Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 111

Cool Journal Giveaway on Drew's blog!

Check out these fantastic journals being giveaway on Drew Myron's blog!



And if I read it correctly, there will be 6 (SIX) journals mailed out to readers.



If you want to enter, go to Drew's blog & leave your name & email in the comment section of this post.  I've already entered!



Love these journals!  Good luck everyone!

Confession Tuesday on Wednesday...

Dear Readers, forgive me for not knowing what day of the week it is.  Summer wipes the calendar down and I am left with sunrises, sunsets, and a lack of dates or weekdays.



Since I'm late, let's just begin--



I confess I overscheduled August.  And this over-scheduling makes me yearn for September when there is less going on.



I confess I don't like wishing away 2 weeks so I can have a less scheduled calendar.



I confess I've been so busy I have no idea what's going on in the news and...

File this under "Who Knew?"

Diller Performs At The Poetry Center American commedienne and actress Phyllis Diller impersonates poet Emily Dickinson during a performance at the Poetry Center, San Francisco, California, March 1957.



While many of the younger folks may have no idea who Phyllis Diller is, I remember her as a crazy comedian I watched on TV in the 70's with wild hair and a loud voice.



Anyway, I had no idea she played Emily Dickinson in 1957 in San Fran.

Though this photo makes her look a little like an...

The Art of the Blurb - The Asking

One of the odd things that comes with getting a book published is getting blurbs.



I will be honest here, asking for blurbs is probably my least favorite part of publishing a book.  For me, asking for blurbs feels like a special, personal way to open the door for rejection.  Not just the rejection of a poem or manuscript, but the rejection of support.

I know I should not look at this way, but because it's always been hard for me to ask favors of others or ask for help, getting a blurb...

Submit Like a Man - Follow up

This post-- Submit Like a Man--on the difference between my experience on how men and women resubmit to journals who ask to see more, created some conversation, so I wanted to return to it to follow up on some of the comments & share a little more about my thoughts and beliefs behind my post.



Some of my favorite comments from that post were this--

from Michael:   ...the commotion I hear must be writers running to their therapists. 

from David:  Damn. Guess I won't be sending my "Frog...

Where I Am Tonight- hello Chris Isaak!

Request - Low Residency Programs Pros & Cons

Some thoughts on the low-residency MFA and pros & cons (you can decide what is a pro and what is a con yourself)--

1)  If you are someone who needs structure, such as daily classes and a lot of one-on-one involvement from your professors, a low-res MFA may not be for you.

2)  You get exactly as much as you put into your low-residency program.  Meaning-- I'm sure some people get a lot more out of their program because they really put forth an effort where others may try to do the least...

Confession Tuesday - the THURSDAY edition

(Buddy Holly, my camping dog after a 3 mile hike and ocean swim)



Forgive me Reader, I have not only sinned but have shown up 2 days late for Confession Tuesday.  It has been 9 days since my last confession.

For the last week my life has been a mix of drama and family, though wonderfully enough, the two aren't combined.  The drama happened on its own and the family came later.

There's too many stories.  This confession could be continued next week, so let's just begin.  

To the...

Request - The Low-Residency MFA Program for Creative Writers.

Here's the second question that came by request mail recently...







Why did you decide to get an MFA, what do you think the pros/cons of your MFA experience were, and how did you like the low-residency option?  Also, what factors influenced you to choose a low-res program vs. a traditional, on-site program?

This is a long story, but I'll try to make it concise as possible (and probably will not succeed). 

Here's my MFA story--

I applied to the MFA program at the UW when I was 28 or 29 and...

Submit Like a Man - Part 2 of Yesterday's Request Question

Rejection Letter:  Dear Mr. Warhol...

FLASHBACK to YESTERDAY:  I know you didn't ask this, but tomorrow (before I answer your second question), I'm going to write about what I see as the difference in men and women in resubmitting.  This is something I've noticed as an editor and with my women writer friends...



So it's tomorrow and yesterday I mentioned the above--how as an editor, I've noticed that in resubmitting to press, men and women do it differently.





Here is what I've noticed (and ...