get ready for the montreal zen poetry festival!

February 26th, 2009 by ian Posted in ascent, the glass seed

The second biennial Montreal Zen Poetry Festival will soon be coming to the snowy city with its unique mix of poets, calligraphers, translators, publishers, and Zen monks. Guests will be arriving from across Canada and the United States with elegant and enlightening words for the weekend of March 6th to 8th.

rabbit and fish

The festival programme includes panel discussions, writing workshops, the Paul Hsiang Poetry lecture, Zen meditation, and of course, poetry readings from a lineup of poetic luminaries. This year the festival theme “forget the words!” is inspired by the ancient Chinese text, the Chuang Tzu, and seeks to explore the tense but intimate connection between words and Zen practice. Poet and festival guest, Chase Twitchell, explored this theme with festival organizer, Talya Rubin, in the recent ascent article forget the self.

Organized by members of Enpuku-ji/Centre Zen de la Main, a small urban Zen temple in the heart of Montreal’s Plateau, the festival was launched in 2007 to introduce the larger community to the culture and practice of Zen Buddhism. The Zen Centre and ascent magazine have been close allies over the last ten years as two vital spiritual and cultural facets of Montreal.

For more information on festival events, readers, and tickets please visit the Montreal Zen Poetry Festival website.

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