From PPF board member JI Kleinberg:

If it’s April, it’s National Poetry Month, and that has me thinking about the upcoming Poetry Postcard Fest (PPF). Why now?

I usually sign up for the next PPF as soon as registration opens. But not always. So this is a really good time to double check (or register!). When you register, you receive an automatic email reply with the subject line Welcome to the Poetry Postcard Fest! If you search those words in your email, it should take you right to your Transaction Receipt. The message comes from Paul E Nelson pen@cascadiapoeticslab.org, so that’s another way to search.

This is also a good time to stock up on 1) postcards, and 2) stamps. If you’re someone who likes to make your own postcards, you may have already begun collecting materials or assembling cards. And stamps? Well, you never know when the rates are going up, so squirreling away a batch of Forever stamps at today’s rates could save you $$ down the line. As of April 2024, here are the rates:

• Postcards (5″ to 6″ long and 3-1/2″ to 4-1/4″ high): $0.53
• Letters (and postcards larger than above dimensions or non-machinable): $0.68
• International letters and postcards: $1.55

Of course National Poetry Month has me thinking more than ever about poetry and it’s an amazing source of inspiration for future postcards. Every place you look, there are prompts galore. Here are a few faves:

• 82 Writing Experiments by Bernadette Mayer 
• April Poem-A-Day Challenge at Writer’s Digest
• National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo)
• National Poetry Writing Month is also National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo) and you can find daily prompts on the NaHaiWriMo Facebook page

There’s one other thing I do in April. I take another look at the postcard poems I wrote in the previous year to see whether they have any chapbook potential. Is there a theme I did or didn’t notice? Could they be tweaked into a collection? Could a theme be developed or expanded with this year’s poetry postcards?

See you in the mail!