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
Cascadia Poets Get a Taste of the Latihan
I've been asked by the Subud community to write about the 2nd Cascadia Poetry Festival, which happened May 1-4, 2014 at two locations: Seattle University and Spring Street Center. Spring Street...
Happy 71st Sam Hamill
I wrote a more extensive birthday post for Sam Hamill's 70th last year (see this) and this year I took a page (or three) out of the Book of Rexroth for Sam. You can see more of my engagements with...
USAmerica (After Allen Ginsberg)
This poem was read at the 2nd Cascadia Poetry Festival, at the After Party, May 3, 2014, at Spring Street Center and based on the Allen Ginsberg poem America, with a George Bowering twist.
Cascadia 2 Starts Today
So the Cascadia Poetry Fest articles and blog posts are now popping, see Paul Constant in the Stranger with an article on bioregional poetry with this quote: It's important that poetry is embracing...
Covington Library 6P Apr 23
On Wednesday, April 23rd at 7PM, at the Covington Library, 27100 164th Ave SE, Covington, WA 98042, I'll be bringing three Seattle poets for a Poetry Coffeehouse. Judith Roche, Peter Munro and Amber...
Cascadian EcoPoetics
The term Ecopoetics has been in vogue since about the turn of the century. Beyond the well-known "nature poem" I take this term to be used with the insinuation of a little more responsibility on the...
Joe Chiveney and Cathy Visser
The SPLAB Board President, Joe Chiveney, has been an incredible asset since joining SPLAB a few years ago. I joke that non-profits should have counselors on their boards, because they are used to...
Marion Kimes Dead at 84
I started investigating the Seattle Open Mic scene in 1994 and soon found a home at Red Sky Poetry Theater. I attended one of the last, if not the last Red Sky reading at the Ditto Tavern and then...
American Sentence (Zappa Elegy) Compilation
As you may have read, my beloved cat Zappa died last Sunday (3.30.14) and Peter Munro said the next night we'd hoist one in his memory at our 5th Monday EasySpeak gathering, which we did. I did a...
What Drives Cascadia Culture?
Part of the reason we chose the headliners we did for the 2nd Cascadia Poetry Festival is because my short investigation of innovative Cascadia Poetry has led me to a couple of early conclusions: 1)...
Because of Poetry I Have a Really Big House (Review)
A very astute review of a new book by a poet that MANY poets love to hate has been published. It's a book by Kent Johnson called Because of Poetry, I Have a Really Big House. The reviewer is Norman...
A Forest of Names (Ian Boyden)
My good friend Ian Boyden is a brilliant artist who has a new book of poems to be released next month by Wesleyan University Press. FYI: A Forest of Names: 108 Meditations by Ian Boyden...
Tiramisutra
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.