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
Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Interview
On August 6, 2016, I was honored to have a rare opportunity to interview Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, one of the most brilliant painters in Cascadia. His work is also the subject of Unceded...
Annual Bradner Gardens Reading
I get to read Saturday with the Jim O'Halloran Quintet at Bradner Gardens, which is always a gas. The band is amazing and Jim always takes time to work out an intelligent plan to accompany my work....
Primal Fear
It was coming out of the canoe and walking up the path at the North Leschi Marina with my daughter Rebecca, as my partner Bhakti rowed on in her canoe on Lake Washington that it hit me. The...
Postcard Gift
It is the tenth year of the August Poetry Postcard Fest and as I was taking an afternoon walk this past weekend, it hit me - what a gift this annual event is through and through. Having so many...
Ten Years of Postcard Fest
The tenth year of the August POetry POstcard Fest is under way and there are seven full groups of 32 poets, 224 participants in all, which is a record for the fee era. And there are participants...
Ina Roy-Faderman’s Postcard Testimonial
From Ina Roy-Faderman: “All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.” ― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me Like a lot of writers, I’m a bit of a...
August Poetry Postcard Fest Official Call Year Ten
The August Poetry Postcard Fest was initiated in 2007 by poets Paul Nelson and Lana Ayers. 2016 marks the tenth year of the fest and this is your official call. Directions to participate in the fest...
Angeline Roof Summer Solstice
Greg Bem organized one of his very lively events this past Monday night, June 20, 2016, as an open reading and Summer Solstice celebration. That the occasion also featured a Full Moon, the...
Sarah de Leeuw Skeena (Interview)
On May 30, 2016, I had a chance to chat with Sarah de Leeuw, a poet with work published in Make It True: Poetry From Cascadia. Her new book is Skeena, a book-length poem about one of the largest...
Hugo House Out, Whole Foods In
Seattle had the second or third highest rent increase of cities in the U.S. in 2015 depending on how you figure it. Regardless, the housing market here is insane. Is anything sacred? No. Across the...
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...
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...
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.