It has been a little while since we considered the art of postcard poetry. New examples come to hand all the time at Blogsy’s Postcard Bin, and I want to be sure you don’t miss any of the amazing discoveries which…I’ve told you about making faces like that.
The art of verse for postcards is not unlike that of writing verse for greeting cards. For every poet who puts heart and soul into the job, there are ten postcard artists who are thinking, “Come on: come up with some words that rhyme so we can get this month’s rent paid.” (Paying the rent can be just as strong an impulse to write good verse as bad verse. It’s just that so many people who would write better verse keep getting the reminder “Don’t do it good; do it Tuesday.”)
Given that postcards AND greeting cards are designed to be mailed to someone somewhere else, it is exceedingly fortunate that “here” rhymes with “dear”. But some poets DO push on to more complex work.
To those who complain a card just 2 ½ inches by 5 ½ inches doesn’t allow for a good picture and a good verse, we must point out that SOME artists are able to produce work of great urgency and drama in that space (even if the sender of the postcard may edit the text.)
And you can always squeeze your words INSIDE the picture.
Satire and sarcasm seem to inspire good work along these lines. These works of art may be descendants of the Vinegar Valentine tradition of the nineteenth century, when unpleasant pictures and mocking verse made for some of the best-selling greeting cards.
There was space, apparently, to attack the latest fads to threaten the sedate procession of days.
Or toss some pin-up art into the bargain.
This artist not only got the complaint and the illustration on a mere postcard, but some fancy lettering as well.
Sometimes an artist would spot a modern trend which would provide a theme for a series of postcards. As the automobile became more widespread, so too did the motorized play on words.
Which could be used as often as you could come up with new rhymey words for camouflage. (Remember the Jim Henson rule of comedy: A joke not worth telling once may be worth telling seventeen times.) This artist seemed to like drawing cars and houses best anyhow.
Of course, there’s always someone who overdoes it. This artist got so busy throwing Halloween decorations into the verse that we need to look at it two or three times to find out that it rhymes. Still and all, the picture was more likely to sell the postcard than the poetry. (This card sold within a few hours of my listing. Yeah, it was the pumpkins.)
Blogsy Babbles 