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
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
After The Japanese 37-40
I'm going over the manuscript of these poems written last year, a few at a time, and marveling at how prolific was one weekend retreat in Marblemount, Washington. Set and setting, eh? Using each of...
The Sacramental Aspect of Habitation
“And that is what a poet Is, children, one who creates Sacramental relationships That last always.” - Kenneth Rexroth Aside from the signature, this is how Rexroth ended his epistle “Letter to...
Happy Birthday Danika Dinsmore
A happy birthday today to SPLAB Co-Founder Danika Dale Dinsmore, who co-founded the SPLAB project with me in 1997 (not to be confused with the organization that now uses SPLAB as its name.) In her...
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.