FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 8, 2024
Contact: Paul E. Nelson pen@cascadiapoeticslab.org

CASCADIA POETICS LAB TO HOST 18TH POETRY POSTCARD FEST AND POSTCARDS FROM HERE EVENT

By Veronica Martinez, Cascadia Poetics Lab Administrative Assistant

Unleash your poetic creativity with Cascadia Poetics Lab’s 18th Poetry Postcard Fest and Postcards from Here event! Cascadia Poetics Lab invites anyone interested in writing and receiving personal, original poetry to participate from July 4-August 31, 2024 by writing daily poems on postcards and sharing them with other participants around the globe. The organization will be celebrating this long running festival with its first in person postcard event on July 14, 2024 at 11 A.M. PDT at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, WA!

Postcards from Here is a celebration of the Poetry Postcard Fest, which was started in 2007 and in 2023 featured 518 participating poets from 8 different countries. The Poetry Postcard Fest is a self-guided 56 day workshop that involves receiving a mailing list of other poets to whom they will send 31 first draft poems on postcards. The structure of the fest allows for flexibility of time to write and send the postcards, but it is suggested the poems be written and sent between July 4 and August 31st. Postcards can be purchased or hand-made, and participants are encouraged to be creative with themes and images! Postcards from Here will feature three long-time Poetry Postcard Fest poets from around the country that will facilitate workshops focused on their personal approaches to writing and sending first-draft poems on postcards!

Throughout the duration of the fest, participants are encouraged to put poetry in the forefront of their lives by perceiving every moment as possible material for poetry, as well as putting aside time in their day to write postcard poems and read poetry for inspiration. The festival is seen as an exercise of both community and discipline, to dedicate oneself to writing thirty-one poems in 56 days, using limited space and mailing the postcards to other participant poets around the world. As described by participant Ina Roy-Faderman in a testimonial describing the 2016 Poetry Postcard Festival, “the words are out in space to touch someone else. And someone is sending you an essential moment of themselves–out of the goodness of their hearts, out of a willingness to commit to a piece of deep honesty and trust–which you get to hold in your hands.”

Join the Cascadia Poetics Lab for the Poetry Postcard Fest and Postcards from Here event to discover the wonders of connecting through poetry! Anyone is willing to attend the Postcards from Here event at the Olympic Sculpture Park on July 14, 2024 at 11 A.M. Registration for this event is not required. Registration for the Poetry Postcard Fest is still open at PoetryPostcardFest.org for a fee of $21. Scholarships are available for those in need committed to writing and sending 31 poems during the fest. Anyone with interest is encouraged to participate, and a background in poetry or writing is not necessary to have a meaningful experience. For information on Cascadia Poetics Lab’s events and tips for poetry writing, visit https://cascadiapoeticslab.org/ or Cascadia Poetics Lab’s Facebook page.

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Cascadia Poetics Lab, a Seattle-based nonprofit, was founded in Auburn, Washington, on December 14, 1993. Founding Director Paul E. Nelson is available for interviews. (206) 422.5002 or pen@cascadiapoeticslab.org