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
Stephen Collis, Cascadia Po Fest Closing Reading
One of the high points for me at the 2nd Cascadia Poetry Festival May 2014, at Seattle U and Spring Street Center in Seattle, was hearing Stephen Collis read. He may be the quintessential Cascadia...
482. Corset Warrior Armor
This is the first of my poems written in Mexico for the 2014 August Poetry Postcard Fest. For more details on all the postcard poems I wrote in 2014 see this page. This poem, like many in Mexico,...
Postcards From the Wilderness
I got back yesterday from a short (annual) backpacking trip to the Olympic National Wilderness. I have tried each year to recreate a 1995 experience of visiting the Olympic Mountains, specifically...
481. Dispatch From the Fringe
This is the second of two intentional collage poems I wrote during the 2014 August Poetry Postcard Fest. (More on all my 2014 postcard poems here.)
480. More Dead Air
Inspiration for this poem came, in part, from a dream.
479. Girl w/ the Green Hair
Subud LGBTQ Youth Movement
One of the most memorable events at the recent 14th Subud World Congress in Puebla, Mexico, was a meeting centered around the acceptance (or lack of it) in the Subud community. Keep in mind our next...
478. Hipster Cancer
477. Still Echoing (For Lennie Tristano)
I've blogged about the inspiration for this poem before but here is the text and postcard image and below find the Soundcloud widget.
Fighting Coal Trains with Totem Poles (Jewell James)
Today I had the honor of interviewing Jewell James of the Lummi Tribe about his effort to create awareness and organize opposition to the export of coal from Wyoming and Montana to developing...
A Fly Landed
I missed out on Rattle's Poets Respond AGAIN!
The Art of the Blurb
I have been asked on occasion to write blurbs for friends and acquaintances and, like any other form of writing, it takes some practice. The first thing is to learn what NOT to blurb. Really, if it...
POPO Birthday Bounty
I'm a little stunned by the amount of birthday wishes I am getting for my 59th and it seems a perfect day to share THE CARDS I GOT. Each year I create a photo or video of postcards I have received...
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.