Poetry Postcard Fest

Registration for Postcard Fest 2025 is closed.

Please come back on September 1, 2025 for Poetry Postcard Fest 2026 Early Bird Registration

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

Poetry Postcard Fest 2025 Event Registration Banner

How it Works

The fest is a self-guided 56 day workshop in spontaneous composition and community. Click to learn more about How it Works.

Poetry Postcard Fest News

#APPF13 Wrapup (What I Wrote)

It seems rather overwhelming to summarize my experience as a participant of the 13th August Poetry Postcard Fest which longtime participant Terry Holzman a few years ago nicknamed PoPo and an...

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The Joy of Postcards (Aug 2019 Reviews)

I titled my APPF essay for Rattle "The Joy of Postcards" but even though I was likening this activity to the subject of a famous book from the 60s, I was not far off based on some feedback from some...

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APPF13 Update

As of this writing there are 424 participants for the 13th Poetry Postcard Fest. Registration for 2019 ended July 18 and has BEGUN for APPF14. It will end July 4, 2020, earlier than in past years!...

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APPF (Postcards Are Here Again)

The signup is already open for the 13th August Poetry Postcard Fest and opens EVEN EARLIER for 2020. (July 18, 2019!) In order to allow as many people as possible to participate in the joy of...

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More Amazing Festimonials!

More Amazing Festimonials!

When we asked for testimonials from Poetry Postcard Fest participants, we never expected to be inundated. Check this: Elizabeth Maxey: This will be my 11th year with the fest, and I can’t imagine a...

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The Fest Starts in 14 Days

The Fest Starts in 14 Days

The 16th Poetry Postcard Fest begins July 4. Those who have registered and have 32 in their group will get their lists that day and those who have registered more recently will get a list by the...

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Fest Registration Closes July 4!

The 16th Poetry Postcard Fest begins July 4 and registration will end on that day! REGISTER NOW and await your postcard mirth! What do people say about the fest? Jessica Gershon: (The Poetry...

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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.

Sundays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
September 7 – October 5, 2025

Poet as Radio: Writing from Intuition

Poet as Radio web banner

Poet as Radio: Writing from Intuition

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.

Sundays 3-5:00 PM Pacific Time
September 7 – October 5, 2025

Poet as Radio web banner

Robert Duncan’s H.D. Book: The Roots of Modernism with Michael Boughn

Banner Robert Duncans HD Book Michael Boughn

We will read The H.D. Book together over 5 weeks. It’s a big book, so that’s a lot of reading, but he’s a joy to read, so it’s not exactly onerous. I will probably talk a bit at the beginning of each session and then open it up to the participants. I wrote the introduction. You should read it first. We can talk about that as well. The goal here is to let Duncan lead us into an encounter with the marvelous as we follow his encounter with H.D. as it led him into the depths of history, mind, and soul.

Wednesdays 5:30-7:30 PM Pacific Time
September 17 – October 15, 2025

Robert Duncan’s H.D. Book: The Roots of Modernism with Michael Boughn

We will read The H.D. Book together over 5 weeks. It’s a big book, so that’s a lot of reading, but he’s a joy to read, so it’s not exactly onerous. I will probably talk a bit at the beginning of each session and then open it up to the participants. I wrote the introduction. You should read it first. We can talk about that as well. The goal here is to let Duncan lead us into an encounter with the marvelous as we follow his encounter with H.D. as it led him into the depths of history, mind, and soul.

Wednesdays 5:30-7:30 PM Pacific Time
September 17 – October 15, 2025

Banner Robert Duncans HD Book Michael Boughn

Life as Rehearsal for the Poem and Poetics as Cosmology 2025 Workshops

A five week online (Zoom) workshop best suited for continuing participants and more experienced poets (open to open form) in 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 Fall  2025, we’ll explore a short history of Projective/Outside North American Poetry, focused on:

Whitman & Dickinson

  1. Whitman & Dickinson
  2. WCW & Lorine Niedecker
  3. Olson & Levertov
  4. McClure & di Prima
  5. Daphne Marlatt, Brenda Hillman, & Nate Mackey

    Life as Rehearsal for the Poem (LARFP)

    • Sundays, 3-5 PM PDT
    • November 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, 2025

    Poetics as Cosmology (PAC)

    • Thursdays, 3-5 PM PDT
    • October 30, November 6, 13, 20, and December 4, 2025
    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