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
1992 Peter Berg Interview
I was a rookie interviewer in 1992, when I had the good fortune to be able to interview Peter Berg of the Planet Drum Foundation about the concept of bioregionalism. When I listen back to the audio,...
525. Momentary Cultivation
An August Poetry Postcard from 2015 featuring yet another photo of mine from 2014, this one from the Skokomish Rez, I love the allusion to the American Indian Movement and hope President Obama will...
HRC and the Death of the Onion
I've loved the Onion for years and can remember almost wetting myself at the biting humor of some of the stories. (One on Ozzie Guillen comes to mind.) Dark, un-PC and probably the best thing going...
Hummingbird Resuscitation
I like to think of it as a good sign in my life when critters are waiting until I pass by to drop from the sky in need of a little aid. Fortunately this recent experience was only a hummingbird, but...
Left. Egalitarian. Sandernista.
In an essay I wrote ten years ago (!) I compared subcultures in North America to make a point about poetry cultures. The essay is Changing a Culture: (A Look at Cultural Modernism and Free Market...
Gluten Free Cultural Bandwidth
I guess pizza and coffee with a cheese Danish is out. In one way this post is a continuation of the Bernie Sanders expands the Cultural Bandwidth post of a few days ago. And today two noteworthy...
524. Topless Lady (Not a Leinenkugel ®)
For some reason I segued into a memory from my rock n roll DJ days in Appleton, WI (WAPL) with this latest 2015 August Poetry Postcard Fest poem from August 11. I was a member of the Leinenkugel...
Bernie Sanders Expands the Cultural Bandwidth
I had been living in Seattle for less than a year when I read an article, or maybe an ad in The Nation magazine, that Bernie Sanders, a Socialist from Vermont, was running for Congress. I think I...
Ai WeiWei Exhibit on San Juan Island
What a great thing to do on a Sunday - day trip to San Juan Island to see an exhibit of the work of legendary conceptual artist and Chinese political dissident Ai WeiWei. His story is legendary (and...
523. Body, Speech, Mind
In this poem from the 2015 August Poetry Postcard Fest the fact I was reading Philip Whalen's biography is reflected and because of that some Buddhist notions. Other factors include a touch of Subud...
Ode to Bill Turner
I was very saddened to hear about the death of NW painter William Turner. He died at age 81 on Christmas Eve. I felt Bill was a genius painter and tremendously under-appreciated. Maybe that changes...
Some 2021 American Sentences & Other Poems
I made it to Clatskanie, Oregon, birthplace of Raymond Carver, to have a writing retreat in a cabin on an organic farm. Of course there would be a snow storm and a 90 minute delay on Hwy 30 getting...
Cascadia, Water, Compassion
Each day after Bhakti and I have our morning beverage (a matcha latté for me, coffee for her) I sit at this here Mac and journal about the previous day. Before...
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.