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
Reading to Seattle City Council
I have not made much of a big deal regarding my appearance today before the Seattle City Council's Words' Worth program, perhaps because it was going to happen in January and then a few days ago I...
Graham Isaac Interview, Parts 3-5
Graham Isaac is a writer living and working in Seattle, Washington. He holds an MA in Creative and Media Writing from the University of Wales, Swansea, where he co-founded The Crunch, South Wales’...
454. Phebe Davidson, Westminster, SC – Berber Works the Wood
(Click here for audio)
Postcard Poems as Peace Process
“There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community." ...
453. Bridget Nutting, Vancouver, WA – Put a Berber on it
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Upcoming Gigs, Events
It used to be that literary arts activity stopped in the summer in Seattle, but that has been changing the last couple of years. I remember fondly the annual (unofficial) post-summer literary...
452. Richelle Selig, Olympia, WA – Berber in Cascadia
(Click here for audio)
451. Ruby Kane, Oakland, CA – Too Seedy
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450. Karen Lee Lewis, East Amherst, NY – Masterful Silence
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449. Denise Calvetti Michaels, Kirkland, WA – P.E.D. Scandal (2)
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A Time Before Slaughter/Pig War: & Other Songs of Cascadia
When the box of books arrives at your house and for the first time you hold your new book in your hand, it is quite an experience. I remember moving to Seattle in 2009 and having the first box of my...
POPO is Here (Early)
Faced with the prospect of not having any (in person) poetry readings for a while due to the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and self-isolation for several weeks, the SPLAB Board agreed with my notion...
(Streaming) Lyric World Conversations with Koon Woon
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO THE CURRENT COVID-19 PANDEMIC I was delighted to be part of an event that features a local poet who has been part of the Seattle literary scene for many years and...
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.