Poetry Postcard F.A.Q.’s
1. Can I start now or do I have to wait until August?
By all means start if you have received your list of 32 names/addresses.
2. If we can start now, why do you call it the August Poetry Postcard Fest?
We don’t. Some of the old-timers do, lord bless ’em.
3. Do I have to use a quote to start my poem?
No, but some postcard poets find it helps me get some direction for the poem.
4. Can I do an erasure?
YES!
5. What about language representations of bird or other animal sounds?
Now that would be something.
6. What if my group does not get 32 participants?
You can complain on the Facebook page, but should that event occur, we’ll alert the whole list and ask those in the penultimate group to write a few more, as well as those annual over-achievers who send out 40 or more.
Erasure Poem
Erasure poem derived from The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Sunday 6 July 1662.
Andy Thomas, Bird Sounds Visualized
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7. Why didn’t you approve my post on the PPF Facebook page?!?
You were complaining.
8) Are you making some of these questions up?
Yes, but some of the ones I am leaving out are worse!
9) What is the key to success with the postcard project?
Learning to trust your gut and not worrying about writing a “bad poem.” Learning to put poetry closer to the front of your life’s focus once the fest starts (only for a few weeks) and look at everything as potential material for a poem. Slowing down, allowing time each day (or every other day) to make it a ritual to write the poem and read a lot of other poetry during the fest. Reading some of the essays that have been written in previous years and don’t cheat. You know who you are cheating and it ain’t the Facebook page complainers. Also proper diet and, in the words of Allen Ginsberg, ” noticing what you notice” be it p-patch dragonflies, the smell of a summer bbq or the smell of your lover’s hair. Have fun and stay tuned to this blog for info on the Postcard Anthology, for which a call will be going out. Abrazos.