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
August 2017 Poetry Postcard Fest Afterword
Nothing signifies the end of summer in Cascadia like rain and it is raining as I write this. This year especially. 60+ days of no measurable precipitation makes me feel a little guilty about all the...
Important Dates
Summer is supposed to be a lazy time with a lot of loafing, picnics, softball, kayak rides and other ways in which -- as George Gershwin put it - "the livin' is easy." Throw in year 11 of a poetry...
Postcards for Charlottesville
From Lucia Sanford: Dear Paul, This is my third year participating in the Postcard Poetry Fest. I live in Charlottesville, Virginia. I am still too raw and stunned to write a personal note or poem...
Oct 9 Postcard Panel
It's in YEAR ELEVEN which is hard to believe, but the August Poetry Postcard Fest started in 2007 by Lana Ayers and me is going as well as it ever has. With the launch of the poetry postcard...
Nurse Log Poem at Bradner Gardens
I think it might be seven times now that I have been invited to read poems by Jim O'Halloran at his annual concert at Bradner Gardens. One of the jewels of Seattle's P-Patch system of community...
Two Countries Anthology
Was having after-party drinks and tacos with Nadine Maestas and we were commiserating about the intensity of people of Latino descent. When you have a name like Nadine Antoinette Maestas, and you...
POetry POstcard Update (APPF11 2017)
There is less than a week to sign up for the 11th August POetry POstcard Fest. We have 5 and a half complete groups so far. Last year we had seven complete groups and there are many who love to...
August POetry POstcard Fest Year 11 Official Call
The August Poetry Postcard Fest was initiated in 2007 by poets Paul Nelson and Lana Ayers. 2017 marks the eleventh year of the fest and this is your official call. Directions to participate in the...
The Hanners: Husband & Wife Postcarders
It's almost 4th of July which means August is coming. August for me has become synonymous with the heart of summer because of my poetry postcard habit. This year is the 11th year of the August...
5th Cascadia Poetry Fest – Tacoma Oct 12-15
A few months ago I changed the header of this here website once again and added the phrase "Twenty Year Cascadia Bioregional Cultural Investigation." I've blogged about it a few times...
Upcoming Readings and Workshops All Free
MONDAY I'm delighted to be reading for Raul Sanchez Monday night at HeartSpace in Lake City. I've known Raul from the local poetry community going back almost 30 years. (1994, at Auburn's Best Café...
Poetics As Cosmology in West Seattle
Thanks to the support of 4Culture, I am presenting a workshop I have been developing for a few years in West Seattle starting this Friday. 1pm, Oct 7, 21 & 28, 2022. There will be discussion,...
In Person and Online Workshops
It has become part of an annual rhythm thanks to the pandemic and the emergence of Zoom. Coming after the Poetry Postcard Fest is the workshop season. For two years it has only been online. While...
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.