Stack of postcards for PPF

An April Postcard from PPF board member J.I. Kleinberg

April 4, 2024
by Veronica Martinez

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:

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!

3 Comments

  1. Linda Flanagan

    Fabulous resources. I have to share a book that I discovered this winter (it was at a friend’s house, and then a week later at a bookshop, so of course I purchased it) Check it out: The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. Yes, it was the perfect synchronicity. It inspired me to write 300 plus haikus! Yes, I know, I have a lot of time on my hand!

  2. Ina

    Oooh, thanks for all the info on prompts! I’m too swamped this year to take part in the Poem A Day challenge, but I will definitely go back to all these prompts next month.

  3. C.J. Prince

    Thanks, Judy. I usually do Napowrimo but lie other options. And I’m making abstract watercolour cards. Such fun. I miss seeing you. Just got my Covid vaccine today so I’ll be out of it for a few days. All the best to all Cascadia poets!
    C.J.

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