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
493. Rose Petals & Chicharrónes
The latest postcard poem from the 2014 August Poetry Postcard Fest. August 19, 2014, Seattle, WA "Holiness does not dissolve, it is a presence / of bronze." - Denise Levertov The Cholula sacramental...
Videopoem Version of Dispatch
A re-post here of a recent postcard poem. I met Kyle McCormick playing basketball in Columbia City. yes, I've been dragging my 53 year old ass onto the court again and have had some very good games...
492. Star Lings
An August poetry postcard sent to Linda Roller.
Airbnb, Microhousing & Seattle Nice
As I continue with a long-term cultural investigation of the bioregion in which I live, Cascadia, an investigation that includes a (hopefully) annual poetry festival, a Massive Open Online Course on...
American Sentences June-Oct
The latest harvest of 17 syllable poems from my daily discipline. See more about the form at www.AmericanSentences.com and thanks for reading. Comments welcome. 6.26.14 - Driving 34 a cherry pit’s...
491. Uncommon Speech
This 2014 August Poetry postcard was written in Puebla, Mexico, while I was there to attend the 14th Subud World Congress. 491. Uncommon Speech is one of my favorite postcard poems from 2014. It...
Review of PN & DB’s Existential Trio
I met Dick Metcalf last night at Rhythm & Rye in Olympia, WA, before the gig I did with Dan Blunck's Existential Trio, featuring Steve Bentley and Ariel Calabria. He wrote a kind review that you...
490. Bronzing Mexican Air
Another 2014 August Poetry Postcard Poem written in Puebla, Mexico, when I was attending the 14th Subud World Congress. Again a reference to Pablo Vargas Lugo and the exhibit at Museo Amparo.
489. Bandera de la Mariposa
489. Bandera de la Mariposa is a reference to an exhibit at Museo Amparo in Puebla, Mexico that was running during the recent Subud World Congress. A beautiful museum in a restored colonial...
Poetry & Music (Paul Reads with Blunck)
What does it mean when the Existential Trio is actually a quartet? What happens to poems when they are read with music backing? Do they become songs? I've been very fortunate to have some excellent...
(Seriality (A Workshop)
(Serialty (A Workshop) four weeks, February 7-28, 2021 via Zoom. $128.50 ($94 for Canadians) (includes paypal fee) to pen@splab.org. https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/splabman In this workshop we will...
A Poet’s Obituary of Diane di Prima
Thank you Journal of the Plague Year for publishing this: My November 1999 interview with Diane di Prima: https://paulenelson.com/interviews/diane-di-prima-intervie/ Other Interviews:
Priscilla Long Interview
Priscilla Long is a Seattle-based poet, writer, editor and longtime independent teacher of writing. Her new book Holy Magic won the 2020 Sally Albiso Poetry Book Award and was published by MoonPath...
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.