This will be the third 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 December 12, 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
This will be the third 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 December 12, 2026, 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
Cost: free, suggested donation $25.
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 9-11 AM 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
Pierre Joris on A Nomad Poetics
The Cascadia Poetics Lab was delighted to partner with the Seattle University Department of Philosophy and Open Books: A Poem Emporium to facilitate...
Amy MIller’s 2022 Postcard Fest Wrapup
Turing 60's a bitch, but it's better than the alternative. Check out longtime postcard fest participant Amy Miller's fest wrapup. Excerpt: Serial...
Pierre Joris in Seattle
The Cascadia Poetics Lab is proud to collaborate with the Philosophy Department of Seattle University, Open Books: A Poem Emporium, WESTAF and Poets...
Ricardo Ruiz (We Had Our Reasons)
“I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet.” A quote attributed to John Quincy Adams, though it is quite...
Allegra Brucker Interview
On September 15, 2022 we caught up with Allegra Brucker and talked to her about her participation in the Poetry Postcard Fest. She learned about the...
Pierre Joris in Seattle
You are cordially invited to two events with legendary poet, anthologist and translator Pierre Joris, at Seattle U, Friday, October 14, 2022 and at...
CPL on Long Beach Peninsula
The Cascadia Poetics Lab board met at the Sou'wester Lodge in Seaview, WA, this past weekend, September 16-18, 2022 for our twice-annual board...
Postcard Open Mic
We had a wonderful Open Mic for Poetry Postcard Fest participants Saturday morning, September 10, 2022. The sense of community was palpable and it...
CPL Outreach on Long Beach Peninsula
Thanks to Cascadia Poetics Lab board member Cate Gable, we are set to have a reading Saturday on the Long Beach Peninsula. It's set for Saturday...
Cascadia Poetics LAB Blog
A Writing Exercise from Denise Levertov
Looking for inspiration to write poetry post-PPF? Consider Levertov’s Words Left in Your Pocket Exercise Read Denise Levertov’s poem “September...
Stephan Torre in Atlin, B.C.
What a great way to entice someone to read a book: "Like a prize-fighter boxing over his weight, Stephan Torre has long made his home in the...
2024 Annual Report
Cascadia Poetics Lab 2024 Annual Report Our 2024 report outlining Cascadia Poetics Lab's major accomplishments, fundraising and organizational...
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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.
Jerome Rothenberg Interview from 2001
Jerome Rothenberg was a legendary poet, translator and anthologist. His work on various poetry anthologies, including Poems for the Millennium were an inspiration for our Cascadian Zen series. He died on April 21, 2024 and we’re presenting this archive audio of the interview conducted in November 2001 as our latest Cascadian Prophets podcast. R.I.P. Jerome! Our introduction from 2001.
Podcast (prophets-podcast): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:05 — 64.7MB)
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.






































