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
Graham Isaac Interview Part 1
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’...
440. to Rhonda Ganz, Victoria, BC-The True Story of the Poets Chair
(Click here for audio)
439. Michael Hanner, Eugene, OR – Mr. Breeze
(Click here for Audio)
438. Carol Dorf, Berkeley, CA – Kiss the Morning Glory
(Click here for audio)
437. Mark Allen Jenkins, Dallas, TX – Edge of Decomposition
(Click here for audio)
436. Aaron Kokorowski, Seattle, WA – Frowning Moon
(Click here for audio)
Habib in Seattle, Part Deux
We left off with El Habib Louai's first sushi experience with Sam Hamill and his daughter Eron and I at Sakura in Burlington. (See this post.) Monday (8.12.13) Habib got to go thrift shopping with...
435. Mel Functioning, Singapore – Collars Up!
(Click here for audio. P.S. Mel Functioning? Really Mel?)
434. to Amorak Huey, E. Grand Rapids, MI – Mambo de la Noche
(Click here for audio)
433. Barbara Barg, Chicago, IL – What’s Left Mambo.png
(Click here for audio of the poem)
Cascadian Zen
I am delighted to be part of the Cascadian Zen weekend at Seattle U, which I am helping to organize with Shin Yu Pai and Jason Wirth. Shin Yu is the former Poet Laureate of Redmond and Jason is...
Two Videos (Lyric World Conversation, Roche Memorial)
There are two videos in which Your Humble Narrator plays a role that are well worth watching. The first is an interview with Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma and Shin Yu Pai on a new series at Town Hall...
Interview with Miriam Nichols on Mechanic of Splendor
Of the post-war North American poets that wrote from a stance of spontaneity, there are few that spring to mind immediately, Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Jack Spicer, Denise Levertov, Michael...
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.