Cascadia Poetics LAB

LARFP Winter 2025
2025-01-05 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-01-12 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-02-02 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online (Zoom)
life as rehearsal for the poem (LARFP) cascadian zen basket four: Borders Without Binaries
A five week online (Zoom) workshop best suited for continuing participants and more experienced poets (open to open form) in workshops facilitated by Cascadia Poetics Lab and Poetry Postcard Fest Co-Founder Paul E Nelson. Participate in reading and discussion of foundational essays, interviews, listening and other assignments, as well as spontaneous poetry composition exercises, in the first of three five week courses to happen before the next postcard season. In Winter 20205, we will explore passages from Cascadian Zen Vol 2 – Basket Four, and related texts and assignments. How can one’s poetics be a cosmology and how can one maintain some experience of the Poetry Postcard Fest, & allow one’s life as a creative participant in the world to rise in one’s personal hierarchy of duties/activities? How is the projective poem an antidote to Silicon Valley attention fracking? $250 for each five week session per person, scholarships are available. Sunday nights, 3-5pm PDT (January 5, 12, 19, 26, and February 2, 2025) by invitation only. Preference given to participants who wish to commit to both five-week sessions in the 2025 season.
January 5, 12, 19, 26, 2025
February 2, 2025
REGISTER HERE
Link to purchase Cascadian Zen Volume 2

Zach Charles Book Launch
2025-01-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA, 98122, United States
Zach Charles 24 Portraits at 24 Book Launch!
Join us for a celebration of the publication of Zach Charles’ first poetry collection 24 Portraits at 24! Zach is a member of CPL’s Poetry Postcard Fest committee, Cascadia 2050, is Paul Nelson’s audio assistant for Cascadian Prophets, and a good friend of the organization. 24 Portraits at 24 is an intuitive and insightful exploration of modern young adulthood and the issues faced by the next generation of adults amidst political and social unrest and ecological deterioration, all framed in conversations with Charles and their grandfathers. The chapbook was published by Carbonation Press.
Celebrate this pivotal accomplishment in poetry and place with us on Wednesday, January 8 (THIS WEDNESDAY) at the Hugo House, 7-9 PM PST! The event will feature tables from arts organizations and poetry readings.

Poetics As Cosmology Winter 2025
2025-01-09 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-01-16 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-01-23 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-01-30 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-02-06 15:00 - 17:00 | Online (Zoom)
POETICS AS COSMOLOGY CASCADIAN ZEN BASKET FOUR: BORDERS WITHOUT BINARIES

A five week online (Zoom) workshop for first-time and continuing participants in the online workshops facilitated by Cascadia Poetics Lab and Poetry Postcard Fest Co-Founder Paul E Nelson. Participate in reading and discussion of foundational essays, interviews, listening and other assignments, as well as spontaneous poetry composition exercises, in the second of three, five week courses to happen before next postcard season. In Winter 2025, we will explore passages from Cascadian Zen Vol II – Basket Four, and related texts and assignments. How can one’s poetics be a cosmology and maintain some experience of the Poetry Postcard Fest, to allow one’s life as a creative participant in the world to rise in one’s personal hierarchy of duties/activities? How is the projective poem an antidote to Silicon Valley attention fracking? $250 for each five week session per person, scholarships are available. Thursdays, 3-5pm Pacific Time (January 9, 16, 23, 30, and February 6).
Thursday Nights, 3-5 PM Pacific Time
January 9 – February 6, 2025
(January 9, 16, 23, 30, and February 6)
REGISTER HERE
Link to purchase Cascadian Zen Volume 2

CPL Board Meeting
2025-01-14 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-02-11 18:00 - 19:00 | Online (Zoom)
Monthly meeting for the Cascadia Poetics Lab board and key volunteers.
Every second Tuesday of the month.

Winter in America (Again Anthology Launch
2025-01-19 11:00 - 13:00 | Online (Zoom)
Winter in America (Again Poets Respond to the 2024 Election – Anthology
Join us to mark the publication of the anthology, Winter in America (Again, with readings from many of the contributing poets.
Hosted by Katie Sarah Zale, Paul E Nelson, and Greg Bem.
January 19, 2025 11-1 AM PST
More information and Zoom Link available here

LARFP Winter 2025
2025-01-19 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-01-26 15:00 - 17:00 | Online (Zoom)
A five week online (Zoom) workshop best suited for continuing participants and more experienced poets (open to open form) in workshops facilitated by Cascadia Poetics Lab and Poetry Postcard Fest Co-Founder Paul E Nelson. Participate in reading and discussion of foundational essays, interviews, listening and other assignments, as well as spontaneous poetry composition exercises, in the first of three five week courses to happen before the next postcard season. In Winter 20205, we will explore passages from Cascadian Zen Vol 2 – Basket Four, and related texts and assignments. How can one’s poetics be a cosmology and how can one maintain some experience of the Poetry Postcard Fest, & allow one’s life as a creative participant in the world to rise in one’s personal hierarchy of duties/activities? How is the projective poem an antidote to Silicon Valley attention fracking? $250 for each five week session per person, scholarships are available. Sunday nights, 3-5pm PDT (January 5, 12, 19, 26, and February 2, 2025) by invitation only. Preference given to participants who wish to commit to both five-week sessions in the 2025 season.
January 5, 12, 19, 26, 2025
February 2, 2025
REGISTER HERE
Link to purchase Cascadian Zen Volume 2

