Who doesn’t like getting poems in the mail?

I participated in Paul Nelson’s Poetry Postcard Fest this year, and it has been both inspiring and refreshing.  When I signed up, I joined a list of thirty other poets, most from the United States, but one from Canada and one from Australia.  I had to buy, make, or find thirty postcards and write impromptu epistle poems to each person.  I purchased a set of Pantone color chip postcards made by Chronicle Books and used each color as the inspiration for a different poem/recipient.  Each poem was an exercise in stream-of-consciousness; I had a rough starting point (with the color) and specific restrictions (in the size of the postcard), and while it took me a few postcards to get in the groove, I eventually settled on a coherent style, which you can see in the images below.  Each recipient found two poems, one on the front and back, which was double the fun for me.  I recommend all poets partake in this fest; it’s great for exercising the poetic muscles, and it’s been a joy to see what people have come up with via their own combinations of postcard and poetry.