I just spent three day at the Cascadia Poetry Festival this past weekend , May 9-12, in Anacortes, Washington, serving as the sound guy and archivist (a fine sounding title bestowed on me by Paul Nelson) which I very much prefer over simply the video guy.
Paul who was the organizer and chief sheepherder of this event, had put together, with the help of many folks, an immersive poetry experience whose theme this year was remembering and honoring Sam Hamill, whom I have never met, but felt I came to know better through the eyes and hearts of those who read at this event.
It was a treat to see and hear many of the poets who have previously read at PoetryBridge including Claudia Castro Luna, Peter Munro, Judith Roche, Shin Yu Pai as well as Thomas Walton and Elizabeth Cooperman who will both be featured readers in July. I also got to meet many other marvelous poets that I was introduced to for the first time.
I am still trying to unpack and digest all that I heard, saw and felt during the three days. For me, I felt welcomed into an intense and compassionate community of poets and lovers of poetry. Many are deeply committed to poetry as an essential human expression with a deep connection to Cascadia as a bio-region with layers of history both human and other life forms.
I highly recommend the event to anyone who has a deep love of poetry and a connection the Pacific North West and its contingent geographical regions.
Many kudos to Paul who will join T. Clear in reading for us on November 13th of this year.
I believe video recordings from the event will eventually be posted on the internet. I will keep you posted.
Leopoldo