Cascadia Poetry Festival 10
The 10th Cascadia Poetry Festival is set for October 9-11, 2026, at the Rainier Beach Community Club and other local venues. CPF is a gathering of poets and bioregionalists, exploring poetry and its connection to environmental, political, historical, and sociological pursuits within the Cascadia bioregion as defined by David McCloskey. The festival aims to consider how prioritizing natural and cultural boundaries, rather than arbitrary political ones, can address climate change and other issues. Cascadia Poetics LAB Founders Circle Members will be given the first opportunity to purchase an all-access Gold Pass.
This will be the second workshop aiming to demystify the process of writing poetry, and, as the CPL and Cascadia 2050 missions say, “empower people to practice poetry…”
Click this link for more information about the workshop I Want to Write a Poem (But Don’t Know How)
Saturday September 26, 2026, 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
Cost: free, suggested donation $25.
I Want to Write a Poem (But Don’t Know How): A Cascadia 2050 workshop
I Want to Write a Poem (But Don’t Know How): A Cascadia 2050 workshop
This will be the second workshop aiming to demystify the process of writing poetry, and, as the CPL and Cascadia 2050 missions say, “empower people to practice poetry…”
Click this link for more information about the workshop I Want to Write a Poem (But Don’t Know How)
Saturday September 26, 2026, 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
Cost: free, suggested donation $25.
Poet as Radio: Writing from Intuition
A 5-week online poetry workshop designed for folks with any/no level of experience with poetry and with an interest in non-religious spirituality and the occult.
Click this link for more information about the workshop: Poet As Radio: Writing From Intuition
Sundays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
October 15 – November 15, 2026
Cost: suggested donation $125.
Poet as Radio: Writing from Intuition
A 5-week online poetry workshop designed for folks with any/no level of experience with poetry and with an interest in non-religious spirituality and the occult.
Click this link for more information about the workshop: Poet As Radio: Writing From Intuition
Sundays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
October 15 – November 15, 2026
Cost: suggested donation $125.
Poetry as Neuro-Resilience
Explore practices that help keep consciousness attuned to the realities of the world – and discover how poetry can emerge from that depth. In this five-week workshop, Paul E. Nelson guides participants through readings, interviews, journaling, and writing exercise rooted in the Cascadia bioregion. All levels are welcome; openness and a commitment to the practice are all that’s required.
Learn more about Poetry as Neuro-Resilience →
Suggested donation: $130–$275
Saturday Cohort
Saturdays 3-5 PM Pacific Time
November 21, 2026 – December 19, 2026
Sunday Cohort
Sundays 3-5 PM Pacific Time
November 22, 2026 – December 20, 2026
Cascadia Poetics LAB Blog
PPF Companion Piece
From Laura Gamache: Reading through my 2023 POPO poems, I notice the joy. I wrote about quail twice, about the lake moving, and the moon. There were...
2023 Post-Fest Party and Open Mic
October 1: Save the Date! 2023 Post-Fest Party and Open Mic From Dr. Ina Roy-Faderman, PPF Board Chair:Based on social media posts and my...
Poet Spotlight: Andrew Schelling
I come to sing praises of another brilliant mind that we have the privilege of featuring in our programs! Andrew Schelling is a poet, translator,...
J.I. Kleinberg: A Postcard Success Story
From PPF board member J.I. Kleinberg: Back in 2017, for reasons I cannot now recall, I found myself writing postcard poems about a scarecrow. I'd...
Stephen Thomas Interview Part 2
We present the second half of our July 4, 2023 interview with former Seattle poet Stephen Thomas. He talked about his time in Seattle, his struggle...
Poet Spotlight: Jan Zwicky
We are delighted to have the talented and award-winning Canadian poet, philosopher, author and musician Jan Zwicky participating at our 7th Cascadia...
Poet Spotlight: Robert Bringhurst
One of the outstanding minds residing in the Cascadia bioregion that we will be featured at the 7th Cascadia Poetry Festival is Robert Bringhurst,...
2024 POSTCARD FEST REGISTRATION IS OPEN
The 2023 Poetry Postcard Fest is over & ends with the second largest participation in 17 years. See stats here. We also added a project board to...
2024 POSTCARD FEST REGISTRATION IS OPEN
The 2023 Poetry Postcard Fest is over & ends with the second largest participation in 17 years. See stats here. From The Fun Matters! “I keep...
Cascadia Poetics LAB Blog
Linda Russo on the verdant
or or As the planet heats up many animal species are either headed north or going extinct. This makes the work of the poet as witness that much...
Sharon Thesen on Creative Writing and English Departments
In 2014, poet Sharon Thesen gave a talk at a Creative Writing Conference in Vancouver about the state of Creative Writing and English Departments....
CPF9 Friday Workshops!
CPF9 Friday Workshops The 9th Cascadia Poetry Festival is fast approaching! October 10-12, 2025, join us for a gathering and celebration of poetry...
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Poetry Postcard Fest 2026
Registration is closed
The Poetry Postcard Fest is an annual 56-day experiment in spontaneity and community building. This literarary event is a self-guided workshop in spontaneous composition where people sign up to send 31 original poems on postcards to folks on a participation list before the end of August. The fest was initiated in 2007 by poets Paul E. Nelson and Lana Ayers, and has grown to include poets participating worldwide. Registration opens annually on September 1.
Interview with Harold Rhenisch on The Salmon Shanties: A Cascadian Song Cycle
Harold Rhenisch interviewed by Paul E Nelson about The Salmon Shanties: A Cascadian Song Cycle.
Podcast (prophets-podcast): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:27 — 70.7MB)
In Honor of David McCloskey “The Father of Cascadia”
David McCloskey passed away on July 3. In honor of his lifetime of work to create and spread a culture that was deeply connected to the Cascadian bioregion, Cascadian Prophets, which owes more than just its name to his work, we want to share this interview from October, 2013. Find it transcribed on our website.
Listen to more current and archival podcasts on Spotify or on our website.
In Honor of David McCloskey "The Father of Cascadia"
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We recognize that our home office is on the ancestral homeland of the Duwamish, Muckleshoot and other Coastal Salish tribes. Our dedication to bioregionalism is to co-exist on this land in the sacred manner as practiced by the traditional ways of these indigenous people.
Statement on Ahimsa by Board Member Jason Wirth
January 20, 2021
The (Poetry Postcard Fest) and the Cascadia Poetry Festival (are) connected… When you’re writing poetry… part of poetry is the craft… rules (to be understood) in a variety of contexts… (Craft is…) a necessary but not sufficient condition. You’re also… experiencing your mind, at a very deep level. And that mind as you experience it more deeply, is not in a vacuum… It’s now and here… rooted in the socio-economic and ecological conditions that make it possible. And participating in… the spiritual exercise of these postcards, is already entering into… a deep bioregional awakening and conversion. In a way we’re trying for something like a spiritual revolution, and that poetry is not just an interesting thing that you can do, if you like. It’s a fundamental exercise of being here in a less harmful way… it’s a deep ahimsa, a deep practice of non-harming and cultivation. And so, it’s all connected… And… our ambition is… trying to have a mind that would be capable, of being in this place in a better way… We’re going to live or die, by how we come down on these issues going forward.