Poets Among Us: Tit-for-Tat Poetry Received

[Thom Courcelle]

You never truly know someone until you see their heart bared... Or they send you some first rate self-composed poetry along with their mail art...

Earlier this year I sent out some of my own trite verse that noted how quickly the seasons and months flew by. The most that might be said about my meager composition was that it cleverly rhymed...

But some of my creative mail art correspondents took it as an opportunity, or challenge, to send some of their own composed poetry. And what talent abounds in the IUOMA eternal network! More often, one hears about “visual poetry” on this website. But how lucky to be delighted by both visual and linguistic artifice!

Bonnirdiva sent a lovely little handcrafted envelope that contained a terrific miniature collage AND a lovely little poem of nostalgia. It recalls a residence where the author lived in the 1970s, and is full of sights and sounds and flavors:

Jean Jackson is from my old stomping grounds of Seattle,Washington (and I’m very pleased to have an acquaintance back there). Jean sent an altered return window envelope featuring Felix the Cat.

Inside—whoa—it’s the best grab-bag of mail art one could ask for! Stamp art—some appearing self-carved; an altered postcard featuring a Seattle skyline; a portrait sketch-drawing (and wow, how great it is!); and a really nice letter noting changes in the city_for better or for worse...

But what’s that last slip of paper I find hiding in the recesses of the envelope. It’s a poem! “Woman in a Tree” is complex. One has to assume it is metaphor. It expresses the paradox of relationships, or existing in a world that wants to hear our voice, but strangles us simultaneously. It’s brilliant...

These were the first pieces of mail art correspondence that I had had the opportunity to exchange with these two lovely IUOMA members. And what delight to discover how much creativity exits in our small-yet-expansively-large community. My advice is don’t be scared to introduce yourself to new exchange friends... You never know the amazing scope of creativity and insight into another human soul you may experience. Thanks to both Bonnie and Jean for sharing their art and their words.  May the eternal network continue to be filled with heartfelt poetry—visual and literary...

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

Nice to see our poets! 

David Stone has sent...must blog all soon, too: