Allen W. McLean is an author of speculative fiction, poetry and reviews.
He was born and raised in the Canadian suburbs of Brampton Ontario, and identifies as non-binary.
His wife April produces music and art as Electric Armchair; at her behest, Allen began sharing poetry on his book reviews and releases for the HaikuPrajna Collection, a library of his study notes for readers who will never consume the stories just as much as they are for those who have or want to.
Obsessed with forming stories since playing pretend as a child, his fiction today focuses on transcending one’s hindrances, with ideas from metaphysics, theology, yoga, mindfulness, meditation, and is inspired by sci-fi, comics and manga.
Allen has released over a dozen books, and his Bite-sized Insights have been collected online, in print and in public libraries around the Toronto area.
All readers subscribed by email on Patreon, Substack and Medium have access to a selection of Zines--visit to submit to our public poetry prompt and view more features! https://aprilandallen.square.site/social
. Write your own poem \ using this Zine as a prompt \ to take the Challenge!
. HaikuPrajna . The HaikuPrajna Challenge
. Digital . Mini-zine series with poetry and art
. Open to all humans . Purchase unnecessary to participate
. Accepting submissions for future releases
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Hello reader,
Have a handful of zines to share, so I thought I would make a bigger compound-update.
The HaikuPrajna Challenge
20260801 . Prajna or The Elephant . Different Ground . Queer Artists Showcase at City Side Cafe
I am unfit for \ The structure, this ride, I will \ Remain another
. Prajna or The Elephant . Different Ground
. We were welcomed back to City Side Cafe for the Queer Artists Showcase (hosted by @Project14_ on Instagram), where I read the lyrics for a demo song called Different Ground, and got to listen to poetry and music by a handful of artists, including the solo guitar debut of the one and only Electric Armchair. I was panicking a little, to be honest, sorry that I had kept to myself, but it was real nice listening to and being part of our local queer community. Our three other performers were so good.
. Video credit for the clip goes to April, who enjoyed the iced macha. I thought it was good too, tasting more like a quality vanilla ice cream.
. Different Ground is a demo song by Prajna or The Elephant, framed as part of the series Together In Forever which follows our hero the Overseer. Themes of otherness and incongruence stemmed from the inability to communicate when others, unawares, discriminate about people in or close to the conversation, and one's need to come on down from up on some higher morality in order to have the chance of any meaningful interaction. I have struggled with identity for the better part of my life, so I wanted to explore the feeling of disinclusion and the act of reaching out to those perpetuating it.
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.20260711. Joe Bean’s Seventh Birthday
. For Joe Bean's seventh birthday, we wrapped up toys and treats as kind-of Christmas-in-July presents. We treated ourselves to a tiramisu style cake to mark the occasion, while snagging the free Slurpee for 7-Eleven day.
. Joe has also been known to help re-string my acoustics.
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20260804 . Spider-man Brand New Day
. Brand New Day was so good. April and I caught it at Scotiabank Theatre. Peter and Frank's banter was top notch. May, MJ and Ned delivered a perfect amount of heartfelt. Love how Marisa Tomei had a good role in this, instead of being written off.
. Though, I missed Flash, Happy and JJJ (even though the latter would have clashed with this film's NYC). Also feel bad for Banner.
. Jean Grey continued the casual reveal of MCU mutants. I liked her providing a reason why the public could be mistrustful of pre-Xavier mutants, while also showing off why superpowered people should continue being mistrustful of the government’s desire to harness their abilities, while also still establishing some foreshadowing for potential growth into a family-centric character.
. Inhibitor chip was spooky, even if there are other instances of power dampeners in past MCU stories. V-MAX was a heartbreaking subversion. I hate how convinced I was. DODC’s the franchise's true villain.
. Action was great. Humor was awesome. Spider-man was lifted out of the comics, far beyond the first act's sizzle recap. Thought I would dislike Peter's evolution, but the execution of organic webs and overstimulation was spectacular.
. Acceptance. Denial. Repression. Dysphoria in metaphor. Death and abandoning those still close to you. The 24-hour Hero Arc. A classic Spider-man tale of needing to balance both parts of his identity. Brand New Day was for real a film for the fans, like Tom Holland in the intro had said. Scenes paid visual homage to the previous film franchises and the video games. Just hope the actual Spider-man rogues we saw will get more screentime in the future.
