Bolivia Postcard Poems

My first real contact with postcard poems came from an NPR broadcast which touched on the process of exchanging post cards with short poetic verse and how one such exchange produced the words of Wyn Cooper "Fun" that turned into Sheryl Crows 1993 Grammy-winning son, "All I Wanna So."

My next intro to postcard poems was via the collaborations between Cassie Lewis and Del Ray Cross that started I believe in 2001 and resulted in a chapbook. Another collaboration between Stephanie Young and Cassie Lewis was also published in a chapbook.

The whole concept of postcard poetry is very interesting to me and so I was anxious to see yet another example of this form of poetic exchange.

Bolivia Postcard Poems by Linda Pope and James A. Collins is a 34 page work that is the result of their longest separation to this point, a week that Linda spent on a Mission trip to Bolivia.

I was impressed with the raw honesty of feeling that seemed to leap from the print as I read through the chapbook. Even in anticipation of the departure Linda's gummy bears... Oklahoma air and the scent of jac's body fresh from the shower provide a very intimate image.

Linda shares the stage with physical feelings (sickness) as well as emotional. She puts it all out there including the manner in which the native people touch her life.

James prayerful in verse... I get the feeling that he finds some comfort and solitude in nature through Linda's absence. In some way, it feels like that perhaps rather than a substitute for her, it brings him closer to her.

One of my favorite verses... "and the rain came / to wash away the night / van winkle's bowlers / scored strikes til 4 a.m."

In Linda and James collaborative effort I see a personal dynamic that send a strong message about the comfort of poetic expression that gives a great deal of relevancy to this medium in today's society.

Many of you may know James through his blog: Love During Wartime which won the Stick Poet Blog Sweeps this fall.

Copies of Bolivia Postcard Poems are available E-mail James