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_1-(Dead_Cat_Magnet)
2014 was not an easy year over on Lucile Street. My cat Zappa died March 30. Meredith's beloved Tupelo died on October 17 and Mer was entrusted to care for a neighbor's elderly cat over the...
Police Presuppositions (Poetry in Columbia City)
Georgia McDade has invited me and a few other local poets to read on the subject of police abusing their authority this Sunday. The invite is below. As a person whose brother is a peace officer I...
FZ (From the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen)
Music has always been a huge part of my life. From a kid who heard my Dad playing records on the hi-fi (Xavier Cugat, Stan Kenton &c) to listening to the Top 40 radio station in Chicago, (WLS)...
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.