Paul E Nelson presenting at Cascadia Poetry Festival 8, photo by Leszek Chudzinski
“Paul formally received the Mahayana precepts of Zen Buddhism in 2023, becoming a lay practitioner within the tradition, but I believe he had long lived in accord with them. His poetry, in its sensitivity, its humility, and its deep listening, embodies practice-realization — the understanding that practice and awakening are not separate. His writing was his zazen. This collection, FLEXIBLE MIND, is more than a book. It is a continuation of that practice. A testament to a man who lives by attention, who bows to language but does not cling to it, who seeks what lays beyond words by walking straight into them.”– Kosho Itagaki, Soto Zen Priest
Cascadian Zen Launch at Elliott Bay Dec 4, 2023
I am thrilled to present Cascadian Zen at the legendary Seattle independent bookstore Elliott Bay Book Company, Monday, December 4, 2023, 7pm (sharp) at 1521 Tenth Avenue in Seattle, WA. This will...
Rainier Beach Arts & Crafts Market
I'm delighted to again participate in the annual Rainier Beach Arts & Crafts Market on December 2, 2023, from 10AM – 3 PM. The address is 6038 S Pilgrim St., in Seattle, in Upper Rainier Beach...
Online Winter Workshops
The Zoom workshops we started in 2020, when we were already sick of the pandemic and not yet sick of Zoom, continue in their fourth year and frankly, I do not have the Zoom fatigue the mainstream...
Barry McKinnon 1944-2023
I am terribly saddened to report the death of Prince George poet Barry McKinnon. Barry and I, with Nadine Maestas and George Stanley edited the first anthology of Cascadia poetry Make it True:...
The Poetics of De-Colonial Cascadia
I presented this at the 7th Cascadia Poetry Festival, on 7—OCT—2023, at the Subud House/ Spring Street Center."I'm located therefore I am." — Kombu-merri elder, Mary Graham.Ah to be...
Reading at Seattle U Philosophy Conference
I am delighted to be part of a poetry reading as part of The 14th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Association for the Continental Tradition at Seattle University. The reading will be Friday, September...
Bradner Gardens August 12
My annual appearance at Bradner Gardens with the Jim O'Halloran group is happening August 12, 2023 at 6pm and Lorna Dee Cervantes has been a late addition to the bill. The garden is a jewel of the...
Margin Shift August 3, 2023
Lorna Dee Cervantes has been added to the Margin Shift lineup for Thursday, August 3, 2023. I hope to see you there: Thursday, August 3, 2023 7pm Seattle Theosophical Library 717 Broadway Av E,...
Bradner Gardens Reading, Margin Shift
It might be the 56 Days of August, but I'll take a break from writing postcards for a moment to read at two local cultural events that I've been part of before. Margin Shift: Friends in Poetry has...
John Olson on The Day Song of Casa del Colibrí
It was wonderful seeing John and Roberta Olson, Willie Smith, Denis Mair, Phoebe Bosche, Trudy Mercer, Bart Baxter, Elliott Bronstein and other writers from the Red Sky Poetry Theater days at events...
Aug 9 Zoom Poetry Workshop
Along with three of the editors of Winter in America (Again, I'll be facilitating a workshop for the Arizona State Poetry Society on August 9 at 12N MST and PDT. (Confusing, I know. 12PDT.) I am...
Short ASPS Workshop Video
Meet Mayoral Candidate Katie Wilson
On Wednesday, July 23 at 6:30 Seattle Mayoral candidate Katie Wilson will discuss quality of life and culture in Rainier Beach with an emphasis on efforts to create affordable housing for artists...
The interview I conducted with Sam O’Hana, a Ph.D. student at CUNY, is immensely critical and immensely validating for the work we do at the Cascadia Poetics Lab. At its core, the discussion is about whether writing is for people of means, or if it can be people who have skill and something to say. It means the literary gatekeepers have failed us and have a role in perpetuating neoliberalism in North America which has paved the way for authoritarianism. The interview is available as a podcast here and as a YouTube video here. Below, I have pasted in the transcript and here is my introduction to Sam O’Hana and his topic.