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
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...
Happy 69th Nate Mackey
Nate Mackey, born on this day in 1947, gets the Birthday Anagram Treatment. And do enjoy the interview we did in 2012. And this excerpt from an interview we did that was published in Amerarcana as...
Three Friends Carousel
I can't begin to say how delighted I am that this interview with José Kozer I conducted in 2015 is now available as a book. I so wanted to post as much of this material as possible because it may be...
Jeanne Heuving The Transmutation of Love and Avant-Garde Poetics
On Friday, October 14, 2016, I had the good fortune to interview Jeanne Heuving about her new book: The Transmutation of Love and Avant-Garde Poetics. That she was writing about Projective Verse was...
Runes, Revision, Wyrd
It is such a satisfying feeling when I draw the rune Laguz during my daily morning divination. I draw a rune daily as it gives me feedback on the energies/archetypes I am swirling out on any given...
Making Peace (Journal of the Plague Years)
Journal of the Plague Years saw fit to publish my poem Making Peace, about the Russian invasion of Ukraine: https://www.journaloftheplagueyears.ink/blog/making-peace I love this publication and...
Greg Bem Reviews Haibun de la Serna
Huge thanks to Greg Bem who has authored a five star review of Haibun de la Serna. CINCO ESTRELLAS in the immortal words of jazz pianist Elisha Gullixson. Greg writes on his blog and on Goodreads:...
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.