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
For Chick Corea
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/chick-corea-obit-1127283/ “Nobody was more open, more finely tuned to the moment…” quote from John Mayer, Rolling Stone obituary.
Andrew Schelling Interview (The Facts at Dog Tank Spring)
I have known Andrew Schelling since he and Anne Waldman visited the original SPLAB in Auburn in 1997, giving a reading there 6 days after their dear friend Allen Ginsberg died. I have interviewed...
Ian Boyden’s Name as Fundamental Pattern (Reads from A Forest of Names)
This post has been updated to include video from the January 22, 2021 talk: I met Ian Boyden about ten or so years ago through our mutual friend Sam Hamill and we'll always be marked by that...
A Reading of Projective Verse
This post has been edited to include video of the reading of the seminal Charles Olson essay Projective Verse: It was October 1995 and I had just finished lunch with Michael McClure, the day I met...
1.1.2021 American Sentence
1.1.2021 - 2020 was taken out to the alley & shot in the head. 12.31.2020 marked the completion of twenty years of daily practice of composing American Sentences. (17 syllable poems, a form...
The New Year (A Poem)
Photo from CrosscutThe New Year January 1 too old to be hungover you unwrap the new year like a new stick of butter hope you get it in the dish at the right angle and not scrape off butter from the...
Letter for Diane di Prima Park
30-December-2020 LaMonte Bishop City of San Francisco Parks & Recreation lamonte.bishop@sfgov.org To the Honorable LaMonte Bishop, I am writing to urge you to rename Page-Laguna Park in SF:...
Diane di Prima Solstice Poem
Thank you Leggy Bruck for this: And di Prima fans should know about this: Rename Page-Laguna Mini Park to Diane DiPrima Park Why is this important? PETITION to Rename Page-Laguna Park as “Diane di...
My Personal Universe Deck
What's good for the goose... It was about 20 years ago (2000?) when I first learned about Michael McClure's concept of a Personal Universe Deck and 8 years ago when I took some of my retreat time at...
12.9.2020 American Sentence
The end of 2020 (aside from spawning millions of "good riddance" celebrations) marks the completion of twenty years of daily practice of American Sentences. These (usually) 17 syllable poems, a form...
DaySong Miracle (Past 62)
DaySong Miracle (Past 62) by Paul E. Nelson Published April 2024Greg Bem, Carbonation Press: This is third of four “DaySongs” Seattle poet Paul E. Nelson has completed. The ritual was designed for...
Cascadian Prophets: Interviews 1999-2023
Cascadian Prophets: Interviews 1999-2023 By Paul E NelsonEdited by Sharon Thesen Cascadian Prophets: Interviews 1999-2023 is the second collection of transcribed interviews taken from the 30 year...
Bradner Gardens Concert, Aug 17
I'm delighted to read poems again with the backing of the Jim O'Halloran Quartet, Saturday, August 17, 2024, 7pm at Bradner Gardens. The gardens are at 1730 Bradner Place South in the Mount Baker...
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.