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
Jose Kozer Interview (N.13.13 in L.A., Part 2)
Today I'm posting the rest of the audio of an interview with legendary Cuban-American poet José Kozer, conducted by Cal State U at L.A. Ph.D. student Mike Sonksen. (Hear the first four parts of the...
Top Ten Posts of 2013
This is a traditionally a week of looking back at the previous year and rather than present those posts from 2013 I wrote that I liked the best, I am letting my web stats program Jetpack have its...
When I’m 124: Transcending Victim Consciousness
There's an interesting op-ed in the New York Times posted yesterday (Dec 24, 2013) about how some of the folks who brought you Paypal and Google are now focusing their vision and efforts on...
Seasonal American Sentences
The Rad Santa reading last night at Lottie's Lounge was a huge success. Graham Isaac hosted and invited me along with three other writers, including Jocelyn McDonald, Chris Gusta and Ra'anan David...
Jose Kozer Interview (L.A. N.13.13)
While I am not the guy who got the chance to interview José Kozer recently during his visit to Southern California, I was present as he responded to the questions of Cal State U at L.A. Ph.D....
Sunday Holiday Reading at Lottie’s
For years there was a popular open mic at Lottie Motts, which was a cafe in Columbia City. Now the coffee has given way to Tequila and the Angie's crowd has migrated across the street to be served...
Morris Graves Selected Letters
One of my goals during my recent residency at The Lake, awarded by the Morris Graves Foundation, was to get to know Graves better and have a deeper appreciation for his work. Mission accomplished,...
Bay Area Poets Age w/ Grace
Our recent family road trip to Southern California (or SoCal as the car ads and meteorologists there say) and back had its share of beauty and difficulty. My Cousin Steve O'Connell gave us a week at...
The Four Hoarse Men Saturday 12.14.13
From Anne Sweet: Hey Friends – It’s almost time for the big Equinox Studios art bash and block party! You are all invited to 6555 5th Ave. S. in West Georgetown on Saturday, December 14, 6-10pm ......
David McCloskey on Cascadia Parts 4-6
David McCloskey is a retired Professor of Sociology at Seattle University, and founder of the Cascadia Institute. I got the chance to interview him on October 30, 2013, at his home in Eugene,...
Rattlecast #54 (Watch the Interview)
Back in March before we had a sense of how COVID-19 the novel Coronavirus would change our lives forever, Rattle Magazine's Tim Green invited me to sit down (via Skype) for an interview about my...
Buckminster Fuller
As a fan of the Black Mountain School of poetry, which was inspired by the revolutionary poetics of Charles Olson, the last rector of the famed outside educational institution in North Carolina in...
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...
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.