Cascadia 2050, CPL’s Youth Initiative!
Cascadia Poetics Lab has established Cascadia 2050 to expand our offering to Cascadian poets under 40. The group will be working to establish a bioregionalist poetic perspective in Cascadia that we hope will last many decades. Cascadia 2050 will be working to translate the work of Cascadia Poetics Lab to appeal to younger generations of Cascadians, along with introducing new programming that will involve youth interested in poetry and bioregionalism. Cascadia 2050 already hosted their first reading in collaboration with Gearhouse, a local outdoor gear rental club, in early October, and plans to host more events featuring young Cascadians in 2025.
Join Cascadia 2050
The committee is looking for more members! If you or someone you know is 40 and under and interested in bioregionalism and poetry in Cascadia, contact us to get involved!
Interview with Joel O’Connor about Locust
This interview is with Joel O’Connor, about Locust, his recent chapbook. “Locust is a suite of nine poems that draws on scientific study of grasshoppers transforming into locusts…
I Want to Write a Poem (But Don’t Know How): A Cascadia 2050 workshop
In my experience, in conversations with friends, family, and acquaintances, I have often been asked what seems to me a very simple question. “Well, how do I write a poem?” The snarky answer is, “Well, you get a pen and a paper and start writing.” While true, the sarcasm there is not helpful to get anyone actually writing, and what I want people to understand is that writing a poem really is not as mysterious and difficult as it’s cracked up to be.
Cascadia 2050 interview with Julie Masters
This year the Poetry Postcard Fest celebrates its 20th anniversary. From the fest many a creative project has spawned, and one recent example of that is Julie Master’s book: No Headlines Here: Postcard Poems.
Interview with Postcard Poet Laura Gamache
Part of the Cascadia 2050 mission is: to inspire artists and poets of the next generation to consider bioregionalism and intuitive poetic approach as a way to foster a more just and sustainable Cascadia by 2050. To this end, one of our goals is to interview people who help us spread awareness by having practices in their lives that reflect these values. This interview with Postcard Poet Laura Gamache, a Seattle who has published poetry in the usual places, such as chapbooks, journals and anthologies, and also unusual places, such as buses, is the first of the series.
20th annual Poetry Postcard Fest Special Project
Hello Postcarders, Bioregionalists, Poets, et.al, I am writing you today on behalf of Cascadia 2050 to invite you to participate in a special...
Volunteers Need for Postcard Activations + CPL News
News about Poetry Postcard Activations in Rainier Beach, a new Rainier Beach Arts Roundtable and the recent CPL board decision to lay off all staff.
CPL 2050 Committee
Zach Charles
In BR [BioRegional] Basics: 22 Ways to Come Home, David McCloskey writes about several ways, 22 to be exact, to live with the rhythms of the planet, to live effectively as the small part of a much larger organism that we as homo sapien are. These manners of living emerge from many places: simply sitting and listening to the land and the water, from deep study of the land and the water, and from certain human traditions, often from indigenous peoples around the world. In the 21st way, he consolidates this down to 6 practices of “‘The Real Work’ of Our Time: 1–Restore Integrity of Ecosystems, 2–Rebuild Infrastructure Along Ecological and Community-Based Lines, 3–Revitalize Communities, 4–Regenerate Ties of Local-Regional Economies, 5–Grow a Restorative Life-Place Politics, 6–Celebrate the Place and Build a New Grounded Culture.” Zachary Brett Charles (They/He) sees art, and especially poetry, as a powerful and peaceful medium through which to change the human imagination. They feel their role as a member of Cascadia 2050 is an opportunity to use art and poetry to help their friends, peers, and fellow Cascadians move toward living their lives in a manner consistent with the rhythms of the planet. They volunteer at the Cascadia Poetry Lab as a member of the Cascadia 2050 Youth Committee, Poetry Postcard Fest project board, the Podcast committee, and wherever else is helpful at the moment.
Zaylan Jacobsen
Zaylan Jacobsen is a Seattle-based entrepreneur, mountaineer and Cascadian. He is originally from Sumner, Washington, a town whose motto is “Live Like the Mountain Is Out”. Growing up in the shadow of Mount Tahoma (Rainier), Zaylan grew a love of the mountains at a very early age that has played a key role in his identity and connection to Cascadia.
During the week he can be found at cafes or at the University of Washington, mainly working on mobile apps, web apps and websites. On the weekends, Zaylan spends time on the trails of Cascadia, always striving for a new summit to climb or trail to run. He loves to find unique ways to combine his passion for Cascadia and his skills in digital products, currently culminating in a web and mobile app at www.cascadia.world.
Zaylan first learned about Cascadia three years ago when studying the Cascade mountains and immediately resonated with the concept of identifying with place. He met the CPL crew at the 7th annual Cascadia Poetry Festival and was amazed by the brilliant minds that were there to discuss Cascadia. Although he would not call himself a full-on poet, Zaylan loves to write, dabbles in poetry and enjoys reading the works of others. He also always likes to know where he is at, which led him to an obsession with maps that now line the walls of his room. The centerpiece of his map collection is, of course, McCloskey’s incredible map of the Cascadian Bioregion.