…It’s the vehicle for getting the offering to other poets. (from Sally Hedges-Blanquez)
Here are a few things I’ve learned in the 5 years I’ve been a postcard poet:
● Postcards can be made from boxes you were planning to recycle. (Triscuits,
Grape Nut Flakes, Applegate Turkey Burgers) Just open the box and use an
existing postcard as a template (3 ¾ x 5 ¾ ish). Trace around the pattern &
cut. Or make good use of that yard sale paper cutter you have.
● Let folks know you need postcards. You will get postcards. Just yesterday I
stopped at a Little Free Library & found a stack of postcards. Leave some
for others.
● Upcycle note cards you’ve gotten into postcards.
● I’ve found that having a supply of 40 cards works. I can randomly pick one
card and write my poem. My first year writing postcard poems was very
labor intensive. I “researched” whatever the image was and wrote after what
seemed like hours of Google searches. Exhausted? I was.
● Now I’m more inspired when I write after my morning dog walk. I might
write about a plant I saw. Don’t be afraid to use the plant’s name–Berberis
vulgaris. Or use the name you called it as a child– the giant prickle bush.
The words will take you on their own walk. Look at the colors of things.
Smell the peaches ripening on the white china plate. Maybe describing the
scent takes you to the kitchen of your childhood home. You were small, but
slipped the skins from the Elberta peaches while your mom was in charge
of the canning. It was a symphony. Give us the pleasure of it.
● Stamps can also be an offering. One year I found 4 sheets of new “vintage”
Postage stamps at a thrift store. I tried to continue the theme of the poem
with the stamp I put on the postcard. This year I’m back to using Forever
stamps. I figure my postcards may be a little “off” sizewise so the extra
postage is my insurance.
● Keep photos of the front & back of each completed postcard. I also type
My poems in a Word Doc. I want to be able to harvest from my poems.
Maybe a line from my first postcard poem gets used in another poem.
Maybe I pull a line from each of my August poems and grow a new poem.
● I write my poems on the back of an envelope or some random piece of
scratch paper. The paper offers itself to me again. I also give myself permission
to consult a dictionary before planting my poem on the postcard
in ink. Sometimes I forget to see if the postcard will absorb the ink from
my pen. To save the poem from becoming a smear, I’ll tape over the poem
with transparent tape.
● I pause, sip my coffee, & look out my window to lilacs, white flowering
currant, delphinium and other plants. Consider where you will write. What
supplies need to be close? What sounds do you want to hear? (music, texts,
_______________________________________________________________________________
birdsong from the open window)
● Yes. There’s probably more to say, but you will learn as you go. That’s true
in my garden & most definitely true in my writing
Bravo Fun-filled ways to be an inspired postcard poet!
Sally, how inspiring you are!
Thanks for the lessons & the joy
you give us.
Postcards from Sally are the highlight of my day. I know there is one person out there that was thinking about me in the moment. Thank you. You have encouraged me to pick up postcards here and there over the years. Not by words but your actions. Your own poetry pushes me to stretch the boundaries of my own mind. I would like to add, You remind me a lot of my grandmother. She always had a listening ear to go along with her positive encouragement. I remember being “stuck” on the farm during a summer break. I knew my best friend was going to Hawaii with her own family. I watched each plane going overhead from the creek banks wondering if my friend was on the plane. Grandma walked up and suggested we have a Hawaiian Luau. First we had to husk the corn to make our grass skirts. My two cousins (Babs and Sally) were there. Us girls made grass skirts and we had a blast. Grandma got the corn husked. She was brilliant! Thank you for being my cousin.
I agree with everyone else that this is inspiring. Like what Terri said and the way you painted the love postcards in words easily pictured and as Terri noted, stretch the boundaries of “our” mind.
Pretty sure I am the Maggie that received that card. For weeks after, I checked my
hallway for Barbies. Love your work! These are great suggestions.
Love tips from other postcard poets! Thank you!
Sandi
Great advice and tips! Not quite sure yet if I’ll just be using cards on hand this year or what but I look forward to sending out poems each day. Look for what your eye notices. Don’t be afraid to send off your words. Someone is there to receive them.
Thx all. You read my first blog post… It was easier to write than I anticipated. (Glad the card made it to you Maggie.)
These suggestions are poetic and inspirational. From Sally’s creative envelopes, to her caring way of sending Basil! I am always eager to see what she invents next!
& it was high quality Sally.
I enjoyed this post; not just because it was from my sister and included a comment from my cousin. No, the post represents raw thought and emphasizes connection with others through a simple instrument (the postcard) which when created with innovation and love, helps ground us. The original (created) postcard puts the mundane enterprise of commercial, mass produced imitations of human communication to shame.
Sally, I’m a first timer and as someone who is trying to break my pattern of overachieving ( because it’s exhausting) , I really benefited from reading this post!
I’m going to keep it simple and my only goal for my first year is to make sure all the postcards go out.