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
Five Alarms (Greenwood Summer Lit Crawl)
Sound the alarm! Five Alarms is bringing 14 of the hottest acts in Seattle literature to the burgeoning scene in Greenwood! Come crawl the streets of this North Seattle jewel of a neighborhood that...
Volunteer Poetry Teachers Needed for the King County Jail
This from Michael Hood: The Programs Department at King County Jail is looking for 2 committed volunteers of either gender to teach a weekly creative writing class for men. This is one of the...
Paul Nelson, Doe Bay Pig War writing residency
As you might have guessed if you've seen the photo of my daughter Rebecca and my Mom at Doe Bay when Rebecca was about 3 (1994), I have been going to Doe Bay Resort and Retreat for many years. In...
AG Marathon June 2, 2012 8PM
The Ginsberg Marathon this year happens Saturday, June 2 at SPLAB and may be SPLAB's last big event in Columbia City. Band of Poets is featured along with Mickey O'Connor. (See photos). This from...
The Latest from the Four Hoarse Men SOund POetry Troupe
Greg Bem, Jason Conger & Joe Chiveney, poets I met through SPLAB, liked my idea of doing a cover of a Four Horsemen Sound Poem. I had seen the clip from Ron Mann's documentary, Poetry in Motion...
The Cafe Review, Portland, ME, Spr. ’12
I was fortunate enough to have some poems published in the latest edition of The Cafe Review out of Portland, Maine. There are some other very fine poets published in this edition. See: They...
Harvest The Arts, Mother’s Day in Mt. Baker
I performed with Jim O'Halloran (flute), Greg Powers (tuba) and Michael Nicolella (guitar) yesterday on a Mother's Day program at the Mount Baker Community Clubhouse. The new Poet Laureate Kathleen...
60. Hymn to Indian Plum
60. Hymn to Indian Plum (pdf)
54. Black Dragon Year
54. Black Dragon Year (see 54. Black Dragon Year for proper lineation) The heart measures in blood everything that happens. – Ramón Gomez de la Serna The dragon stays stuck to lampposts at the...
HARVEST THE ARTS! Mother’s Day Edition :: JAZZ & POETRY
2811 Mount Rainier Drive South Seattle, WA 98144 (206) 722-7209 3:30pm, Mother's Day, Sunday, May 20, 2012 Donations Graciously Accepted. Refreshments Provided.A collaborative program of poetry,...
#APPF12 (2018) Afterword
I did not get a chance to write about my experience with the 12th August POetry POstcard Fest yesterday as I was leaving Ian, Jennifer and Gavia Boyden and their home on San Juan Island with my...
Audio Archive Donated to WRVM
It's official now. The historic radio interview archive that was created mostly between 1993 and 2004 will now be housed at and preserved by the White River Valley Museum in beautiful Auburn,...
BAAM Fest
I have only lived in the Rainier Beach neighborhood for thirteen months, but already have the distinct pleasure of sharing some of my poems at the annual BAAMfest. Cindi Laws is the organizer and is...
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.