. The Marvel Studios logo at the start showing Peter fading out from memories was heartbreaking. Glad Ned and MJ seem to remember now, or at least were accepted back into Peter's life.
. DeWolff was a great addition to the roster, she provided much needed grounding, while still being able to rebuke Peter for his mistakes despite liking what he does for New York. I also loved seeing Spidey being respected by the public.
. Post-theatre rambling over. An instant classic; up there with, if not the best of Spider-man on-screen.
. (Still have to watch Noir, though)
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. Brampton JAM, Treeline Park x2
. 20260722 20260728
. We have played along with a circle of other musicians as part of Brampton JAM at Treeline Park, just having fun making good tunes together. A real good time, check them out on IG.
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. 20260725 Toronto
. We spent a day in Toronto gathering free ice cream, grilled cheese, froyo, slushee and beer. We also got $3 Harvey's grilled hotdogs.
. Chinnen, a street performer by the waterfront, was fantastic and hilarious--check him out online!
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The warm comfort of \
being around others, who \
love the little things
. HaikuPrajna . BICZ @ City Side Cafe Downtown Brampton
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Zine on YouTube! https://youtu.be/eeGJg0Q-VFI
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The HaikuPrajna Challenge
. 20260707
. The warm comfort of \ being around others, who \ love the little things . HaikuPrajna . BICZ @ City Side Cafe Downtown Brampton
. We attended the BICZ meetup at City Side Cafe downtown Brampton, where I spent my time with a nice hot rich Americano coffee, formatting a digital photography mini-zine, we also contributed a panel each to the collaborative comic, all while surrounded by art and artists; check out both City Side Cafe and Brampton Indie Comics & Zines! The cafe’s coffee was so good that I used it in my watercolour so I could take it home.
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. 20260719 . Summer Artists' Market
. We vended the Summer Artists’ Market at the Springdale Brampton Library.
. Very kind and accommodating event hosts from BAO kept us fed and hydrated, they came to each table with a full trolley!
. High energy environment, it was nice just being among other creators in the library while drawing and writing.
. Thank you for everyone who showed up, means a lot, hope you enjoy your BATTLE Cats!
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. 20260523 . Doors Open Toronto
. On a wet windy Doors Open, we took the tunnel to Billy Bishop on Centre Island, where we got to see a number planes in the hangar. Vendors were met with an unending procession of a crowd. Was cool, but we got soaked.
. Walked to Liberty Village to hear about how Zoomer radio operates, handles call-ins, requests and their variety of programs and music dating from 1930 to 2000; they also handed out ice cream!
. The conjoined Television Museum is worth the visit just to absorb how the device has evolved into the screens we use today. For Doors Open, the museum had the world's rarest television on display, from the 1939 World's Fair, which April was broadcast to!
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. 20260502 . Cherry Blossom High Park FCBD New York Fries
. High Park’s cherry blossoms are beautiful every year.
We disembarked the subway at High Park Station and walked through from the north side on Bloor to the south. The path is lined with trees in full bloom, with tons of people taking turns posing for photos, giving the season a real festival vibe. There is a museum with paintings, the curators are charismatic, informative and nice to talk to. Bring some snacks and enjoy a relaxing afternoon or evening.
. The Negative Zone is the comic book store we visited for Free Comic Book Day 2026!
The store is located on Bloor and Dundas and was run by a generous guy who made us feel welcome. There was a table with the FCBD offerings in the middle of the room, with that week's latest comics along with boxes of back issues and toys I recognized from the 2000’s. We left with a Pokemon booster pack, zines, comics and more trading cards; thanks for having us!
. We have always enjoyed New York Fries.
This location at Dufferin Mall has never failed us. Their pulled pork poutine is always a great treat. Large is enough for two portions! We just keep coming back here, especially when we want a ton of fries and cheese.
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The Seer's One Form . The Great Work of Allen W. McLean
. The Seer's One Form . The Great Work of Allen W. McLean
. One more that you will have to read yourself! A bite-sized outline of the philosophy behind HaikuPrajna and the rest of my projects.
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Thank you for reading,
Until next time!
Allen W. McLean
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Subscribe, share or leave a comment for more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering! APRILandALLEN's Handmade Art Works, Book Merch, and Clay Quirks .https://aprilandallen.square.site/
All readers subscribed by email on Patreon, Substack and Medium have access to a selection of Zines--visit to submit to our public poetry prompt and view more features! https://aprilandallen.square.site/social
These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.
