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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Hillman City Haibun 5 (White Cat Privilege)
It's the odd experience successfully translated into language that often makes a good American Sentence. A long walk can yield a sentence or two, but having the daily practice helps with perception...
After the Japanese 29-32
Today, the next segment of the 100 poems written using each poem in the classic Japanese poetry anthology (Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (小倉百人一首)) as a prompt. These were also written at a short retreat at...
José Kozer Interview
This past January 18 and 19 (2015) I had the great pleasure of going to Hallendale Beach, Florida, and having access to the great Cuban-American poet José Kozer in the home he shares with his wife...
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.