Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 24

Confession Tuesday: The AWP Edition

A favorite memory captured by Ronda Broatch in my hotel room.
My fedora, an empty bottle of champagne enjoyed by friends and my reflection in the window.

Dear Reader, 

It's not Fat Tuesday, but Ash Wednesday, but after the AWP conference, I still can't catch up. Or I'm catching up the best I can...

Today's confession will be about the conference.  Now, if you have arrived here because you saw "Confession Tuesday: AWP" and got that "oh no, what did I say or do" feeling, you can untie that knot in your stomach as nothing incriminating will be revealed here. Relax friends.  It's a superpower of mine, I am amazing at keeping secrets.  And I value privacy as well as any zany decision that leads into interesting situations, all which will not be mentioned here. 

So if you came here for gossip, you may leave mildly disappointed.  

But I will give you my take on AWP, some funny moments, and confess what needs to be confessed from my point of view...


I confess on paper my AWP looks as if it sucked:

I went to 0 panels (except the two I was on)

I went to 0 readings until I walked in late to the Jane Hirshfeld/Sharon Olds reading

I went to 1 offsite event (the one for my press, White Pine, at the Seattle Art Museum)

I saw only about 10% of the bookfair and about 90% of that was looking at Two Sylvias Press's neighbor Tupelo Press!

I did not meet Brian Spears of the Rumpus or even visit that table.

There were numerous friends and writers I wanted to see and didn't.  There was no encounter with Denise Duhamel or Richard Siken, two poets I love.

Saturday, I was completely limited to the bookfair, except when I escaped to buy crepes.


But it didn't suck. In fact, this was easily the best (and most organized) AWP I've been to.  

It was full of kindness and synchronicity. I fell in love with a ridiculous number of writers and became overwhelmed with the excitement for literary things.  I left (though dog-tired and with frizzy terrible Sheraton shampoo hair) uplifted and inspired.  That has never happened before.

~

I confess I loved hearing out-of-town writers continually use the term "legal marijuana."

You're the Evergreen State friends, the term is just "marijuana." (Or pot, or weed, or...)

But it was fun to see people think they were getting away with something. And if you're into that, I guess this information would have been helpful for the writers coming into Seattle...though based on a few photos I've seen on Facebook, I think the ones who wanted to find it, did.

~

I confess I made less of a fool of myself at this AWP, though I still had my moments.

Last AWP, I became Neanderthal girl with Bob Hicok only uttering this phrase, "My book. You sign?"

This year?  My only really stupid phrase was "I loved you before you were famous" to Richard Blanco, and the scene before of me running in circles wanting to meet him, but being too shy to introduce myself.  

My friend, Jay, took this glam shot of me basically photobombing Richard Blanco in my overwhelmed poethappy, starstruck state:

proof I am a dorkBut someone saw me in my starstruckedness and introduced us.  Richard is absolutely one of my favorite poets since reading his book City of a Hundred Fires.  It's still on my desk and he was amazingly kind and generous. He had eye contact (something I so respect in people), didn't look away for someone "better" to talk to, and did not treat me as if I was ridiculous, which I kind of was.

I just ordered his new book: 
For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey which will be part of Seattle Reads in April. And Seattle folk, he will be coming back here and there will be events if you missed him at AWP.
And speaking of ridiculous things, here's a great essay in Brevity about another AWP faux-pas moment of mistaken identity by Suzanne Roberts called "How to Make a Fool of Yourself at AWP."

Meeting Richard Blanco ended up being was one of my favorite moments at AWP.

And here's the better photo:

A beautiful evening with two wonderful gentlemen
~

I confess there was incredible moments of serendipity I haven't experience in a long time and it has restored my faith in synchronicity and that you need to live a life of go-with-the-flow and stop struggling against yourself.

I am a planner. I am a Capricorn who loves to know what's happening next, where I need to be, and what's up.  I want is much information about everything. I want to wander the world with a compass and a map.

This AWP I dropped all that (and in fact, I've currently dropped that in my life too). 

For AWP, I didn't make any plans, and the one dinner plan I made, I had to cancel. And yet, it always felt as if I was in the right place at the right time.  


Two Sylvias Press had a booth at the conference which made everything a little more overwhelming to my freespirit that just wanted to roam the bookfair, sit in on a reading, or lollygag with friends.  

