2023 Poetry Postcard Fest Thoughts

I started the postcard poetry fest early this year, about a week after receiving my list of addresses. Thirty-one names plus my own in group one (those over-eager, sign-up-right-away people). After a few years of hearing encouragement to start anytime after getting the list, for some reason this year I took it to heart.

In theory, it shouldn’t matter when you start, as long as you finish by the end of August. Originally the fest was all of August and that’s how I did it – one postcard a day with a newly written poem for each. I often started a few days early in hopes that the August first recipient might get it about on the day. No mail on Sundays of course so either two on Saturday or on Monday. I try to send the international cards early to account for long travel times.

This year, I started writing out my cards and off they went, one most days like normal. The only difference is that nothing arrived in my mailbox for days. I gave myself a pep talk, because I often am saying that the festival is all about the writing and sending, and the dailiness and the cards you receive are bonus. I strongly believe that. So I kept writing. Eventually August started and there was facebook chatter about people starting as there often is. Cards started arriving. I was a few weeks ahead though. I wrote some bonus cards. I wrote some response cards. I didn’t worry so much about sending the Sunday cards early because I was so far ahead. I just stuck with the plan of writing every day.

My own August tradition has been to send one card of my own design to everyone on the list – a day thirty-one card. It’s often something to do with my mailbox and mailboxes in general. I started thinking about this, but without the pressure of the end of August looming up close at hand. Got my card ready and now what?

I started hand-writing the cards a few at a time (rather than printing out the back with the same poem(s) to all), looking at what I’d received from people and writing a note and a response if I could. If not I chose from a handful of haiku I’d written for this. And so I finished a little before the end of the month and in the full swing of things, and feeling pretty good about it.

I think in the future I’ll stick with my normal timeline of starting just a day or two before August first. I was surprised that I missed the sense that I was one of a mass of people writing and sending poems. That mattered more to me than I’d known. And I’ll continue on keeping track of cards received so I can easily look to see what someone has sent me, in case there is a poetic response to be sent. Even if nothing pops up, it’s still nice to re-read at the time of writing and send thanks and acknowledgement.

So thank you Group One and all my bonus card friends!

my postcard to you
was magically changed to yours
by the mailman

Posted in Art in the world, Do the Work, haiku, Poetry and Lyrics, postcard poetry fest, the creative process, traditions, watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Remember

This year marks twenty-two years since that day. Over the last week or so I’ve noticed people are saying things like “we need to all grieve, whether we lost someone or not, directly or not…” We did all lose someones that day, and we lost part of ourselves too, and our innocence. Maybe not innocence exactly, but maybe some of our belief that good will triumph was shaken…

We still remember that beautiful September morning, blue skies and all the promise of back to school and autumn ahead. While I may repeat my post from year to year in memory of that day and the lives lost and changed forever, the feelings are fierce.

Things have changed in the world due to politics and a pandemic. The flow of days and what happens has changed, probably forever. But, we all know where we were; how we heard; what we thought; what happened next, even while trying to swim and keep our heads above water today. We may be frightened by different events as we were by the idea of homeland security and attacks against Americans by other Americans because they looked different or worshiped difference. Things aren’t that different now. Much of our fears and anger are created within our own borders these days. People are hard to understand, their actions sometimes unreasonable, dangerous, unloving, full of rage and hatred without realistic cause.

REMEMBER

911, quilt by Mary Beth Frezon, 2001. Photo by Pearl Yee Wong of the Michigan State University Museum

This is what I wrote as an early statement about this quilt:

September 11, 2001
The phone rang. I watched my mother talking and prepared myself to hear that someone had died. Who could have imagined? We didn’t have a TV where we were so we didn’t get the barrage of instant images. All we could do is listen to the phoned reports and wonder.

What stuck me about that day was the change. The sky was crystal blue, the Adirondack water still sparkled with the sun, the mountains still held in the lake on all sides. What had changed was me. I felt that someone had knocked a hole in my body or head. That there was a gap between the me of a few minutes before and the me now. I looked at the others and they seemed to have the same problem putting themselves into this new existence.

