Poetry Postcard Fest

An annual 56 day self-guided workshop in spontaneous composition and community-building.

Poetry Postcard Fest 2025 Event Registration Banner

Poetry Postcard Fest

An annual 56 day self-guided workshop in spontaneous composition and community-building.

Poetry Postcard Fest 2025 Event Registration Banner

A five week online (Zoom) workshop for first-time and continuing participants in the online workshops facilitated by Cascadia Poetics Lab and Poetry Postcard Fest Co-Founder Paul E Nelson. Participate in reading and discussion of foundational essays, interviews, listening and other assignments, as well as spontaneous poetry composition exercises, in the first of three, five week courses to happen before next postcard season. Click to learn more.

Thursdays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
January 9 – February 6, 2025

Poetics As Cosmology Workshop

Web Banner Poetics As Cosmology Cascadian Zen Basket Four

Poetics As Cosmology Workshop

A five week online (Zoom) workshop for first-time and continuing participants in the online workshops facilitated by Cascadia Poetics Lab and Poetry Postcard Fest Co-Founder Paul E Nelson. Participate in reading and discussion of foundational essays, interviews, listening and other assignments, as well as spontaneous poetry composition exercises, in the first of three, five week courses to happen before next postcard season. Click to learn more.

Thursdays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
January 9 – February 6, 2025

Web Banner Poetics As Cosmology Cascadian Zen Basket Four

Life as Rehearsal for the Poem Workshop

Web banner Life as Rehearsal for the Poem Cascadian Zen Basket 4

A five week online (Zoom) workshop for first-time and continuing participants in the online workshops facilitated by Cascadia Poetics Lab and Poetry Postcard Fest Co-Founder Paul E Nelson. Participate in reading and discussion of foundational essays, interviews, listening and other assignments, as well as spontaneous poetry composition exercises, in the first of three, five week courses to happen before next postcard season. Click to learn more.

Sundays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
January 5 – February 2, 2025

Life as Rehearsal for the Poem Workshop

A five week online (Zoom) workshop for first-time and continuing participants in the online workshops facilitated by Cascadia Poetics Lab and Poetry Postcard Fest Co-Founder Paul E Nelson. Participate in reading and discussion of foundational essays, interviews, listening and other assignments, as well as spontaneous poetry composition exercises, in the first of three, five week courses to happen before next postcard season. Click to learn more.

Sundays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
January 5 – February 2, 2025

Web banner Life as Rehearsal for the Poem Cascadian Zen Basket 4

A 5-week online poetry workshop designed for folks with a wide variety of experience with poetry and with a keen interest in spirituality and the occult. This course is more than a workshop—it’s a journey into the unknown, where you’ll discover hidden messages and ideas both from within yourself and the outside world. Through chance, divination, games, and ritual, you’ll learn to trust your intuition and let your spontaneity guide your writing. Click to learn more.

Sundays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
November 10 – December 8, 2024

Poet as Radio: Writing from Intuition Workshop

Poet as Radio web banner

Poet as Radio: Writing from Intuition Workshop

A 5-week online poetry workshop designed for folks with a wide variety of experience with poetry and with a keen interest in spirituality and the occult. This course is more than a workshop—it’s a journey into the unknown, where you’ll discover hidden messages and ideas both from within yourself and the outside world. Through chance, divination, games, and ritual, you’ll learn to trust your intuition and let your spontaneity guide your writing. Click to learn more.

Sundays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
November 10 – December 8, 2024

Poet as Radio web banner

Zach Charles Releases First Book With Carbonation Press

Zach Charles releases first book of poetry, 24 Portraits at 24! Cascadia Poetics Lab volunteer and audio assistant Zach Charles has released their first book of poetry, 24 Portraits at 24, through Carbonation Press! The description of the book comes from Carbonation...

Celebrate Cascadia Poetics Lab on Giving Tuesday!

Celebrate CPL on Giving Tuesday Dec. 3! We thank all participants and attendees at the recent 8th Cascadia Poetry Festival. We hope to stage this at the Hugo House annually for years to come. Videos and photos from the festival will be shared on the Cascadia Poetics...

Poetry Postcard Certificates!

Share your postcard poems for a PPF certificate!  Thank you so much to every postcard poet that has already shared their postcard art and poems! Postcard poets that share 3 images of their postcard art with the accompanying poems get a certificate as a thank you for...

Rest in Poetry Richard Osler

Postcard poet Richard Osler died last night. Huge thanks to all postcard poets who wrote & sent a postcard poem to this fine human and poet. He accepted death like no one I have ever known. A book, his last love letter to life entitled What Holiness Will I Bring,...

Poetry Postcard Fest News

The Windfall (Zach Charles)

The Windfall (Zach Charles)

It happened! As the Poetry Postcard Fest begins, the universe has bestowed me with a gift. The winter ‘97 issue of The Kenyon Review, produced from an unlabeled cardboard box of mostly chewed up...

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Crackers, Carbs, & Postcards…

Crackers, Carbs, & Postcards…

From Sally Hedges-Blanquez: I just opened some empty boxes, flattened them, & chopped away with my old school paper cutter. Instead of 3 boxes bound for the recycle bin,I’ve got 6 postcards and...

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Holding Meaning Lightly

Holding Meaning Lightly

In 2017 the great Zen poet Norman Fischer had this Facebook post: Poems are not necessarily supposed to do you any good. People think that poems have some meaning embedded in them and that the...

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The Poetry Postcard Fest, initiated by poets Paul Nelson and Lana Ayers in 2007, invites participants to create and send 31 original poems on postcards throughout August. The fest emphasizes spontaneity, with poems written in one take directly onto postcards for recipients worldwide. Registration opens annually on September 1, and participants receive a list of fellow poets to exchange cards with. A $15 contribution supports the Cascadia Poetics LAB, and scholarships are available. For more details and resources on postcard poetry, visit How it Works or check out related essays and wrap-ups from past participants.

How the Poetry Postcard Fest Works

Abhaya Thomas Postcard

How the Poetry Postcard Fest Works

The Poetry Postcard Fest, initiated by poets Paul Nelson and Lana Ayers in 2007, invites participants to create and send 31 original poems on postcards throughout August. The fest emphasizes spontaneity, with poems written in one take directly onto postcards for recipients worldwide. Registration opens annually on September 1, and participants receive a list of fellow poets to exchange cards with. A $15 contribution supports the Cascadia Poetics LAB, and scholarships are available. For more details and resources on postcard poetry, visit How it Works or check out related essays and wrap-ups from past participants.

Abhaya Thomas Postcard