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
Greg Bem Reviews American Sentences
I get nervous sending out review copies of my new books. Fortunately, I took Sam Hamill's advice from a few years ago to heart and am not in a rush to publish. At least I don't think I am. But my...
Vancouver/Victoria Make It True Readings
2016 marks Year Four in a twenty year cultural exploration of the Cascadia bioregion. The methodology is poetry and several projects are coming to fruition. Here are some key events in that effort:...
A Subud New Year’s Eve
520. Devil Wrestling
It seems as if “demons” or the “devil” is a thread that ran through this year’s fest for me. “Nafsu” is a related Indonesian word that might better be better translated as “lower forces.” Not...
Southern Cascadia Poet Jerry Martien
In September 2015 I had the chance to interview a poet and long-time bioregionalist Jerry Martien on the waterfront in Eureka, California. With Jim Dodge, he's one of the two poets from extreme...
34. Eighty-Seven Remarkable (or Fun) Things about Paul E Nelson Sr. &/Or Charles Olson on What Would’ve Been their 87th &/or 105th Birthdays, Dec 27, 2015.
34. Eighty-Seven Remarkable (or Fun) Things about Paul E Nelson Sr. &/Or Charles Olson on What Would’ve Been their 87th &/or 105th Birthdays, Dec 27, 2015. A remarkable thing is that Pop...
Cheryl Seidner & the Wiyot Tribe in Eureka, CA
Cheryl Seidner is Cultural Liaison and Councilwoman for the Wiyot Tribe in Humboldt County, California. She agreed to an interview and on September 8, 2015, we sat down in her home to discuss the...
519. Needs of the Market
On this 2015 August Poetry Postcard there is photo of the Chief after whom the city I live in is named. Is there another major American city that so directly honors its indigenous heritage? If yes,...
Hallelujah, the Poetics of Music
(For Columbia City Gallery Literary Series, Dec 13, 2015) “We study the self to lose the self. Only when you forget yourself can you become one with all things.” - Dögen Some brief thoughts about my...
Tronald Dump
I know these posts can be seen as click bait, but there is something weird and particularly USAmerican about all the fuss being made about our favorite Grandson of a Pimp and Bait-racer, Tronald...
1st Podcast Robert Lashley
I have been asked many times: "Do you have a podcast?" Now, I can say "yes." Via the non-profit I founded in 1993, now known as the Cascadia Poetics LAB, we have launched Cascadian Prophets....
Paul @ 60 (You Are Invited)
It was 30 years ago when I was rather new at creating public affairs radio interviews, at age 29, when I had Dr. Bill Mitchell on the program discussing How To Live to 120: Bill made it to 60 and I...
Cascadian Zen
What is the nature of the bioregion known as Cascadia? How is this insight expressed by the people who live, work, practice, and play here? Is there a connection between Zen practice, broadly...
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.