Getting Ready for Poetry Postcard Fest
From Postcard Poet Colleen Hein:
I’m simultaneously nervous and excited to send postcard poems to thirty-one strangers. The most important rule? Write the poem in one fell swoop -no drafts, no practicing your handwriting, just an outburst of words that cannot be taken back.
I want to be proud of my work. What if the poem stinks? What if a phrase is too long and won’t fit? How can I put my name on an imperfect piece? Well, considering all of my poems are imperfect, I have a lifetime of practice.
I bought postcards off of Zazzle with images of beloved paintings. I bought postcards off of Etsy with cute drawings. I threw a bundle of vintage ones in my cart, too, some weird and some just plain boring.
I drove to JoAnn Fabrics and purchased colored ink pads and flower stamps. I’ve been decorating the postcards like mad and probably will regret it because now there is less space for words.
The words! Where will I get all the words? I hope the simmering stew of sounds in my head, brewing for fifty-seven years, will yield many spoonfuls.
Wish me luck. I’ll keep you posted.
I’m going to hit Publish without a rewrite — eek!
Read Colleen’s original blog post HERE.
Poetry Postcard Fest 2024 starts JULY 4! REGISTER HERE.
Eeeeek is right! It’s a rush of teeth chattering and soul spinning, that first postcard poem. After that…. It gets easier. I hope to get that first one done TODAY! Wish me luck. 🙂
On my way to take postcards to my mailbox. No hesitation or crossing out. Yes,
some of them may suck if considered by any standard of poetry but this is not a competition. This is about spontaneity, and imagery and words, oh those words. I painted a stack of postcards and they’re hatching, they want to fly. I buy beautiful stamps, not necessarily postcard stamps, just intriguing and beautiful. I “discovered” August Postcard Poetry in 2013 and the daily process gave me sanity. My husband was dying of cancer. I wrote postcards. It cleared my mind and allowed me to drift off with a butterfly through the woods. Thanks, Paul. I am always grateful.
Love your sentiments! Yes, once we get started the words do just seem to flow. No re-writes yikes! oh well, here goes!!
I long ago got used to the idea each postcard is set loose on a vast sea and it miraculously reaches its intended destination. There’s no such thing as a half leap of faith. A tumble is as good as a soar!