Prologue to summer, epilogue to summer, and every sun-soaked day in between: Prolific Pulse Press is thrilled to announce the release of Indelible Ink: Postcard Poems and Paintings from the 2025 Postcard Poetry Fest by Colorado poet and painter Jennifer Gurney, available October 30, 2026.
Thirty Postcards, Thirty Poems, Two Days
Every August, writers around the world sign up for the Postcard Poetry Fest. Each receives a list of names and addresses, and through the month they write a poem on the back of a postcard and mail it to a stranger, while poems from fellow poets arrive in their own mailbox.
Jennifer didn’t just write her postcards. She painted them. In a single day at her kitchen table, with music playing, coffee within reach and her curious cat keeping watch, she painted all thirty cards. The next day she wrote all thirty poems. Every poem in Indelible Ink is a true first draft, sent out into the world unrevised, paired with the bold, layered abstract painting it traveled on.
The result is a book of summer: watermelon, fireflies, thunderstorms, and a teacher’s wish that August would slow down just a little.
A Gift Economy in Book Form
What makes the Postcard Poetry Fest special, Jennifer says, is that someone writes a poem just for you, and you write one just for them. She calls the festival the epitome of authenticity and generosity. Indelible Ink honors that community of poets and brings its spirit to readers everywhere.
The vibrant cover painting is Jennifer’s own favorite from the collection, and, like the covers of all 16 of her poetry books, it comes from her brush.
Read the Interview
Want the story behind the book? In our new interview, Jennifer talks about painting thirty postcards in a day, the German and Irish voices in her head that argue over revisions, her Art Heals project after the Marshall Fire, what her fourth graders thought of the poems, and her advice for anyone nervous about sharing a first draft.
👉 Read the full interview with Jennifer Gurney
About the Author & Artist
Jennifer Gurney is a Colorado-based poet and painter who also teaches and hikes. She has published 16 books and nearly 3,500 poems internationally, with work recognized in two international contests and featured in a choral performance, a D.C. yard sign, Australian theater screens, the Rx Poetry project, and a bus sign in Racine, Wisconsin. Her manuscript We Are Never Ready: A Collection of Grief Poems earned Honorable Mention for the 2025 Concrete Wolf Louis Award, and Curvature of Life was a semi-finalist for The Word Works’ 2025 Tenth Gate Prize. As a painter, she creates vibrant, experimental abstract acrylics that have appeared in magazines, anthologies, and local exhibitions, and she was GloMag’s 2024 Artist of the Month.
Find her on Instagram at @pelican6527 and on Etsy at Jennifer Gurney Art.
Get Your Copy
Indelible Ink: Postcard Poems and Paintings from the 2025 Postcard Poetry Fest by Jennifer Gurney Available October 30, 2026
Order now at ProlificPulse.com
Bring a little summer home, one postcard at a time.
