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
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)
432. to David Daniels, Denver, CO – Buttercup Mambo
(Click here for audio)
431. to Sandy Longhorn, Little Rock, AR – Wide Horizons
(Hear audio for this poem here.)
430. to Morgan Harlow, Barneveld, WI – Emperor of Wind
(Click here for audio)
Poesia Organica Na Cascadia: uma Sequencia De Energias
With the publication of Poesia Organica Na Cascadia: uma Sequencia De Energias (Organic in Cascadia: A Sequence of Energies), my work is now published in Spanish, Chinese and now Portuguese. Lumme...
429. to Stu Cawley, Chestertown, MD – Bodies of Clay
(For Audio, click here.) or
Habib in Seattle
Looking back, it was October 2011 when I accepted a friend request from a man I had never met, or heard of, named El Habib Louai. He said he was a Moroccan poet and I tend to accept friend requests...
428. Age of Wind (For Judy Jensen)
OK, I jumped the gun on the 2013 August POetry POstcard Fest. Though I am posting here a month after writing and sending the first poem of 2013 (& my 428th postcard poem) I started writing the...
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.