Phasing Out This Blog

The 2014 August Poetry Postcard Fest ends today. Just a note that I'll be phasing out this blog and using my personal website, www.PaulENelson.com as the main site for future iterations of the August Poetry Postcard Fest, and especially: http://paulenelson.com/august-poetry-postcard-fest/.

Signup Closed for 2014

Peru: Kingdom of the Sun and the Moon (Montreal Museum of Fine Art)

The signup is now complete for the 2014 August Poetry Postcard Fest. We have 423 participants & they come from: Alabama, Alberta, Arizona, Australia, British Columbia, California, Canada, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, France, Germany, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, India, Indiana, Japan, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, New Zealand, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Pennsylvania, Singapore, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, UK, USA, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wales, Washington, West Virginia & Wisconsin. Comment below if I have missed something. I have added all postcard participants to the twice-weekly email so they can be informed about developments and next year’s call. Unsubscribing is easy, as there is a link at the bottom of every email. "

Directions: Today (Sunday, July 27th) look at the list you were emailed to find your name. (Control F is a handy tool.) See the three people listed below your name. Write them each an original poem on a postcard, put their address on the card and affix the necessary postage. $1.15 for international cards leaving the U.S. Consider scanning your cards or photographing them to document each poem/card before you send them out.

Do not recycle old poems for this. Do not compose a long poem in advance and cut it up into hunks for this. 

It is an experiment in composing in the moment and your poem has an audience of one. This is designed in part as a conversation. (If you are near the bottom of the list, send a card to anyone below you then start again at the top.) Ideally, you would write 3 different short poems -- remember they are being composed on a postcard and please keep your handwriting clear. If your handwriting is lousy, typing the poems is ok. After the first 3, you only have 28 more to go. Some write more, but please do commit to 31 total IDEALLY sending them by August 31.

And please wait a month before posting poems online.

Write about something that relates to your sense of "place" however you interpret that, something about how you relate to the postcard image, what you see out the window, what you're reading, a dream you had that morning, or an image from it, etc. Like "real" postcards, get to something of the "here and now" when you write. Present tense is preferred... Do write original poems for the project. Taking old poems and using them is not what we have in mind. You may want to use epigraphs. One participant last year used his daily I Ching divination to inform his poems. As you begin getting poems on August 1 (ideally) incorporate a tone, an image, some content or ignore them if uninspired and start writing a poem a day to at least 28 more people.

Write at least 31 poems and send at least 31 cards.

(These would be the 4th through 31st people below you on your list.) Hopefully you'll get something that inspires. If not, you're on your own. Some people get few cards for all they send out. Some people send out more than 31. If you are not getting cards, or are traveling, you can still participate. Don't worry. This is also an experiment in community consciousness. Try to respond to cards that you get with subject, image or any kind of link if possible. Often newsworthy events happen in August. How would our community respond? Letting a card that you receive linger for a while before you respond to the next person on your list is the preferred method. When you go to your mail box each day, put the bills aside, read the poems you get and think about them as you compose to the next person on your list.

A workshop handout for the poetry postcard writing exercise is here: http://paulenelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Postcard-Exercise.pdf

You may also view that handout at this link: http://paulenelson.com/workshops/poetry-postcard-exercise/

2014 participants:

