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
RIP Pat Martino (Observer of environment, including guitar)
Thirteen months ago I started facilitating workshops again and I never knew how much joy and inspiration could come from engaging people at a deep level via Zoom poetry workshops. And before I get...
Beat Breath for EBSN
I am delighted to continue my association with the European Beat Studies Network again this Sunday, as part of their 2021 Zoom conference. I am also delighted to present on the topic of Beat Breath...
Seriality (A 2022 Workshop:
In this workshop we take the methods and the organismic stance toward poetics (& life) and continue to investigate how to deepen one’s own work and life through spontaneous writing, rituals,...
Notes for American Sentences Talk to Haiku Koma Kulshan
Thanks to C.J. Prince and John Green of Haiku Koma Kulshan, I was invited to give a talk about American Sentences on Saturday, October 9, 2021 via Zoom to their Haiku group. I was given some topics...
American Sentences Talk
The second edition of my book of 17 syllable poems, American Sentences, was published in time for my 60th birthday party on September 22, 2021. Saturday, I'll have a chance to talk about the form,...
60th Birthday Interview of Paul E Nelson by Greg E Bem
Over the last few years there has been no one more active at reviewing my work and bringing exposure to it than Greg Bem. He is the P.R. guy you'd kill for, with video and audio editing skills and a...
100 Thousand Poets for Change
I'm delighted to be part of an event which has been happening for many years, organized and conceived of by Michael Rothenberg. 100 Thousand Poets for Change is the event, one for which I helped...
1st Podcast Robert Lashley
I have been asked many times: "Do you have a podcast?" Now, I can say "yes." Via the non-profit I founded in 1993, now known as the Cascadia Poetics LAB, we have launched Cascadian Prophets....
Paul @ 60 (You Are Invited)
It was 30 years ago when I was rather new at creating public affairs radio interviews, at age 29, when I had Dr. Bill Mitchell on the program discussing How To Live to 120: Bill made it to 60 and I...
Cascadian Zen
What is the nature of the bioregion known as Cascadia? How is this insight expressed by the people who live, work, practice, and play here? Is there a connection between Zen practice, broadly...
Robert Bringhurst at Seattle U, Nov 15
Robert Bringhurst will be talking at Seattle University on Friday, November 15, 2024, in Sinegal 100/110 at 4pm. Robert has been part of at least two Cascadia Poetry Festivals, 2015 in Nanaimo and...
The Nature of Zen: An Ecology of Being
From Ray Grigg: I thought I'd let you know that my latest book, The Nature of Zen: An Ecology of Being is now available from Xlibris for $20.99 and from Amazon for... $28.95. An eBook edition is...
Happy 92nd Michael McClure
Michael McClure would have turned 92 Sunday, October 20, 2024. His book: Touching the Edge: Dharma Devotions from the Hummingbird Sangha may be the best Zen poetry written in English. It has...
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.