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
PageBoy Magazine Writers on Writers
When I was asked for writing about a writer by Thomas Walton of Pageboy Magazine, I immediately thought of my homage to Sam Hamill, written in 2014 and written after the Kenneth Rexroth poem "A...
Miles, Quincy, Georgia, Jazz & New Mexico
Attending the Taos Poetry Circus in Taos, New Mexico, will always be for me like Miles Davis hearing Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker for the first time in 1944. It is a feeling I'll forever be...
McClure’s Mephistos
In his latest book, Mephistos, Michael McClure shows how poetry is energy and how he, at age 84, continues to have the vital energy necessary for creating remarkably vibrant, touching and perceptive...
Resist @ Cascadia
A theme developing at Cascadia Poetry Festivals, such as the one planned for Cumberland, BC, in September 2017, is one of the intersection of poetry and resistance. An event happening at Cascadia...
Reactions to a Fractured Nation
I am delighted to be performing with Jim O'Halloran, master flute player, composer and band leader, as part of the Columbia City Gallery's upcoming exhibit Reactions to a Fractured Nation. It is...
WA 129 Release Party
The reading/book release party for WA129, the Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall’s state-wide poetry anthology, is happening Thursday, April 13, 2017 at 5:00 pm in Olympia. The book...
Paul w/ Carletta & 2 other poets @ Margin Shift
It is easily the most adventurous reading series in Seattle. Margin Shift happens now at the funky Common Area Maintenance in Belltown, essentially kitty corner (or do you say katty corner) from the...
Miles & Quincy Troupe & Coltrane
Delighted to be part of a stellar weekend of Jazz and Poetry in Taos, New Mexico, April 7 and 8 with featured poet Quincy Troupe! Two nights of Jazz and Poetry, the second of which I'll emcee and...
Paul Reads at Jackson St. Jazzwalk
Jackson Street was once the epicenter of Jazz in Seattle. Not sure there is one anymore, but you can hear live Jazz in town at places like Tula's, Jazz Alley, the Royal Room and other venues. On...
Joanne Kyger 1934-2017
It was with great sadness yesterday that I learned, from a brief Facebook post by Michael Rothenberg, that Joanne Kyger had died at her Bolinas home on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. No other details...
Reading in Courtenay BC
Thanks to the efforts of Ed Varney, I'll give a short reading at ARTFUL Gallery in Courtenay, BC on Sunday, August 28th at 7pm. (526C Cumberland Road.) There will be open mic and there is a...
Claudia Castro Luna Interview (Cipota Under The Moon)
I had the good fortune to interview a former Washington State Poet Laureate, Claudia Castro Luna via Zoom on June 17, 2022. We talked about her new book Cipota Under the Moon, her exodus from El...
Poetics as Cosmology Workshops Fall 2022
Poetics as Cosmology (Intro to Spontaneous Composition) A five week online (Zoom) workshop for people who have had a little experience in spontaneous poetry composition and want more. Join Cascadia...
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.