A. Hayes A.R. Perez Aaron Deutsch Aaron Severance Abeo Tisdale Abhaya Thomas Alison Jennings Alley Greymond Allyson Boggess Amanda Dowd Amanda Rose Adams Amorak Huey Amy Miller Andrew Bell Andy Berisford Andy King Andy Meyer Aneata K. O'Brien Angela La Voie Angie Tsiamas Ann Hudson Anna Elkins Anna Mavromati Anne Rutland Anthony Kolasny Arlene Naganawa Arlo Jacob Smith Art Tulee Athena Nation Avis Adams Ayelet Amittay Barbara Faust Barbara Jean Walsh Barbara McMichael Becky Liebman Benjamin Cook Beth Pietrzak Beth Severson Beth Weaver-Kreider Bethany Bennett Bette Lynch Husted Bev Fesharaki Bhakti Watts Bill Freind Birgit Heidorn Bree Rolfe Brenda McVey Brendan McBreen Bridget Nutting Bronwen Tate Bruce  -/:}>  Greeley Bucky Rea C. Stewart C.J. Prince Camille-Yvette Welsch Carla Shafer CarlaJean Valluzzi Carlton Johnson Carol A. Stephen Carol Brockfield Carol Dorf Carol Frischmann Carol Keslar Carol McMillan Carol Zubick Carole Evelyn Caroline M Davies Carolyn A. Dragon Carolyn Adams Carolyn Everett Carolyn Maddux Catherine (Cathy) Kigerl Catherine Alice Michaelis Catherine Daly Catherine Lewis Cathleen Miller CD Williamson Celeste Oster Cezanne Hardy Charlie Stobert Cheryl Waitkevich Chris Jarmick Christine Clarke Christine M. Kendall Christopher Moore Cinda Hocking Colleen Coyne Connie Peters Courtney Birst Cristine Naylor Czandra/ Sandra Stephenson Dairine Pearson Dana Bennett Daniel L. Smith Darlene Costello Dave Stankowicz David Nelson Dean Pfaender Deb Drotos Deb Stone Deborah Brandon Deborah Crooks Deborah Hauser Deborah Miranda Deborah Osborne Deborah Sevett Denise Hill Denise Tsiamas Desiree Morales Desiree Wright Dheepikaa Balasubramanian Diane Cammer Diane Vogt Dino Shiatis Dona Michelini Donna Dakota Dr. Nurit Israeli Edee Lemonier Eileen "Lucy" M-Babbitt Eileen Elliott Elena Akers Elena Coe Elise Ficarra Elizabeth Aamot Elizabeth Beck Elizabeth Carroll Hayden Elizabeth Woods Ellen O Setteducati Ellen Shaman Eugenia Petty Evan Farnsworth Gabriella M. Belfiglio Gah-Kai Leung Gail Goepfert Giancarlo Campagna Grace Liew Greg Johnson Gregory Chamberlin Guy Holliday H.V. Cramond Hannah Fox Hannah Kuechler Hannah Marshall Hannah Thomassen Heather Mydosh Heidi Buchi Helen Kerner Helen Waits Helene Berlin Helga Fernandes Hera Suganthy Ina Roy Irene J. Walker J R Turek J. Phillip Walker Jacqueline Hallenbeck Jacyra Guard James Williams Jamie Robinson Jan Weston Janelle Maloch Janet McCann Janine Fitzgerald Janka Hobbs Jean Blakeman Jean Urciolo Jeanna Motmans Jef Blocker Jeff Oaks Jen Karetnick Jenni B. Baker Jennifer Chushcoff Jennifer Lemming Jessica Booth Jessica Goodfellow Jessie Lyle Jill Crammond Jilo Tisdale Jim Smith Jim Teeters Joanne Clarkson Joanne Diaz, Dept of English Joanne Sunshower Jodie Curtis Jody Brooks Jody Plant Joe Chiveney John Burgess Josh Medsker Judy Jensen Judy Kleinberg Judy Mayhew Judy Wapp Julie K Eastland Julie Swarstad Johnson Kaili Doud Kala Zanis Karen Lee Lewis Karen Marshall Karen Vande Bossche Karie Wilkerson Karima Bondi Kate Wylie Kathleen Miniely Kathleen Miniely Kathy Paul Kathy Shoemaker Katie Kurtz Katie Woodzick Katrina Roberts Katy June Abrams Kay Kinghammer Kazumi Chin Keli Osborn Kelleyanne Pearce Kelly Andrews Kelly Terwilliger Khadija Anderson Khara House Kim Clark Kim Grabowski Kirsten Miles Kit Ayars Kristin Cleage Williams Kristina McDonald L. Lisa Lawrence L.A. Nichols Lalarukh Lasharie Laura Hooper Laura L. Snyder Laura LeHew Laura Pena Laurel Evans Laurel Radzieski Lauren Robinson Laurence Ebersole Laurice Roberts Laurie Duncan Lea Anne Lake Lea Galanter Leslie Edwards-Hill Liana Silva-Ford Libby Maxey Linda A Roller Linda Barnes Linda Crosfield Linda Drajem Linda Fideler Linda Hofke Linda Lee Harper Linda Malnack Linda Russo Linda Saccoccio Lindsey Martin-Bowen Lisa Choi Lisa Grable Lisa Janice Cohen Liz Wiley Liza Case Lorri Kennedy Lowell Murphree Lucinda Huffine Lydia K. Roberts Lydia Swartz Lylanne Musselman Lynne Shapiro M Jean Busch Maitri Sojourner Mallory Hamilton Marc Thompson Marc Tretin Marga Webb Margaret Santhanam Margaret Watson Margarette Wahl Marge Merrill Margo Jodyne Dills Margo Solod Mariama Salon Marian Devney Marie Buckley Marissa McNamara Marjorie  Rommel Marjorie Norris Mark S. Kenzer Martha Kaplan Martha Kreiner Martha Scoville Martina Robinson Mary Beth Frezon Mary Ellen Bertram Mary Ellen Wade Mary Healey Mary MacDonald Mary Sexson Matt Trease Max Motmans Maxine Lang McArthur Gilstrap Meena Rose Meg Eubank Megan Muthupandiyan Megan Reed Mel Lam Melissa Borries Melissa Eleftherion Carr Melissa Schuppe Meredith Holmes Merrill Farnsworth Michael Eddie Anderson Michael Haeflinger Michaela Drapes Michelle A. Ladwig Michelle Ballou Michelle Lin Michelle Oakes Mik Everett Monica Schley Ms. Gay Guard-Chamberlin Nadia Szara Nancy Canyon Nandini Seshadri Naomi Lloyd Nessa Jay Meraki Nicholas Kolasny Olivia Olivia Paige Polcene Pam Teufel Pat Kennelly Patricia Hale Patricia McCann Patricia Oliman Longoria Patricia Smith Patsy Shepherd Patti White Paul E Nelson Peggy Miller Phebe Davidson Polly Esther Rachel Barton Rachel Wysocki Rachelle Cruz Raúl Sánchez Ravenna Taylor Raymond Maxwell Rebecca Coale Rebecca Fullan Rebecca Lincoln Rebecca Robinson Rhoda Neshama Waller Rich Maschner Rita Chapman Robert L. Cox Robert Lee Haycock Robert Zverina Robin Moore Rooze Garcia Rosanne Braslow Ruby Kane Russ Golata Ryki Zuckerman S.E.Ingraham Samantha Solomon Samantha Solomon Samar Abulhassan Sandra Guerreiro Sara Aranda Sara Fargo Sara Jameson Sara Mwagura Sara Parrell Sara Stolpe Sarah Arnold Sarah Baker Sarah Koenig Savonna Johnson Sean & Katy Wallace Shae Savoy Shaindel Beers Shannon Frech Sharon Auberle Shaun Solomon Shauna Potocky Shayla Hawkins Shelley Nameroff Shelley Peters Skaidrite Stelzer Sohini Basak Somdutta Sarkar Sonja Hansard-Weiner Stacy Christie Stephanie Cawley Stephanie Motz Steve Woodall Susan M Troccolo Susan Pigman Susan Tuzzolino Susan Tuzzolino Suzanne Villegas T. Clear Tamesa Williams Tanya Korigan Tanya Neumeyer Taylor Brooks Tegan Swanson Teresa Jarmick Terry Holzman Theresa Pappas Tiffany Schramm Tim Mateer Toni Hanner Tony Iovino Trisha Miller Trudy Stern Upasna Saha Urvashi Bahuguna Vera Naputi Violet Juno Virginia Bach Folger Virginia Shank Walter Lowe Wendy Friel Wendy Sarno Wendy Vardaman

