Well, that was fun!

The 18th Annual Poetry Postcard Fest just finished, and I had a great time.

The Fest is an annual worldwide literary event in which participants write and send 31 poems in 31 days. This year, over 600 poets took part, writing from 48 U.S. states, four Canadian provinces, and 10 countries.

For me, it was a fantastic exercise in daily, shortform writing. I thrive with structure and a nudge. And it was a delight to open my mailbox each day to new poems and postcards, many handmade works of art. Each postcard shined with its own content and style, from evocative phrases to piercing inquiry, from quips and puns to nature-based observations. In a good effort, you can feel the moment slow as image ignites and language distills. I love that moment.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Is a broken heart . . .
This postcard, with its seeming simplicity, is a beauty. An abstract handstamped design is accompanied by exacting language that reminds me of Pablo Neruda’s The Book of Questions, which at first feel silly and then quite profound. Poet Maryrose Larkin says her postcard poems are often “seeds that will grow into other poems.”

And I only know that because I reached out to writers for permission to share their work — and that’s another special part to the annual postcard event: mystery & surprise. For the Poetry Postcard Fest, you write, send, and receive poems to and from people you do not know. It feels like tossing thoughts into the air, uncertain how they may land. And then in the process, you discover the landing does not matter. It’s the act of making that prevails.

*Is a broken heart* . . . by Maryrose Larkin

Backhand
This creative collage is so intriguing. For the Fest, artist-poet Joanna Thomas created over 40 original collages, each with what she calls a “word ditty.”

“The dictionary page is vintage, each page glued to cardboard from sources such as saltine boxes, which I collect and trim to postcard size,” she explains. “The portraits are photocopies of Rembrandt's paintings. Then I cut/paste images from Vogue or wherever to create visual confusion. It's fun.”

Joanna’s work has been featured in numerous art exhibitions and poetry chapbooks.

Greater Roadrunner
This postcard poem from Jennifer Johnston carries a quiet loveliness, a moment captured.

And I can read the handwriting! Creating a spontaneous poem in a small space is difficult enough without adding the challenge of human scrawl. I envy good — or even clear — penmanship. And that’s another aspect of the Fest that appeals to me: writing by hand. These days we so rarely write by hand, or see the hand of others. It’s like a fingerprint; no two are alike. For a postcard moment, I “see” you.

*Greater Roadrunner* . . . by Jennifer Johnston

It’s a treat to get real, old-fashioned, feel-good mail. Try it! Write a line. Capture a scene, a feeling, a fleeting now. You may be surprised at the power of making and releasing your work into the world.