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
Hillman City Haibun 4 (Sleep, Crackers)
It's a toss-up for the best American Sentence this week. Yesterday's pertains to a new health condition, or at least a new diagnosis. Today's comes from a source who said she did not write it, but...
After The Japanese 25-28
In this stretch of the project of writing inspired by the classic Japanese poetry anthology, I start in memory and move to the time about a year ago when I was the guest of Gerry Cook and Hannah...
Four Hoarse Men Ride Again
A couple of years ago I became part of a group of poets that sought to explore poetry from the angle of pure sound in the tradition of Dada, Kurt Schwitters, the Four Horsemen (of Canada, from whom...
Hillman City Haibun 3 (Seattle Smells)
Just back from Miami where I had the good fortune to have access to the great Cuban poet José Kozer and do an interview, which I am working on getting posted here in a modified version as we await...
After the Japanese 21-24
It's a very special time in Cascadia, mid-winter (almost typed "mind) with the signs of spring beginning to push up out of the dirt or waft by invisibly like the scent of Sweetbox. (Sarcococca.) And...
Slaughter Birds
I am a big city guy. Keep in mind there are almost as many people in my home town (metro area) of Chicago 9.52M as there are in the STATES of Washington and Oregon. So one gets used to culture,...
Hillman City Haibun 2 (Pink Floyd)
Pink Floyd, Soldier Field, June 19, 1977, Chicago, IL. One estimate suggests the crowd was 95,000 people. This is likely the largest concert attendance at a show I've ever attended, although there...
After The Japanese 17-20
This latest installment of After The Japanese, poems written after the classic Japanese poetry anthology, is below. These poems were written in Winter/Spring 2014 and I am beginning to think lichen...
Call for Beat Papers
The next EBSN (European Beat Studies Network) Conference is in Brussels in October. I attended a conference at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 2011 and Franca Bellarsi is a warm and capable...
Hillman City Haibun_1-(Dead_Cat_Magnet)
2014 was not an easy year over on Lucile Street. My cat Zappa died March 30. Meredith's beloved Tupelo died on October 17 and Mer was entrusted to care for a neighbor's elderly cat over the...
Mammal Grafting
I am going to post this today though I am going to release it as a "page" or doc in Week Two of my current workshops series A Sequence of Energies. There is still room in this workshop, Sunday...
Zoomuse Reading (The Recording)
My huge appreciation goes out to Andrew Hall, SICA-International, my Subud Sisters and Brothers and a few fans who came to my March 5, 2021 Zoomuse reading. I have found that I feel more at ease...
McClure Tribute
I am delighted to be part of a Michael McClure Memorial Tribute being produced by City Lights Books on the occasion of Michael's last book of poems Mule Kick Blues. Details: On the one-year...
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.