IT'S ALMOST AUGUST. WANT TO PLAY POSTCARD POEMS? (Linda Crosfield)

By Linda Crosfield 

http://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.ca/2014/07/its-almost-august-want-to-play-postcard.html

§

If you've been thinking about joining the August postcard poem exchange this year, you've got six days to get yourself on the list. All the information you need is here. 

You just have to commit to writing an original poem on 31 postcards and sending them to the people who are below you on the list. This year we're already up to 350 participants. I've been doing this since the first year (2007) and it's been so much fun watching it grow. 

The idea is to write your poem directly onto the card. For the first few years I found this to be well nigh impossible. What if I got going and ran out of room? What if I got the line breaks wrong? What if it was too bad to send? What if I thought of a better subject to write about? Well, honestly, after a few years of sketching the poems in a notebook first, I came to realize that I could write directly on the cards and the world would't end. Now I love the process. I love surprising myself with what comes out of my pen. And there's something very satisfying about the physical act of mailing the card to someone — most often a stranger, and it's both amazing and gratifying that many of those strangers have become "friends" through Facebook. Many of us send the requisite number of cards to the assigned people plus several others to folk we've exchanged with in the past. 

And it's nothing short of delightful to open your mailbox and find a postcard poem just waiting to be read. 

Paul Nelson is compiling the list of names this year. If you want to be on it, get in touch with him no later than July 26th. 

§

Call: 2014 August Poetry Postcard Fest

It is almost August once again and this means POSTCARDS!

Mississippi River Postcard

The August Poetry Postcard Fest is an exercise in responding to other poets. You write a poem a day for the month of August, write it directly onto a postcard and send it to the next name on your list. When you receive a postcard poem from someone, the idea is that the next poem you send out will be a response to the poem you just received, even though it will be sent to a different person. Ideally you will write 31 new poems and receive 31 postcard poems from all over the place.

To participate, send your name, mailing address, and email to splabman@gmail.com. Use the word "postcard" in the subject line.

Again, one long list will go out this year this year instead of individual lists of 32 names. You can send postcard poems to the 31 names below your name, please do not use this list for advertising or for any other purpose than postcard poems. DO NOT SPAM THE LIST. 

I will send out the list twice. Our international participants often require an earlier start due to longer delivery times, so I will send the incomplete list out on July 16th and the final version around July 26th. The 26th is the cut off date, I will not be adding any more names to the list after that, the list sent out on the 26th will be the final list for this year. Really. I'll be out of the U.S. myself. Please be sure to send in your information before that. I will email the list to the participants in a google document as well as in the body of the email.

If you know anyone who would like to participate, feel free to forward them this message! Hope you enjoy the Poetry Postcard Fest!

Directions:

On or about Sunday, July 27th, look at the list to see the three people listed below your name. Write them each an original poem on a postcard, put their address on the card and affix the necessary postage. $1.15 for international cards leaving the U.S. Consider scanning your cards or photographing them to document each poem/card before you send them out. Do not recycle old poems for this. Do not compose a long poem in advance and cut it up into hunks for this. It is an experiment in composing in the moment and your poem has an audience of one. This is designed in part as a conversation.

