The Poetry Postcard Festival inspired me to create what it creates: community. I joined for the first time last year and last year I launched the first annual speculative poetry, postcard exchange.

For World Postcard Day 2025, I created two postcards that I distributed to Corning (NY) Meals On Wheels recipients. I wanted to extend the audience and their involvement using my poetry and postcards as the medium.

I formulated a project and applied to my arts council for a grant. Called Divinations (the way/s by which I generate these poems), I was awarded the grant, funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts. The project includes creating six-5”X7” color postcards in quantities to reach about 900 people who get Meals On Wheels in Steuben and Chemung counties of New York State, as well as distributing to two libraries and The Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.

I’ve created three so far and have three more to make before the end of the year. I hope some recipients may actually use and send the postcards.

Those who receive Meals On Wheels are much like me, frail elders, in this semi rural, under resourced, micropolitan area, who are unable to get to stores and shop. As a lactose intolerant, non-meat eater for 55 years, I can’t be fed by most services.

I’m a visual artist as well as a poet so the grant includes a visual art component, too. I’m a hand papermaker and mixed media sculptor. Thus far I’ve created some new paper designs and several wireworks.

The Poetry Postcard Festival  inspired me to create another project, the Speculative Poetry MiniBook Exchange, the basis of which is the idea of folding and cutting one piece of paper in such a way that it forms its own booklet. I’ve since discovered and shared other related micro-book forms, and so folks may make micro chap books, exploring the intersection of art making, book making and poem sharing in this exchange.

The Poetry Postcard Festival also moved me to remember some ancient experiences I had conducting poetry workshops and giving readings in prisons (Rikers, Southport, Auburn, Nyantic, Bedford Hills). I was moved to apply for PEN’s prison poetry mentor program after the PPF connected us with the prison poetry program. One of the poems I wrote in 2025 for the PPF was about that ancient experience.

I remain grateful for the ways in which I’ve learned that despite my own profound physical limitations, and constrained resources, that I too could create new connections and experiences for the frail elderly like myself and others.

Thank you, PAUL and all the decades of volunteers for being such wonderful exemplars of peace, creativity and community.

Akua Lezli Hope
www.akualezlihope.com
www.speculativepoetry.com
www.disabilitypoetics.com