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
Write On Door County Sept 2019 Residency
I'm near the end of my week-long writing residency at Write On Door County. Postcard poet Sharon Auberle tipped me off to this writing center in the part of Wisconsin that sticks into Lake Michigan....
Happiness & Spirituality
my friend Jason Wirth is producing a couple of worthwhile events: Happiness & Spirituality How the concept of Gross National Happiness intertwines with Vajrayana Buddhism Lopen Gem Dorji (Gembo)...
The Cards I Got (APPF13 2019)
I have been holding off on taking and posting my annual picture of poetry postcards received during this year's August Poetry Postcard Fest. If I counted right, I got 62 cards: This is a shot taken...
SPLAB @ &Now Cascadia by Anthology
I am delighted to be part of the &Now Conference, which is being staged at UW-Bothell, September 19-22, 2019, with a rather remarkable collection of "experimental" poets.Not sure what word is...
#APPF13 Wrapup (What I Wrote)
It seems rather overwhelming to summarize my experience as a participant of the 13th August Poetry Postcard Fest which longtime participant Terry Holzman a few years ago nicknamed PoPo and an...
The Joy of Postcards (Aug 2019 Reviews)
I titled my APPF essay for Rattle "The Joy of Postcards" but even though I was likening this activity to the subject of a famous book from the 60s, I was not far off based on some feedback from some...
Deborah Poe Interview (June 30, 2019)
Deborah Poe is the author of the poetry collections keep (from Dusie Press), the last will be stone, too (Stockport Flats), Elements (Stockport Flats), and Our Parenthetical Ontology (CustomWords),...
Interviewed by Ethelbert Miller
I was honored to be the subject of an interview by Ethelbert Miller for his weekly radio program in Washington, D.C., On The Margin. He had asked me for a copy of American Prophets months ago, set...
Subud House/Spring Street Center/Open House
I rarely write about my spiritual community, Subud, because one of Subud's cultural mores is to NOT proselytize and in practice that becomes NEVER TALK ABOUT IT, which would explain why the...
August POetry POstcard Fest 2020 (Official Call) #APPF14
The August Poetry Postcard Fest was initiated in 2007 by poets Paul Nelson and Lana Ayers. 2020 marks the 14th year of the fest and this is the official call. It is the biggest annual fundraiser for...
Barry McKinnon 1944-2023
I am terribly saddened to report the death of Prince George poet Barry McKinnon. Barry and I, with Nadine Maestas and George Stanley edited the first anthology of Cascadia poetry Make it True:...
The Poetics of De-Colonial Cascadia
I presented this at the 7th Cascadia Poetry Festival, on 7—OCT—2023, at the Subud House/ Spring Street Center."I'm located therefore I am." — Kombu-merri elder, Mary Graham.Ah to be...
Reading at Seattle U Philosophy Conference
I am delighted to be part of a poetry reading as part of The 14th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Association for the Continental Tradition at Seattle University. The reading will be Friday, September...
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.