(If you are near the bottom of the list, send a card to anyone below you then start again at the top.) Ideally, you would write 3 different short poems -- remember they are being composed on a postcard and please keep your handwriting clear. If your handwriting is lousy, typing the poems is ok. If you have folks outside your own country on your list, you can start sending poems early…)

Write about something that relates to your sense of "place" however you interpret that, something about how you relate to the postcard image, what you see out the window, what you're reading, a dream you had that morning, or an image from it, etc. Like "real" postcards, get to something of the "here and now" when you write. Present tense is preferred... Do write original poems for the project. Taking old poems and using them is not what we have in mind. You may want to use epigraphs. One participant last year used his daily I Ching divination to inform his poems. 

This is also an experiment in community consciousness. Try to respond to cards that you get with subject, image or any kind of link if possible. Often newsworthy events happen in August. How would our community respond? Letting a card that you receive linger for a while before you respond to the next person on your list is the preferred method. When you go to your mail box each day, put the bills aside, read the poems you get and think about them as you compose to the next person on your list.

On August 1st, you will (ideally) have received some postcards. If yes, see if there is a link you can make between one you got and the next one you'll write & send, to that fourth person below your name on the list. If you can't, don't worry. It might be a line, or a tone, or an image. Something. Then each day in August repeat until you've written 31 postcard poems. You can do more if you like, but if you sign up, please write 31 poems. Do not post your poems online until a month after sending. Do not post someone else's poem online without their permission. If you do this right, it will be difficult for most people at first, but then a breakthrough will come and that will ripple into your life.

A GREAT story about one man's conversion from being a postcard CHEATER is here: http://changeorder.typepad.com/weblog/2010/08/sending-postcards-to-strangers.html

A workshop handout for the poetry postcard writing exercise is here: http://paulenelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Postcard-Exercise.pdf

You may also view that handout at this link: http://paulenelson.com/workshops/poetry-postcard-exercise/

And thanks to Judy Kleinberg, one of my favorite Bellinghamsters, see THIS post: http://boyntonpoetrycontest.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/why-postcards-why-poetry/

Postcard Poems as Peace Process

“There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community."                                                                                       - M. Scott Peck

It was the summer of 2007 and upon leaving a poetry critique circle when I said to a friend and participant, a fellow poet, that I wanted to “do something with postcards this summer.” She did not ask what I wanted to do, she simply said: “I’ll help.” I told her what I had in mind and she wrote up the first draft of a call for a poetry postcard project and it was something like this:

On or about July 27th, send postcards to the 3 people on the list below your name.  (If you are near the bottom, send a card to anyone below you then start again at the top.) Ideally, you would write 3 different short poems -- remember they are being composed on a postcard and please keep your handwriting clear. (If you start with folks outside your country, you may want to start sending poems early…)

What to write? Something that relates to your sense of "place" however you interpret that, something about how you relate to the postcard image, what you see out the window, what you're reading, a dream you had that morning, or an image from it, etc. Like "real" postcards, get to something of the "here and now" when you write. Present tense is preferred... Do write original poems for the project. Taking old poems and using them is not what we have in mind. Letting a card linger for a while before you respond to the next person on your list is cool.

Oh and the poems were to be composed onto the card. That is, you get out a card and write onto it. Spontaneous, a brief glimpse into the mind of a stranger for one August moment. Like calligraphy. A risk. When focused on the luminous details, the concrete objects, the minute particulars, this is an exercise in perception and there are parallels with a Zen mode of existence. At its best this method is a reflection of one’s Personal Mythology, which can be a useful notion in one’s efforts toward individuation. Learning to cooperate with the language rather than use it, to paraphrase Robert Duncan. All these facets conspire to allow the practice to be a wisdom teacher.

We put the call out via our various literary communities, such as the SPLAB email list, SUNY Buffalo Poetics list and the WOMPO list of women poets. We started getting emails and the final list was over 100. We were stunned. There was great excitement and I would go on to write 128 postcard poems in 2007 alone as the excitement of the August Poetry Postcard Fest was such that, for a year, it was extended to a weekly practice, sending poetry postcards to folks who signed up for what became known as the “Perennial List.”

We learned that many folks did not write spontaneously. One participant, in blatant disregard of the guidelines, wrote a poem in 31 sections for the fest and printed it out and cut it into hunks which were then glued to cards and mailed. When you look at the intended dialog part of the fest, the intention of seeing how such dialog could build a community, this person comes across as sort of a crazy person babbling in public into a cordless phone mic with no one on the other end of the “conversation.” This process was too much risk for some people. And composing spontaneously is the hardest way to write. Michael McClure said: 

To write spontaneously does not mean to write carelessly or without thought and deep experience. In fact, there must be a vision and a poetics that are alive and conscious… I do not know of a more adventurous gesture than to write spontaneously... When the poem is finished I listen to it…and see that it has a deeper consciousness and brighter thoughts than I was aware of while writing (xv).

And this gets me to how risk, an inherent part of building community, is related to how this August Poetry Postcard Fest has all these years been a peace-making effort. For in our culture, peace is seen as the absence of war and peace-making in the effort to stop or oppose war. But it is deeper than that. To oppose something only creates a dualism that strengthens what one opposes. The other side. You can crush the war effort, but it is the same consciousness as war itself. One must go to a deeper stance or be subject to what Einstein said, that being: “Sometimes two sides disagree because they are both wrong.” Or like the anti-war protestors who wanted a meeting with Mother Teresa and were told to come back when they were “pro-peace” activists. 

