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.
Xi Chuan Notes on the Mosquito
After making a presentation in Xining, China in August, 2011, at the 3rd Qinghai Lake International Poetry Festival, a Chinese poet came up to me, told he he enjoyed my presentation and asked if I...
Cascadia Poetry Festival Ad Board Meeting
To the Members of the Cascadia Advisory Board, We are scheduling a meeting on Sunday, March 31, 2013, at 4P at Spring Street Center, 1101 15th in Seattle. We'll give folks an update on developments...
The Meat Reason of the Last Beat
The Meat Reason of the Last Beat: McClure’s Latihan (Download as pdf) A man writhing on the floor with his eyes closed, perhaps groaning and twisting in sunlight that pours through a window,...
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.