Poem of the Week | October 20, 2014
Lawrence Raab: “The Scenario”
This week we’re delighted to offer you a poem by Lawrence Raab from our brand-new fall issue, 37.3. Rabb is the author of seven collections of poems, most recently The History of Forgetting (Penguin, 2009) and A Cup of Water Turns into a Rose, a long poem published in a limited edition by Adastra Press (2012). His next collection, Or So It Seemed To Me Then, will appear from Tupelo Press in 2015. He teaches literature and writing at Williams College.
Author’s note:
“The Scenario” was written using an assignment I devised for myself: Collect a number of spoken lines from newspapers, paying no attention to context or content, and responding only to interesting tones of voice. Use one to get a poem started, and any others to drive the poem in another direction if it stalls. The three lines discovered and used for “The Scenario” are: “Harry, for that kind of money bad things happen to people”; “There’s a scenario out there. It could be there. Not right now, but it could be there”; “We don’t like to say much because we don’t want to lose our lives.” The first quotation got the poem started, connecting money and violence, and invoking a noirish sort of situation. But mainly it gave me a voice. The second line gave me the idea of the meta-fictional “scenario” that structures the poem. The third line drove the poem from one moment to another while at the same time (I hope) deepening the poem’s concerns. It allowed for the word “awestruck,” used in a non-trivial way. I have no idea––as I shouldn’t––what the newspaper stories were behind any of these lines, though now I can’t help but wonder, especially about the first two. Who was Harry? What sort of “scenario” did the speaker have in mind? I hope this curiosity––unrecoverable for me––manifests itself interestingly in the poem.
The Scenario
SEE THE ISSUE
SUGGESTED CONTENT

Poem of the Week
May 23 2022
“Things Exposed to the Air” by Claire Wahmanholm
This week’s Poem of the Week is “Things Exposed to the Air” by Claire Wahmanholm. Claire Wahmanholm is the author of Night Vision (New Michigan Press 2017), Wilder (Milkweed Editions… read more

Poem of the Week
May 16 2022
“Initiation” by Austin Segrest
This week’s Poem of the Week is “Initiation” by Austin Segrest. Poet and critic Austin Segrest is the author of Door to Remain (UNT Press, 2022), winner of the 2021… read more

Poem of the Week
May 09 2022
“Blue Perennial” by Susannah Lodge-Rigal
This week’s Poem of the Week is “Blue Perennial” by Susannah Lodge-Rigal. Susannah Lodge-Rigal is a teacher, writer, and editor living in Berkeley, California. She holds an MFA from Colorado… read more