That we were employing a lost art in the age of instant digital communications was a beautiful attempt to go against the tide and zig when most of society was zagging. Like the slow-food movement. Instant gratification just won’t do. Slow down!

That most of the poems I received were awful was besides the point. That most people were trying, were making themselves vulnerable and were learning little by little how to be in the moment and let the language itself have its say was a victory and was, I believed, deepening their own consciousness. They were taking a risk, making themselves vulnerable.

The list in August 2013 grew to 302 people, with participants in: Alabama, Alberta, Arizona, Australia, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, France, Georgia, Germany, Hawaii, Illinois, India, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mumbai, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Singapore, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, United Kingdom, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin.

I look at that list and love how India comes between Illinois and Indiana and the assonance of the words themselves as they are together. And the music of Florida, France, Georgia, Germany, with two countries who, in one lifetime, were slitting each others throats. Now there are folks in those two countries sitting at their desks and jotting something personal, hopefully creative, imaginative, beautiful and inspiring, but at least sincere, to some stranger in a foreign land. For we Norte Americanos, at least it’s a faraway state or province.

When you let in intuition guide you, magical things can happen as Charles Olson knew. A major 20th Century advocate for a spontaneous composing process, he said: “We do what we know before we know what we do.” This is evocative of another 20th Century mystic, the Indonesian founder of Subud known as Bapak, who said: “Experience first, explanations afterward.” 

So, this is the explanation after 7 years of this festival and over 460 poetry postcards that I have sent out. It is an effort to learn about other cultures, to be creative and vulnerable. To reach out to strangers in a peaceful and imaginative way. To give them a sense of my August priorities which, this year were about, among other things: our p-patch community garden; dancing in the kitchen with my 17 month old daughter; and taking a Moroccan poet and Beat scholar to the top of a mountain in a nearby national park and expose him to some of the other beautiful things about life here.

Risk, vulnerability, community, peace was M. Scott Peck’s recipe. All I added was creativity, as what is life without the imagination? As poet Diane diPrima said: “The only war that matters is the war against the imagination. All other wars are subsumed in it.”

Won’t you join us next August?

http://poetrypostcards.blogspot.com/

Work Cited

McClure, Michael. Three Poems. New York, Penguin, 1995.

Fest Over, Who's Posting?

That was the title of a post on the Facebook Postcard Poetry Fest page by one participant. Who's posting? Indeed. The joy of August poetry. If not dominating one's activities during the month-long fest, it at least plays a leading role. This is a role, I have found, that can't possibly survive in a normal month, but August is, in our Northern culture, the last gasp of summer. Never mind there's three more weeks left of actual summer, the season is just playing out the string. And despite a warm Labor Day weekend here in Seattle, it seems like the season has changed. The angles of sun on our p-patch garden are incredibly south of what I have become accustomed to seeing.

From Sharon Ingraham's Blog: http://seiwrites.wordpress.com/

From Sharon Ingraham's Blog: http://seiwrites.wordpress.com/

And while a few more cards trickle in to mailboxes in 31 different states, the District of Columbia, four Canadian provinces and eight other countries, September is here and the fest will not have the same sparkle, the same appeal, the same light. And like the fact that the fest had a record 302 participants, there seems to be a record number of poets posting the cards they wrote on their own blogs. 

Judy Kleinberg is keeping score, and notes Michelle Castleberry, Deborah Miranda, Paul Nelson, Lisa Nichols and Martina Robinson among the bloggers. Add also: Kristin Cleage

http://ruffdraft.us/blog/

And Raymond Maxwell:

And (as noted) Deborah Miranda:

http://badndns.blogspot.com/2013/08/poetry-project-31-what-whales-want.html

And Anita Endrezze, who also CREATES her cards:

http://anitaendrezze.weebly.com/a-month-of-poems-the-poetry-postcard-project.html

and you start to get a sense of the creativity unleashed by the August Poetry Postcard Fest this year. I have not yet written my afterword, but am on that next. First though, HUGE thanks to all the postcarders this year. My own practice was influenced by every card I received in some small way, my own priorities validated, my own life enriched by being a part of this project for the 7th year. Gratitude to Brendan McBreen, for not only keeping the list this year, but also for being one of the most creative participants. Dig this:

So, there is more talk about poetry postcard readings between now and next July 27. CJ Prince is trying to get a POetry POstcard feature going in Bellingham and Brendan McBreen is considering such a feature at the Striped Water Poets gathering in Auburn, WA. I would love to have a poetry postcard fest conference and would welcome your thoughts. For those who took on the fest as it is intended, to help you discover the additional dimensions of spontaneous composition, good for you. Hell, it's only ONE PERSON who's going to get the card, so what do you have to lose?

August Poetry Postcard Fest (Final List)

The 2013 August POetry POstcard Fest has begun!

The final list for the August POetry POstcard Fest is now out and there are 302 poets participating! 

One last post before my cards start appearing is here: http://paulenelson.com/2013/07/31/august-poetry-postcard-fest/ and again, my thanks to Brendan McBreen for keeping the list this year, his second and the fest's 7th.