I’ve used simple images to portray that turning point where the innocent happiness changed on a moment in time. I’ve left a suggestion that this will continue to evolve. All grief becomes tempered over time but how long before the memory of that moment is softened?

We continue to remember and take the time to memorialize and to remember.

…I grabbed the last Sunday Times
You stole my cab
We waited forever at the bus stop
We sweated in steamy August
We hunched our shoulders against the sleet
We laughed at the movies
We groaned after the election
We sang in church
Tonight I lit a candle for you
All of you

from — “Nine-Eleven” by Charlotte Parsons


Remember.

Recently I realized that people coming into an age to work and to vote were either just born or about to be born in 2001. So we begin layers of people who have no connection, no memory of that day or its events. I realize that small children alive then don’t really remember, in the way that some younger than me at the time don’t remember Kennedy being killed. I don’t always know what to make of everything that brought us to this time, but I am still here, trying to do what’s right and making art and words and to keep remembering.

I remember being buoyed up by the responses to the September 11th attacks and also being worried about the sudden homeland security and searches and all “to protect us”. And I remember the rising tide of hatred, surrounded by all those flapping patriotic flags, hatred against those “other” people who hated us enough to want to hurt and terrify us. And here we are today.

Tides of fear and anger and hatred rise up over and over again and we must rise up too without fear and without anger and without hatred. Not in my name. Be strong enough to resist those easy paths and act with understanding.

Be kind. Be kind. Be kind.


This is the quilt I was working on that day as it was in September, 2001. It is still a favorite and still filled with loss.

This is Repercussion, the quilt I worked on in 2002. (Now in private collection)

Posted in quilting, RESIST, Ripped from the headlines, Sept. 11, the creative process | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Warez MB Been? But Exciting News!

I was doing a 30 day paint thing with a friend and posting more privately so apologies for the gap.

The last few days though I’ve had a little interruption – as two new kittens have arrived. Shout out to Kitten Angels and their fostering network and to Emily of Tiny But Mighty who fostered four black kittens and their black mama! We are taking it slow and steady and today spent some quality time downstairs. The little girl-cat discovered a nice cat bed with a view of a bird feeder and let her brother wander around downstairs giving pitiful wails without so much as a little prrrrt in response. The bed could easily hold four kittens but no – she didn’t feel like sharing or reassuring. I showed him where she was and he wasn’t interested.

So I used the time to update the cat cam. Stay tuned for future adventures with these two! I don’t know if we’ll be able to tell them apart once the collars come off but we shall see. (Names to be determined – in foster they were Maude and Frances.) And I better brush up my photo skills to accommodate two all-black cats.

PS Ginny and Harry are wonderfully ensconced with my Mom – but alas no cat cam there.

Posted in Administrivia, cats helpful cats, CatsOfMastodon, family and friends, geeky stuff, kittens, taking time to look | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Long way ’round back home

I went and did a couple errands with mom and then we had dinner. We were admiring the variety of clouds and she suggested we go to my normal look out near her to take some photos. Brought her back home and then took the long rambling way back home, stopping a few times to take more photos. Got home and did this, which really didn’t look like any of the clouds specifically but the landscape was pretty close, what there was of it.

Posted in clouds, Do the Work, In the neighborhood, june challenge, taking time to look, the creative process, watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

TGIF painting

I went out this morning thinking to paint at Hand Hollow. I stopped and finished my coffee there but it was too hot to paint. Listened to the birds awhile and then went home and painted from my porch. I had my bubba packed with ice and a cool beverage.

Then I had a bit oƒ dinner and went off to Claverack for the opening reception of an exhibit, paintings of the Columbia County Plein Air Artists. This was at the Claverack Free Library. Very nice drive and nice exhibit room.

Came home and looked at the three peppers I’d gotten at the community frig in New Lebanon earlier – very picturesque! So I did a quick painting of them too.

Posted in Art in the world, Do the Work, en plein air, food, gardens and flowers, In the neighborhood, june challenge, landscape, taking time to look, the creative process, watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment