Poetry Postcard Fest 2026
Early Bird Registration
The Poetry Postcard Fest is an annual 56-day experiment in spontaneity and community building. This literarary event is a self-guided workshop in spontaneous composition where people sign up to send 31 original poems on postcards to folks on a participation list before the end of August. The fest was initiated in 2007 by poets Paul E. Nelson and Lana Ayers, and has grown to include poets participating worldwide. Registration opens annually on September 1.
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
Bay Area Postcard Readings!
The launch of 56 Days of August: Poetry Postcards, an anthology that was ten years in the making is finally happening in the Bay Area THIS WEEKEND! Ina Roy-Faderman has worked tirelessly to help...
Ellensburg Poetry Prowl, Postcards in Bay Area
Upcoming gig alert! 11am, March 24, 2018: Book Passage, Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA. Join us for a celebration of the publication of 56 Days of August (Five Oaks Press) – readers will include...
Two Anthologies
I was delighted to participate in the open mic called Poetry Bridge, Wednesday, October 25, 2017, at the C&P Coffeehouse aka: West Seattle's Living Room. Leopoldo Seguel holds court, introduces...
Launch of 56 Days
The anthology 56 Days of August: Poetry Postcards is out in the world and the three co-editors were among the poets reading from the book and discussing their practice of creating, composing and...
Death Rattle, WA 129, Postcards, Cascadia Po Fest
It used to be that the summer in Seattle had very little in the way of literary arts events. When Labor Day weekend came around, poets got caught up at Bumbershoot at the Bookfair and the Sunday...
Death Rattle, Postcard Panel, IndieGoGo Request
Some events of note for those interested in my work: Monday, October 2, 2017, I have been invited to read for the Striped Water Poets in Auburn, Washington at the Rainbow Cafe, 7pm, 112 E. Main...
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...
The Fest Starts in 22 Days
Thanks to the folks who came to our Inside the Day Song workshop last Saturday. More news about that project will be forthcoming. Now is the time for the last-minute postcard fest registrants to...
Earlybird Registration Ends June 4!
Hard to believe it is one month until the start of the 2022 Poetry Postcard Fest. Registration is OPEN NOW and earlybird registration ends June 4. On Saturday, June 11 at 9am PDT, join fest...
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: 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
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
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
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
- Whitman & Dickinson
- WCW & Lorine Niedecker
- Olson & Levertov
- McClure & di Prima
- 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
How the Poetry Postcard Fest Works
Abhaya Thomas Postcard
How the Poetry Postcard Fest Works
Abhaya Thomas Postcard