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
American Sentences Reviewed
Michael Dylan Welch, who has been tracking my commitment to American Sentences for many years, made good on his promise to write a review of the book and wrote a very astute and fair one. I liked...
Latin American Neo-Baroque
Senses of Distortion (Pablo Baler Interview)Conducted at Cal State University's Golden Eagle radio station on November 14, 2016. Our thanks to Jasmine Salgado and Golden Eagle radio.) The objective...
How to Survive Trump? (Cascadia Knute says)
Perhaps it's vindication for suggesting Bernie Sanders was a candidate more in line with traditional Democratic Party values, or the yuge desire to see an end...
Visiting Corita
I had a vague memory of the work of Sister Corita Kent when I saw the Portland Art Museum's exhibition of her work in August. The "Love Stamp" (back when stamps were .22c) did remind me that I'd...
Wanda Coleman @ 70
Wanda Coleman did not live to be 70, but today would have been her 70th birthday and as I go back to her work in preparation for a celebration of her memory at Beyond Baroque in L.A. today, I feel...
Footsteps Anthology Benefits Homeless Vets
Thanks to the tirelessness and vision of Doug Johnson, Footsteps, a poetry anthology to benefit Homeless Vets, which I co-edited, is being released tonight and there will be a candlelight vigil in...
Post-Election Blues
Two poems (or a poem and an excerpt) and a bunch of graphics come to mind today as I help friends deal with what they see as catastrophic election results. I am an optimistic person, so I can...
Post-Fest Thoughts
There are about a thousand things I could write about the recently concluded Cascadia Poetry Festival. That John Olson could step in with only a few hours notice to read on the Main Stage was a...
Poet Interviews
I am both excited and anxious about the 4th Cascadia Poetry Festival starting this Thursday (Nov 3, 2016) and concluding Sunday at 6pm. Working with a local organizing team, we've tried to put...
2 Anthologies: Footsteps & South Seattle Emerald
I am blessed to have work in TWO anthologies coming out in the next two weeks. The first is the South Seattle Emerald's Emerald Reflections: A South Seattle Emerald Anthology. It comes out of the...
Full Earth Day Agenda
Cascadia Poetics Lab Board Member Jason Wirth and I are leading a clean-up of Chinook Beach Park on Friday, April 22 from 1-3pm. We will have some garbage bags and a couple of pickers, but feel free...
Hoa Nguyen Interview (A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure)
I had the good fortune to interview Hoa Nguyen on April 14, 2022 via Zoom about her book A Thousand Times You Lost Your Treasure. The video is embedded below. My post on the Cascadia Poetics Lab...
Haibun de la Serna Official Launch
Thanks to Koon Woon of Goldfish Press and Leopoldo Seguel of Poetry Bridge, the official launch of my new book Haibun de la Serna happens Wednesday, April 13 at C&P Coffee Company and online via...
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.