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
404. to Avis Adams, Auburn, WA – Plum Crack
403. to Carole Sauter, Kent, WA – Teeth of an Obsolete Constellation
402. to Lew Humiston, Auburn, WA – Star Spark (The Origin of Ra?)
...
401 to Raul Sanchez – Tackling Crackers
400. to Vanessa Herman, Victoria, BC – Born Again Delta
399. to Kitty Jospé, Pittsford, NY – Dark Horse
(Last quote from Jose Lezama...
398. to Karen Lee Lewis, East Amherst, NY – Dream Seeds
397. to Tony Iovino, Rockville Centre, NY – Ghost Prod
5th in this year's series, #397 overall (damn!) this one (like the others so far this year) vamps off Nate Mackey and goes into Runic lore. I have been using Diana L. Paxon's book Taking Up The...
396. to Dheepikaa Balasubramanian, Chennai, India – Indigent Petition
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/10/v-rmobi/155668/midwest-drought-may-spark-food.html https://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2018823898_apuswidedroughtusda.html
395. to Maggie Kelly, Tacoma, WA – Lichen of Light Green (August Poetry Postcard Fest)
Paul E Nelson’s Interviews by Jason Wirth
It was a very humbling experience for me Friday, December 14, 2018, to hear very intelligent and considerate people talk about different aspects of SPLAB's 25 years in existence, with a special...
Open Books Interviewing Workshop
I am delighted to be celebrating the release of American Prophets by way of doing interview workshops in and around Cascadia for the next few months. A workshop happens at Open Books: A Poem...
#SPLAB@25
The non-profit organization I founded on December 14, 1993 turns 25 tomorrow and we are going to celebrate. SPLAB started as It Plays in Peoria Productions and had a mission of creating radio...
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.