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
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Evan Flory-Barnes Interview
On Tuesday, April 25, 2017, I sat down with bassist, composer and Seattle native Evan Flory-Barnes in my apartment in the Angeline to discuss his work, his vision for Seattle's arts community and...
Notes on the Poetics of Resistance
Resistance is in the air thanks to the election of SCROTUS, the So Called Ruler of the United States. I've written about Resist Much, Obey Little: Inaugural Poems to the Resistance and have read my...
Greyhounds & Activism @ Angeline
Start with two rescued Greyhound dogs, add two vegans (a mother and daughter) and move them to a large apartment building in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood (Columbia City) and what do you get?...
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.