Paul E Nelson presenting at Cascadia Poetry Festival 8, photo by Leszek Chudzinski
Paul Nelson’s ongoing honing of the Day Song poetry event has produced some of the most lively and consequential verse of our time. How else write about the calamities and demands and mental/emotional/political consequences of the materialist apocalypse upon us, than an ongoing poesis of awareness and participation the anti-form the Day Song provides? Truly a praxis of proprioception and of Olson’s demand to “keep it moving…
– Sharon Thesen, Cascadian Poet/Scholar from B.C.
The Owner of the Red Wheelbarrow
Being a William Carlos Williams fan, this story was a natural for me. A scholar by the name of William Logan, a professor at the University of Florida, (with help from a local historian) did the...
The Joy of Postcards
I'm back in that mode again, a time of year when poetry gets right to the front of my daily consciousness. Some who know me would argue that it is that way anyway, but during the annual August...
After the Japanese 77-79
In this part of the series I started doing alternate takes. Not unlike bebop, writing in serial form is kind of like that stabbing at something you can't quite nail, but hopefully the striving is...
Postcard Update, Independence
First an update on the 2015 August Poetry Postcard Fest. We have 70 signups in the first 44 hours and the first two groups are complete. Lists have been sent out to groups 1 & 2. Participants in the...
August POetry POstcard Fest (Year 9) Call
The August Poetry Postcard Fest was initiated in 2007 by poets Paul Nelson and Lana Ayers. 2015 marks year nine and this is your official call. Directions to participate in the fest are linked...
Cascadia Anthology Audio
A reading from the first ever anthology of Cascadia Poetry was held Wednesday, June 24, 2015, at Milepost 5 in Portland. Details and audio here:...
BC Poet Jamie Reid Dead at 74
Waiting in the garden on a hot day for a friend and our bike ride, I perused Facebook only to see the news that Vancouver poet Jamie Reid had died at age 74. The news came via his wife Carol on his...
Interview with Eric Tingstad
For over 30 years Seattle guitarist Eric Tingstad has been recording and performing in Cascadia and around the world. Often with his collaborator Nancy Rumbel, with whom he was awarded a Grammy in...
After The Japanese 73-76
The latest in this series of 100 poems with references to: https://depts.washington.edu/uwbg/gardens/wpa/witt_winter.shtml https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370...
Responding to the Black Mystery School Pianists
I saw this article linked in an article I was reading and then a friend sent it to me, so there was something synchronistic about it right off the bat. “God’s way of remaining anonymous” some wise...
McClure’s Last Book Mule Kick Blues
Michael McClure died one year ago, May 4, 2020 and the last book he wrote will be launched by legendary publisher City Lights May 8, 2021, via Zoom, 3pm. A memorial tribute to Michael with readings...
Armenian Genocide
I was delighted to hear that President Biden announced that for the first time in history the United States recognizes the Armenian genocide perpetrated by Turkey in 1915. See:...
In Honor of David McCloskey “The Father of Cascadia”
David McCloskey passed away on July 3. In honor of his lifetime of work to create and spread a culture that was deeply connected to the Cascadian bioregion, Cascadian Prophets, which owes more than just its name to his work, we want to share this interview from October, 2013. Find it transcribed on our website.
To listen to the original audio of this interview, click here.
Check out more of what the Lab does here, and listen to more current and archival podcasts on Spotify or on our website.
In Honor of David McCloskey "The Father of Cascadia"
How does one make literary art about this time in history that avoids rhetoric and facile political positioning in this era of the spectacle? How does one avoid being consumed by the simultaneous collapse of so many systems — some being eviscerated by people in positions designed to protect such systems? Deborah Poe has some idea based on her submission to the upcoming anthology Winter in America (Still.
Deborah is the author of several books of poetry including keep, Elements, and Our Parenthetical Ontology, as well as a novella in verse, Hélène. Her visual works–video poems and handmade book objects–have been exhibited throughout the US. She lives on stolen Coast Salish land, specifically the ancestral homeland of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Stillaguamish, and Muckleshoot People.
Check out more of what the Lab does here, and listen to more current and archival podcasts on Spotify or on our website.
To get original poetry right in your mailbox this summer, check out the Poetry Postcard Fest.