From PPF Board Member Margaret Lee,
June 1, 2024
Early in May I received a card in the mail on turquoise, marbled paper in a handmade envelope. I knew from the handwriting that it came from my poet friend in Minnesota and would contain several exuberant haikus. (I was right.) Last week, my monthly Zoom call with a creative in Manhattan helped me to put the finishing touches on my first full-length poetry manuscript, which I submitted to a contest last Tuesday. The idea for the book came from a poet friend in Oregon who blurbed one of my chapbooks. All three of these folks are Postcard poets, two of whom I met in my very first Poetry Postcard Fest in fateful 2020. When I registered for that event I knew a total of zero poets and had published nothing.
Friends, if you’re on the fence about registering for the Fest, DO IT. It’s a magical blend of an ethereal network and a physical artifact. Each card makes a bodily connection to another poet far away, and those connections last. Why? Because your words matter. Not sure if you’re a poet? Let me help you: yes, you are. Wanting to commit a few words to a postcard is all it takes. Do you worry that you aren’t a real writer? Nonsense. Writers write. If you put words on a postcard, you’re a writer. Do you think you might lose interest? Are you kidding? Who doesn’t like to get a postcard in the mail?!? The real danger is that you’ll be hooked forever! Dive in! The water’s fine! (And I hope you’ll be in my group!)
-Margaret Lee
I’m game!
Such clarity! We’re going to send emails to allow people to validate their mailing address so we do not have to send draft lists ever again! Thanks for being part of this community Margaret.
I’m looking forward to postcard season. Thanks for the reasons to participate. Who could say no to such pleasure as holding a postcard with a poem written on it.
Margaret,
Thank you for those words of encouragement. I had signed myself up a few days ago and was asking myself “what have I done?”
This came just at the right time.