Cascadia Poetics LAB logo

PAUL E NELSON

(Workshop given at Tacoma Poetry Festival, Saturday, October 17, 2015)

Personal Myth, Place, Genius Loci – Paul Nelson

What is the myth you are living? Your Personal Mythology, relationship to place and to the spirit of the place in which you live are components of a healthy foundation for poets interested in preparing themselves to respond as deeply as possible to the chaos of our time.

Two Levertov poems

From the essay What is Consciousness, there is this model of the levels at which consciousness manifest:

Behavior/Physiology
Thoughts/Emotions
Belief System
Personal Mythology
Archetypal
Chaotic/Cosmic Consciousness/Buddha-field

Two Examples from Make It True: Poetry From Cascadia

Duo Corpse Exercise

Two More Examples from Make It True

Tribe Exercise

Pass Out Harmony Hoss Drawings. Genius Loci, animating spirit of place. Daphne Marlatt, sh’te.

Harmony Hoss Sun 1 Harmony Hoss Sun

Handout: Personal Universe Deck