Much communication happens via the Facebook page for the project, so see: https://www.facebook.com/groups/17361938720/ if you do Facebook and thanks for your interest in this project.

The 7th August POetry POstcard Fest Begins Today!

While the final list will go out in 4 days, the majority of participants have received the list of (so far) 243 poets! This is a huge increase from last year, which delights us. There are poets from Alabama, Alberta, Arizona, Australia, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, France, Georgia, Germany, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mumbai, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Pennsylvania, Quebec, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, United Kingdom, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin.

So, one you get the list, look for your name, write three original poems directly onto the postcards to the 3 people on the list below your name. (If you are near the bottom, send a card to anyone below you then start again at the top.) Ideally, you would write 3 different short poems -- remember they are being composed on a postcard and please keep your handwriting clear. (If you start with folks outside your country, you may want to start sending poems early…)

What to write? Something that relates to your sense of "place" however you interpret that,
something about how you relate to the postcard image, what you see out the window, what
you're reading, a dream you had that morning, or an image from it, etc. Like "real"
postcards, get to something of the "here and now" when you write. Present tense is
preferred... Do write original poems for the project. Taking old poems and using them is
not what we have in mind. Letting a card linger for a while before you respond to the next
person on your list is cool.

Key links: http://paulenelson.com/2013/07/20/how-to-write-a-postcard-poem-10-steps/

http://changeorder.typepad.com/weblog/2010/08/sending-postcards-to-strangers.html

http://paulenelson.com/2012/08/29/2012-august-poetry-postcard-fest-afterword/

http://paulenelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Postcard-Exercise.pdf

and the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/17361938720/

Please allow a MONTH after mailing your postcard before posting your own postcard poems online. Once you GET a poem, do what you wish, but check with the poet if possible before publishing their poem.

See you at the mailbox.

Penultimate Postcard Update

Dia de los Postcard

USPS

I got the latest postcard update from Brendan McBreen (see below) with the new list of 243 people, easily a new postcard record! Am a little stunned and very excited about the fest and (as noted here) have already started hacking away at my list. Again I'll link to two articles which may be of use for poets more used to editing:
1) http://paulenelson.com/2013/07/12/writing-or-re-writing/ (A primer on prevision.)
2) How the David Sherwin got the organic method.

& remember, US citizens, it costs MORE to send a postcard outside the friendly confines of your country.

From Brendan:

hello all,

As I have mentioned before, the reason the list goes out early is due to longer mailing times for sending and receiving poetry postcards internationally.

To recap, the deadline for signing up for the poetry postcard list this year is July 30th. I am in the Pacific Coast time zone same or the Seattle time zone if thats easier. I will be sending out the final list on the 30th maybe as late as midnight on the 31st to give people every opportunity to sign up. But after the list goes out on the 30th (31st) it is final, the sign up period is over. The reason I am telling you (the people who have already signed up) this is in case you have a friend who might like to join in, be sure they get their info to me by July 30th.

And to recap the guidelines, you will find your name on the list and in August (or just before) you should write a poem on the back of a postcard and send it to the person below your name on the list. When you begin receiving poetry postcards, you can write a response poem to them but continue to send them to the next people on your list. If you get to the bottom of the list you should jump to the first name and continue from there. And this is important because there is one more week for people to sign up, there will likely be a few more names added so the last person on the list now will not be the last person on the final version of the list.

You should write a poem a day for the month of August and hopefully receive a poem a day, but postal times vary so some days you might not receive any and others you can get three or four at once, but that should not stop you from writing your poem a day.Please check to be sure you have enough postage on cards going over seas too.

Also I should note that there was a duplicate on the earlier list sent out on the 16th so the numbering has changed a bit.

I think that is all, I will copy the list below here and attach it as a word doc.

Enjoy!

Brendan

Linda Crosfield's Take

Not Linda

Here's a take on the postcard fest from Castlegar, British Columbia's Linda Crosfield. Be sure to look at the card with the decapitated head magic trick! Fun for the kids!

http://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.ca/2013/07/psst-its-almost-august-wanna-play.html

POetry POstcard Update

The man coordinating the list for the 2013 August POetry POstcard Fest, Brendan McBreen, informs us that 179 poets have signed up so far and the cut off date is less than two weeks away. (His update below.) I am thinking I’ll get an early start on my list and see if I can write at least 40 cards this year.

From Brendan:

Just a reminder, this is an incomplete list. I am sending it out early because delivery times take longer for our outside-the-U.S. participants. So for those of you toward the bottom of the list, there will be more names following you by the time the final list goes out. Another reminder, the 30th of July is the deadline! If you have friends who want to participate, be sure they sign up before the 30th! Once the final list goes out I will not be adding any more names. And one more reminder, the idea is to write a postcard poem every day in August to the 31 names following your name on the list.

(See http://paulenelson.com/2013/06/22/august-postcard-poem-fest-returns/ for the rules of the game.)

(See also this primer on the modern history of prevision, or getting it right the first time.)

(& finally, again, David Sherwin’s “Aha!” postcard moment.)

I’ll never forget a poet’s report on getting a poetry postcard directly from the letter carrier after they read it. They said: “Hey, this one’s pretty good!

