Highlights from the Cascadian Zen Vol. I Mini Tour!

In celebration of the release of Cascadian Zen Vol. I published by Watershed Press, Cascadia Poetics Lab embarked on a mini-tour of readings and presentations in Washington and Oregon in early December. The mini-tour started in December 4, 2023 with a reading at independent bookstore Elliott Bay Book Company in Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA. The reading featured Cascadian Zen editors Paul Nelson, Adelia MacWilliam and Jason With, along with CZ contributor Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs. Despite the rainy night, it was still a beautiful reading with an engaged audience and amazing book sales!

Adelia MacWilliam, Jason Wirth, Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs and Paul Nelson at Elliott Bay Book Company.

Following the Elliott Bay Book Company reading was a presentation Peninsula College in Port Angeles, WA on December 7, 2023. The event included presentations by Paul Nelson, Jason Wirth, Adelia MacWilliam, Tim McNulty, Alice Dearie, Tess Gallagher, Cate Gable, Gary Copeland Lilley and Holly Hughes. What a lineup! Thank you so much to Tim Brye of Peninsula College for producing such an excellent presentation. 49% of attendees of this presentation bought copies of Cascadian Zen, which is excellent! Thank you to Kate Reavey for organizing this event, helping with books sales and providing a tour of Peninsula College’s Longhouse. Images from the Longhouse visit below. 

Jason Wirth at Peninsula College’s Longhouse in front of Friendship Mask made by Linda Wiechman

The next presentation was at Winekraft Wine Bar in Astoria, OR on December 8, 2023. The Watershed Press presenters were honored to be joined by legendary writer, teacher and lepidopterist Robert Michael Pyle, who also contributed work to Cascadian Zen Vol. I. The event also welcomed John Pecorino, Cate Gable, Dan Clarkson, Jim Dott and Florence Sage. Along with the Cascadian Zen presentation, Watershed Press was interviewed for KMUN in Astoria. The full interview will be available as a podcast in January, so keep an eye out for that! Thank you to Jim Dott for conducting the interview and reading at the presentation!

Robert Michael Pyle, Cate Gable, Jason Wirth, Paul Nelson and Jim Dott.

Dan Clarkson, Jim Dott and Florence Sage with David McCloskey’s map of Cascadia

Adelia MacWilliam, WineKraft reading in Astoria, OR

The final presentation of the mini-tour was hosted at Time Enough Books in Ilwaco, WA on December 9, 2023. Robert Michael Pyle joined the presenters once again, along with Jim Dott, who shared his tree poems at the reading!

Ilwaco photos taken by Paul Nelson

Thank you to Ann Robben Dott for the photos of the reading above.

Thank you to Cate Gable for helping organize the readings in both Astoria and Ilwaco, along with the KMUN interview in Astoria! Thank you deeply to every venue that provided the opportunity for CPL and Watershed Press to present in their space and share Cascadian Zen Vol. I. Thank you to everyone that attended the readings and bought a book! We are incredibly grateful for the ability to share this accomplishment in poetry and place with you all, and we hope to see you at more readings in the future.