed contest deadlines, and the sheer joy of making stuff without asking for permission. (Plus: cake.) 

This episode is generously sponsored by Arc Poetry Magazine.

Episode Links & Resources

We acknowledge with gratitude that this work was created on the unceded homelands of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.

The Poet Laureate Podcast is recorded in studio at Haus of Owl: Creation Labs—supporting artists to create the best work of their careers. Original music by Chris Regehr. To learn more or reach out, visit www.thepoetlaureatepodcast.com or find us on Instagram @poetlaureatepodcast & poetlaureatepdcast@bsky.social.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. / Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. 

This podcast is The Canada Council for the Arts mandate is to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. Through its grants, services, prizes, initiatives, and payments, the Canada Council supports a dynamic and diverse arts and literary scene. These activities generate a meaningful cultural, social and economic impact for over 2,000 communities in all parts of the country and beyond. The investments and leadership of the Council help advance public engagement in the arts from coast to coast to coast while also contributing to the international recognition of artists and arts organizations from Canada.

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