See you at the mailbox and don’t forget to put CORRECT POSTAGE on cards going out of the U.S.

2013 Postcard Fest approaches

From Brendan McBreen:

Once more it is almost August!

The August Poetry Postcard Project is an exercise in responding to other poets. You write a poem a day for the month of August, write it on a postcard and send it to the next name on your list. When you receive a postcard poem from someone, the idea is that the next poem you send out will be a response to the poem you just received, even though it will be sent to a different person. Ideally you will write 31 new poems and receive 31 postcard poems from all over the place.

To participate, send your name, mailing address, and email to stripedwaterpoets@gmail.com

please include the word "postcard" in the subject line.

I will be sending out one long list this year instead of individual lists of 32 names.

You can send postcard poems to the 31 names below your name, please do not use this list for advertising or for any other purpose than postcard poems. If your name is toward the bottom of the list, when you reach the bottom you go to the top of the list and finish your 31 from there.

I will send out the list three times, our international participants often require an earlier start due to longer delivery times, so I will send the incomplete list out on July 16th and July 23rd. The final version I will send out on July 30th. The 30th is the cut off date, I will not be adding any more names to the list after that, the list sent out on the 30th will be the final list for this year. So
Please be sure to send in your information before that. I will email the list to the participants in an attached word document as well as in the body of the email.

If you know anyone who would like to participate, feel free to forward them this message!

Thanks for putting up with this long winded explanation!

Hope you enjoy the Poetry Postcard Fest!

Brendan McBreen

Directions:

On or about July 27th, send postcards to the 3 people on the list below your name.  (If you are near the bottom, send a card to anyone below you then start again at the top.) Ideally, you would write 3 different short poems -- remember they are being composed on a postcard and please keep your handwriting clear. (If you start with folks outside your country, you may want to start sending poems early…)

What to write? Something that relates to your sense of "place" however you interpret that, something about how you relate to the postcard image, what you see out the window, what you're reading, a dream you had that morning, or an image from it, etc. Like "real" postcards, get to something of the "here and now" when you write. Present tense is preferred... Do write original poems for the project. Taking old poems and using them is not what we have in mind. Letting a card linger for a while before you respond to the next person on your list is cool.

The blog for the fest is here: http://poetrypostcards.blogspot.com/ 

A workshop handout for the poetry postcard writing exercise is here: http://paulenelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Postcard-Exercise.pdf

You may also view that handout at this link: http://paulenelson.com/workshops/poetry-postcard-exercise/

End of 2012 Fest

I have posted my end-of-August blog post online here: http://paulenelson.com/2012/08/29/2012-august-poetry-postcard-fest-afterword/ and have scheduled posts for all my 2012 poetry postcards on that same website. They will appear one per day until October 4.

Here is the card that I got from Brendan McBreen:

The quality of the cards was much higher than in previous years and the production was the best I have ever seen. I have read that more people are actually doing the fest as suggested, meaning having an experience of spontaneity, rather than pre-cooking the cards and then sending. At this writing I have received 27 cards and have been assured that one more is coming.

There is a bit of explication to the card posted today, but I'll post the text of it here:

Ghost Prod

Special thanks to Brendan McBreen for his work on fest administration this year and to all the 160 poets around the world who participated.

160 Postcarders!

From Brendan McBreen:

Monday, July 30, 2012 3:49 PM

 

hey Paul,

I just wanted to let you know, I just received the 32nd name for the fifth postcard list
that makes 160 people signed up this year with 16 from outside the US, mostly Canada but two from the UK, two from India, others from Singapore, South Korea, Ireland, and one from Tasmania Australia

take care!
B

--
Striped Water Poets

https://sites.google.com/site/stripedwaterpoets/

2012 August Poetry Postcard Fest

From Brendan McBreen:

for those of you familiar with the August Poetry Postcard series
you may know that it was started by Paul Nelson then passed to Lana Ayers
but this year Lana is busy with school work (fiction writing) and other projects

so I have been asked to compile the mailing lists this year

for those not familiar
the August Poetry Postcard fest works as such:
each participant receives a list of 31 names and addresses of other poets
and each day in August you write a poem on a postcard and send it to the person that follows your name on the list
so if you are number 4 on the list you start by mailing a postcard poem to number 5, and when you get to 31 you loop back to 1, 2, and 3
the idea is to respond to a postcard and poem you receive but send the response to the next person on the list
and the others on the list will do the same

in past years we have had participants from all over the globe, so be sure to be aware of international postage if it applies to your list

you can collect the postcards you send from anywhere, drug stores are good, Goodwill is a good place to find postcards, some people create their own postcards too, nice postcards are nice but the poetry is the purpose

also it is usually a good idea to begin sending postcards on the last few days of July just to be sure that people receive their cards by August

finally!
for those who wish to participate:
please email me your name and mailing address and email address
include August Postcard Poetry in the subject line

please note that I will not use any addresses for any reason other than this year's Poetry Postcard fest
and I urge everyone else to do likewise

Thank you!
Brendan McBreen

--
Striped Water Poets

https://sites.google.com/site/stripedwaterpoets/

August 2011 is Near!

