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PAUL E NELSON

The notion of bioregionalism and Cascadia has spread at least to London. I was interviewed on the subject of Cascadia by Gus Mitchell, a London-based free lance writer and was delighted to see my thoughts reflected in a good way, along with other Cascadians whom I respect. Part of what I said came out like this:

In Cascadia, bioregionalist thought and culture live on. In October, I spoke to Paul E. Nelson, a poet, radio and podcast host and longtime Cascadian resident. His work continues the bioregionalist cultural advocacy that McCloskey and others initiated in the eighties. Nelson has amassed an invaluable archive of wisdom from bioregionalist thinkers, writers and Indigenous activists from over thirty years of interviews. When he spoke to me from his home in Seattle, Nelson was finalizing plans for the seventh Cascadia Poetry Festival, which hosted workshops, readings and discussions to deepen and spread the roots of a way of being based in a still-unfolding bioregionalist history. An anthology called Cascadian Zen: Bioregional Writings on Cascadia Here and Now was launched at the festival, and covers fifty years of Cascadian poetry, art and thought.

Gus did his homework and larded the article with bits of wisdom like: “In the words of environmentalist Kirkpatrick Sale, an early figure in the bioregionalist movement, a bioregion is an area ‘governed by nature, not legislature.’” READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE. Thanks Gus!