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
56 Days of August
by Ina Roy-Faderman (Author), Paul E. Nelson (Editor), J.I. Kleinberg (Editor) Postcards are electric. I get excited just turning a rack of postcards around at the drugstore. There was a time before...
American Sentences
By Paul E Nelson This is a collection of American Sentences...A collection of 17-syllable sentences-the North American version of haiku, a form created by Allen Ginsberg-from a poet who has written...
Make it True: Poetry from Cascadia
By Paul E. Nelson A collection from poets writing from the bioregion lying west of the continental divide, spanning from Cape Mendocino in the south to Mt. Logan in the north. An attempt to deepen...
Three Friends Carousel: Tiovivo Tres Amigos
An Interview and Ten Poems Jose Kozer interview by Paul Nelson Three Friends Carousel is the transcript of an interview conducted with Neruda-prize winning poet José Kozer at his Hallendale Beach...
Organic in Cascadia: A Sequence of Energies
Poesia Organica Na Cascadia: uma Sequencia De Energias With the publication of Poesia Organica Na Cascadia: uma Sequencia De Energias (Organic in Cascadia: A Sequence of Energies), my work is now...
2021 Poetry Postcard Afterword
2021 Poetry Postcard Fest Afterword (as pdf) I so love the Poetry Postcard Fest. Each year the fest allows me to experience new depths in my own creativity. The poetry side of spontaneous...
McClure Memorial
Amy McClure sends this note: Dear Friends and Family, Looking forward to seeing you! Details are on the Eventbrite link below. Please register if you’ll attend:...
Larissa Lai Iron Goddess Interview
I was pretty stunned when Larissa Lai was the feature at Planet Earth Poetry in Victoria, BC, a few months ago. Her use of Haibun is a very dense, playful and rich language gesture, but the...
Gigs, Interviews & Postcards
So much happening. The new abnormal is near! Anarchist librarian poet Greg Bem has organized yet another of his creative, interdisciplinary events and this one is IN PUBLIC! He is apparently not...
Jeanne Heuving on Nate Mackey Destination Out
Jeanne Heuving is the editor of a fascinating new book of scholarship on one of the most important poets of our time, Nate Mackey. The book is entitled Nathaniel Mackey, Destination Out: Essays on...
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.