Welcome to the August 2011 Postcard List.
Here's what's involved. Sign up here: http://concretewolf.com/august2011/

Get yourself at least 31 postcards. These can be found at book stores, thrift shops, online, drug stores, antique shops, museums, gift shops. (You'll be amazed at how quickly you become a postcard addict.)

On or about July 27th, write an original poem right on a postcard and mail it to the person on the list below your name. (If you are at the very bottom, send a card to the name at the top.) And please WRITE LEGIBLY!

Starting on August 1st, ideally in response to a card YOU receive, keep writing a poem a day on a postcard and mailing it to successive folks on the list until you've sent out 31 postcards. Of course you can keep going and send as many as you like but we ask you to commit to at least 31 (a month's worth).

What to write? Something that relates to your sense of "place" however you interpret that, something about how you relate to the postcard image, what you see out the window, what you're reading, using a phrase/topic/or image from a card that you got, a dream you had that morning, or an image from it, etc. Like "real" postcards, get to something of the "here and now" when you write.

Do write original poems for the project. Taking old poems and using them is not what we have in mind. These cards are going to an eager audience of one, so there's no need to agonize. That's what's unique about this experience. Rather than submitting poems for possible rejection, you are sending your words to a ready-made and excited audience awaiting your poems in their mailboxes. Everyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifone loves getting postcards. And postcards whttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifith poems, all the better.

Once you start receiving postcard poems in the mail, you'll be able to respond to the poems and imagery with postcard poems or your own. That will keep your poems fresh and flowing. Be sure to check postage for cards going abroad. The Postcard Graveyard is a very sad place.

That's all there it to it. It's that fun and that easy.

To check out what we've done before, visit the blog [where you'll also see we also have Perennial Poetry Postcard List of folks who try to write a postcard poem at least once a week regardless of receiving in order to keep connections flowing.], Paul Nelson's website or our Facebook group.

Big thanks to Lana Ayers for making this go again.

David Sherwin article on Poetry Postcard Fest

David REALLY gets the idea of the August Poetry Postcard Fest. A great read for participants and non-participants alike. In another year where I have received several pre-typed cards, who does David think gets cheated when this happens? Read here. Thanks David. I hope the cards are flying out your mailbox.

Go

Today's the day to start writing poems and mailing them out. Start with three to the people just below you on the list. When you get to the bottom of the list, resume at the top. Three today and one a day starting August 1, hopefully inspired in part by cards being sent to you. Writing as you would a postcard, but this is a poem. Have fun. See you in September. - Paul

2010 August Poetry Postcard Call

Dear Poets,

The August Poetry Postcard Fest is taking sign-ups via the online system.

If you are ready to write a poem on a postcard everyday for the month of August sign up now. In addition to writing 31 wonderful poems yourself, you'll receive these wonderful postcards in your mailbox too.

Everyone who is interested will need to register online (even if you have participated in the past).

Your email will be your login and you choose a password.

Here's the link:
http://www.concretewolf.com/august2010

If you have any difficulty, email postcardpoetry@yahoo.com

Have a great time postcarding,
Lana

2010 August Poetry Postcard Call

From Lana Ayers:

Welcome to the August 2010 Postcard Poetry List!
Here's what's involved:

Get yourself at least 31 postcards. These can be found at book stores, thrift shops, online, drug stores, antique shops, museums, gift shops. (You'll be amazed at how quickly you become a postcard addict.)

On or about July 27th, write an original poem right on a postcard and mail it to the person on the list below your name. (If you are at the very bottom, send a card to the name at the top.) And please WRITE LEGIBLY!

Starting on August 1st, ideally in response to a card YOU receive, keep writing a poem a day on a postcard and mailing it to successive folks on the list until you've sent out 31 postcards. Of course you can keep going and send as many as you like but we ask you to commit to at least 31 (a month's worth).

What to write? Something that relates to your sense of "place" however you interpret that, something about how you relate to the postcard image, what you see out the window, what you're reading, using a phrase/topic/or image from a card that you got, a dream you had that morning, or an image from it, etc. Like "real" postcards, get to something of the "here and now" when you write.

Do write original poems for the project. Taking old poems and using them is not what we have in mind. These cards are going to an eager audience of one, so there's no need to agonize. That's what's unique about this experience. Rather than submitting poems for possible rejection, you are sending your words to a ready-made and excited audience awaiting your poems in their mailboxes. Everyone loves getting postcards. And postcards with poems, all the better.

Once you start receiving postcard poems in the mail, you'll be able to respond to the poems and imagery with postcard poems or your own. That will keep your poems fresh and flowing. Be sure to check postage for cards going abroad. The Postcard Graveyard is a very sad place.

That's all there it to it. It's that fun and that easy.

To check out what we've done before, visit the blog [where you'll also see we also have Perennial Poetry Postcard List of folks who try to write a postcard poem at least once a week regardless of receiving in order to keep connections flowing.], Paul Nelson's website or our Facebook group.

To get started, click to register. Once you've registered, you just need to login to see the list of participants.

Email postcardpoetry@yahoo.com if you have any questions.