Poet and librettist Kenward Elmslie declared his two greatest passions were postcards and musicals, which he combined in his musical play, Postcards on Parade.

Set against the backdrop of three postcard fairs, where dealers and collectors meet to buy, sell, and trade, the story follows two couples: the ex-hippie Stan and his well-to-do wife, Valerie, who are on the brink of divorce, and Tim and Kevin, who contend with Kevin’s HIV-positive status. There is also Regina, a “light-fingered switcheroo trickster,” the nemesis of the postcard dealers. Throughout, the postcards spring to life to dance and sing.

On display are Elmslie’s large-scale postcard collages, recently donated to the Archive for New Poetry in UC San Diego Library's Special Collections & Archives. These postcards would be paraded through the audience while Elmslie and his musical collaborator, Steven Taylor, performed at readings. Also on display are the original collage material and cue sheets.

Full of fantasy and picture-perfect wish-fulfilment, Elmslie delves into the world of deltiology — the study and collecting of postcards, from the Greek, meaning diminutive writing tablet — to explore nostalgia and longing through these objects of desire. Elmslie says in his introduction to Postcards on Parade, “If you want something bad enough, it up and sings.”

Postcards on Parade is on view on the 2nd (main) Floor of Geisel Library from Thursday, January 15 to Sunday, March 22, 2026, during the building's open hours.

EXPLORE RELATED MATERIALS

• Kenward Elmslie performs Postcards on Parade - St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, VT (video)
• Kenward Elmslie Papers: Selections (sound recordings and videos)
• Kenward Elmslie Papers, 1884-2016 (finding aid)
• Kenward Elmslie's Enduring Impact on Poetry (article from Explore magazine)