by Paul Nelson | Oct 29, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
More Salish art and a poem resulting from what the postcard fest instructions suggested since year 1, that is “something of the here and now” should/could get into the poem. That’s what postcards are after all, no? My ongoing battle with dehydration and the fest as...
by Paul Nelson | Oct 19, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
The latest poem from the 2015 August Poetry Postcard Fest. (See other poems here.) A Georgia O’Keeffe card and great epigraph from Joanne Kyger, the composition of which affected the content. (Wait til the ink dries!)
by Paul Nelson | Oct 12, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
This poem reminds me of the on and off dialog I have been having with a Canadian poet who is down on post-modernism because much of it is: “gibberish” in his view, but whose own work is clichéd and sentimental. How would one translate whale speak into a poem. It...
by Paul Nelson | Sep 29, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
This 2015 August Poetry Postcard Fest poem continues the “being as comedian” thread from the last poem, makes a reference to a direction in a prompt I saw online and alludes to some of the more out of line kvetching brought on by the implementation of a fee for the...
by Paul Nelson | Sep 16, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
The largest category of (August Poetry Postcard Fest) cards I send out, in terms of the image, feature Coastal Salish art. I think this is one of the world’s most potent artistic traditions, on a par with any movement at any time in history, and in this case there is...
by Paul Nelson | Sep 3, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
Poem #2 in the 2015 August Poetry Postcard Fest. (Audio here.)
by Paul Nelson | Aug 30, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
Autumn came in with a bang yesterday, three weeks early. (Damage is said to be in the tens of millions of dollars.) It’s odd, but early Spring and early Summer this year were greeted with great joy. Early Fall? Ugh. Truth is many around here loved the early rain...
by Paul Nelson | Aug 27, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
This is the first “official” poetry postcard of mine for 2015, year 9. I sent out one “practice card” to someone from last year’s list, but THIS year I decided to use Joanne Kyger’s new book On Time as a source of epigraphs. I am...
by Paul Nelson | Aug 9, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
The second poem from the 2015 August Poetry Postcard Fest, this one is really the first, since #505 was a dry run and #506 starts the poems that all lead off with a quote from Joanne Kyger. And I am finding her new book On Time wonderful and am getting all sorts of...
by Paul Nelson | Aug 9, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
Thanks to Sam Hamill’s suggestion, I have been reading Crowded by Beauty a biography of Beat Poet and Zen Monk Philip Whalen by David Schneider. Am loving it and finding it a great companion and inspiration for the 9th annual August Poetry Postcard Fest. The...
by Paul Nelson | Jul 29, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
I know what you are thinking. Don’t put any more energy into things like this, but my strong sense of justice is begging me to respond. So, after changing another dirty diaper from my 3 year old and reading her a pre-nap story of Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore (also...
by Paul Nelson | Jul 27, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
The signup for the 9th August Poetry Postcard Fest is final and the list has been sent to all participants. The total number of participants is down from an all-time high in 2014 – 423, to 208 in 2015, but the addition of a small signup fee discouraged some and...
by Paul Nelson | Jul 24, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
I was taking my corridor walk June 23, 2015, and was stunned by the reflection of the sun on wavelets of Lake Washington. I tried to get a decent video capture of the phenomenon (after looking at a Seagull I thought was a Blue Heron) and you get some idea from that. I...
by Paul Nelson | Jul 20, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
A few random questions posed by participants, or would-be participants, in the 2015 August Poetry Postcard Fest. By the way, this is your last call for registration as that ends July 27 at 12:01 a.m. 1) Can I start now or do I have to wait until August? By all means...
by Paul Nelson | Jul 16, 2015 | Poetry Postcard Fest
I got an unsigned email this morning about the postcard fest: hello paul wondering – why is there a fee for participating now? what is done with over $4000 you would collect if over 400 sign up (and pay) again? i have done the august postcard poetry event for...
