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
395. to Maggie Kelly, Tacoma, WA – Lichen of Light Green (August Poetry Postcard Fest)
394. to Ben Cook, Edgewood, WA – Listenings
393. Blown Up (2012 August Poetry Postcard Fest)
I am writing this post on July 27, 2012, after composing and documenting the first three poems I am sending in the 2012 August Poetry Postcard Fest. This was a project I conceived of and co-created...
2012 August Poetry Postcard Fest Afterword
I put my last two postcards from this year’s August Poetry Postcard fest in the mail today and, with the baby resting, have a few minutes to share my thoughts about how the fest went as is my wont...
The Four Hoarse Men
This past weekend was my first visit to Smoke Farm in Arlington, WA for the annual Lo-Fi Arts Festival. The farm was purchased in 1993 by the Rubicon Foundation which operates it as an arts and...
The Return of the Four Hoarse Men
The Four Hoarse Men will perform at Smoke Farm this weekend: 12731 Smokes Road, Arlington, Washington 98223 $40 General Admission / $20 Bike Ticket The Lo-Fi Arts Festival, Farm Time 2012, brings...
peN w/ the Jim O’Halloran Band
Paul Nelson reads a poem w/ the Jim O'Halloran Quintet Live at Bradner Gardens 1730 Bradner Place South Seattle, Washington 98144 Sat. August 18 6:30-8:30 PM Jim O’Halloran, Flute With Ben...
Review of Loving: Truths About Sex No One Told You
Review of Loving: Truths About Sex No One Told You by Emmanuel Williams We live in a very secular and materialist culture. I’m not sure if it was Nietzsche’s proclaiming that God is dead, or the...
George Bowering on George Stanley, Baseball Fan
While I was in Vancouver for the Subud Zones Conference, I interviewed George Stanley about his Vancouver: A Poem and After Desire. But I was also able to get a few minutes of George Bowering's time...
More 2012 American Sentences
So here is my state: I wanted to harvest my latest American Sentences (April 29 - July 5, 2012) about two weeks ago and could not, for the life of me, find my old pocket journal. ARGH! I had this...
George Lakey Interview (How We Win)
What a magnificent opportunity I had to interview George Lakey on January 11, 2019, on Capitol Hill. I had interviewed him MANY YEARS ago on non-profit development and this time it was about his...
Promoting American Prophets
Dear Blog-reader, I have several events at which I will be promoting American Prophets and I hope to see you at one or two. February 3, 3pm - Elliott Bay Book Company. 1521 Tenth Avenue Seattle....
War Elegy 2b (After William Everson)
War Elegy 2b (The Lottery, January 23, 2019) In our end time, the days of pre-casino capitalism behind us against the cultural tinnitus nursing connection to non-local mind we seek to release all...
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.