Winter in America (Again Anthology Launch Event
2025-01-20 17:00 - 19:00 | Online (Zoom)
Winter in America (Again Poets Respond to the 2024 Election – Anthology
Join us to mark the publication of the anthology, Winter in America (Again, with readings from many of the contributing poets.
Hosted by Katie Sarah Zale, Paul E Nelson, and Greg Bem.
Monday, January 20, 2025 5-7 PM PST
More information and Zoom Link available here

Winter in America (Again Reading
2025-02-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Seattle University Sinegal, 901 12th Ave, Seattle, WA, 98122, United States
Join us to mark the publication of Winter in America (Again with in person readings by many of the contributing poets.
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Seattle University Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation
Sinegal 110
901 12th Ave (Corner of 12th and Marion)
Seattle, WA 98122

Sam Hamill's Narrow Road to the Interior
2025-02-08 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-02-15 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-02-22 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-01 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-03-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Online (Zoom)
Sam Hamill’s Narrow Road to the Interior
Poet, translator, editor, Zen Buddhist, co-founder of Copper Canyon Press, and activist for Poets Against (the)War, Sam Hamill devoted his whole life to the practice of writing poetry. The following topics are foundational for this generative workshop: how ancient poetic traditions still define quality poetry, the Beat poets, the long poetic sequence, poetry as political, and the role of reflection and emotion. Facilitator Katie Sarah Zale is writing a biography on Hamill’s life and legacy.
Saturdays 2 – 4:00 PM Pacific Time
February 8 – March 8, 2025
February 8, 15, 22
March 1, 8
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE

Thinkingwith: writing strategies for reconnecting to earth
2025-02-23 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-03-02 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-03-09 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-03-16 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-03-23 15:00 - 17:00 | Online (Zoom)
Thinkingwith: writing strategies for reconnecting to earth
Our current media landscape seems hooked on a doom loop, an apocalyptic dream of human self-annihilation from collapsing nation states and anarchy to climate change to AI terminators, to genocidal warmongering. In order to avoid going down with that ship, we, as humans, are going to need to flip the script, to learn to think differently.
This lab will focus on writing strategies, applicable for poetry or prose, for breaking the spell that objectifies and cuts us off from the earth and from place and all the living beings that we (often) obliviously live in relationship with. We’ll do that by intentionally widening the socially-imposed conventions of “normal” perception via some minor alterations to our daily writing practices.
As a trail guide in this 5-week excursion, we’ll read through the first section of Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm: Beyond the Doors of Perception into the Dreaming of Earth by the late herbalist and self-described “Bardic Naturalist” of the Gaian movement, Stephen Harrod Buhner as well as writing by Goertha, Gertrude Stein, Francis Ponge, Will Alexander, Bernadette Mayer, Italo Calvino and more.
Sundays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
February 23 – March 23, 2025
February 23
March 2, 9, 16, & 23
REGISTER HERE

CPL Board Retreat
2025-03-22 08:30 - 17:30 | Cascadia Poetics Lab
Cascadia Poetics Lab board retreat on March 22, 2025 for board members and key volunteers to discuss strategic and developmental planning, marketing, finances and more!

Winter in America (Again at AWP
2025-03-27 18:30 - 20:30 | L.A. Music Hall Theater Buildig, 5151 State University Dr, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, United States
Join poets Rodrigo Toscano, Elizabeth Robinson, Susanne Dyckman, Mark Scroggins, Dana Teen Lomax, Dion O’Reilly, Holly Hughes, Matt Trease and more for our gala launch of an anthology of 100+ poets assembled between the election and inauguration day– Winter in America (Again: Poets Respond to 2024 Election (Carbonation Press, 2025). We will gather in creative non-violent resistance and compassionate community in the beautiful Music Hall with hosts and co-editors Katie Sarah Zale, Paul E. Nelson, Roxi Power, and Robert Lashley. Doors 6:30. Reception to follow with book sales and signing.

Winter in America (Again Bookshop Santa Cruz
2025-04-01 19:00 - 20:00 | Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, United States
Join us for a powerful evening of poetry and reflection! Celebrate the release of Winter in America (Again: Poets Respond to the 2024 Election, an urgent and moving anthology featuring voices that capture this moment in history. Experience readings from contributing poets as they explore democracy, resilience, and the road ahead. Books available for purchase and signing. Don’t miss this inspiring gathering of literary resistance and hope! Featured readers include Dane Cervine, Julia Chiapella, Robert Lashley, Dion O’Reilly, Paul Nelson, Roxi Power and Matt Trease.

Poetics as Cosmology Spring 2025
2025-04-03 14:00 - 17:00 | Online (Zoom)
A five week online (Zoom) workshop best suited for continuing participants and more experienced poets (open to open form) in workshops facilitated by Cascadia Poetics Lab and Poetry Postcard Fest Co-Founder Paul E Nelson. Participate in reading and discussion of foundational essays, interviews, listening and other assignments, as well as spontaneous poetry composition exercises, part of a series of courses to happen before the next postcard season. In Spring 2025, we’ll explore passages from Cascadian Zen Vol II – Baskets Four & Five, and related texts and assignments. How can one’s poetics be a cosmology and how can one maintain some experience of the Poetry Postcard Fest, & allow one’s life as a creative participant in the world to rise in one’s personal hierarchy of duties/activities? How is the projective poem an antidote to Silicon Valley attention fracking? $250 for each five week session per person, scholarships are available. Canadians may pay in CAD. Thursdays, 2-5pm PDT (April 3, 10, 17, 24, & May 1) by invitation only. Preference given to participants who wish to commit to both five-week sessions in the 2025 season.
April 3, 10, 17, & 24
May 1
Link to purchase Cascadian Zen Volume 2
Also, this essay on Investigative Poetry will be essential. Please read it before the course begins and come with questions or comments.