Still, when we arrived to the convention center to set up, we hadn't read any of the information on where to go or what to do, but we pulled in and were exactly in the right place.

We walked into the Sheraton and someone handed us a glass of champagne. Complimentary champagne. Really.  

Our last night, the hotel comped us a full bottle of champagne to celebrate my good friend's birthday.  To start and end a conference with free champagne is an amazing metaphor for how I want to live my life-- with the people I love and things that sparkle.  Luxurious. It was not a word I would have connected ever with AWP.


There is a huge series of other events that were magical from losing my Hourglass Museum cash envelope with $350 in it and having it returned because the kind folks at Grazing Grain Press and So To Speak Journal found it, saw my name on it and googled me.

I misplaced my iPhone a ridiculous number of times with all my ID and credit cards, and someone always handed it back to me.  If I sound a little absentminded, I was. Crowds and commotion, do that to me. I'd be terrible in the ER, someone would end up with my iPhone stitched inside them.

But there was this mystical element at play--

when I wanted to see someone, I swear, they just appeared. I said a poet's name, and she walked directly behind me.

It was a little magical, just existing in the world and here are these perfect chance encounters in a group of 12,000.  I am thankful for these moments, for the conversations about beaches in a bar, to reconnecting with old friends from my MFA program, to meeting people randomly and immediately becoming friends.

People were more than kind. The energy was open and giving.

And these were a hit--

The Poet Tarot by Two Sylvias Press
(You can read a review about The Poet Tarot here )

And people loved our swag.

~

I confess I still have regrets.

There were times I said no to experiencing life because I was too tired.  There were these incredible moments where I wanted to head out with friends, with favorite people who asked me to do fun, wild, exciting things...and I said no.  

Famous poet X called me, said I'm missing the best party of AWP then listed off the poets who were there, said he would come and get me (he was 5 minutes away) and I said I was going back to my room to go to bed. (My present-self is looking back pretty annoyingly at sleepy AWP Kelli who just wanted to nap, but in the moment of that night, I was tired.)

I said no thanks to people I wanted to hang out with because it was late. Because my bed sounded like most enjoyable place to be.

I know, I shouldn't regret what I missed because I wasn't there, I had a different experience. I had one with good sleep.  But it's kind of boring. 

And I didn't take enough photos to help me sort out the blur. And how did I miss The Rumpus table? And Robert Hass?

And there were longer conversations I wished I had with people. I wish I had more time, less commitment. (And less sense of responsibility.) 

So yes, unbelievable memories were not made due to my passion for sleep. But this is life and AWP.

And the memories I do have, were kind of fantastic. And the people I met for the first time in real life, real breathing and living writers, they were too. And I know there are several people I will never lose touch with again.  

So I have to go back to my belief-- right place, right moment--and forget the regrets.

And I guess this is what we hope for-- to connect and stay connected, to remember we are not alone on our solitary island, but there are others who think, breathe, and live similarly to us.  And this is good.

Amen.


~ Kells 
 
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Kelli Russell Agodon
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Confession Thursday: Advice for AWP#14

Dear Reader, 

For some of us, AWP is both an exciting upcoming opportunity as well as an overwhelming anxiety producing weekend we just want to end before it begins.
Welcome to the internal dialogue of many writers and poets.

With AWP one week away, I decided to offer up some advice, ideas, suggestions, thoughts, and just general notes on this conference that has gone from a smallish group of people to a massive 10,000 awkward writers running around wearing lanyards.

My thoughts on AWP--



1)  Arrive with the attitude of "What can I offer?" instead of "What can I get?"

I confess I just wrote this as my #1 irk in poetry and poetry communities, when writers are always so desperate for their take, for their piece, they don't think of what they can offer and bring to the conversation or community, but what they can get from it.

Arrive with attitude you will make this conference better by being there, not by what you take away. 

Don't be Sally from A Charlie Brown Christmas, "I only want what I have coming to me... all I want is my fair share."

See what you bring to world of poetry and writing--humor, fun, kindness, helpfulness--find what you offer and spend less time trying to figure out how others can help you.



2)  Love the one you're with.

You find yourself talking to someone you have a lot in common with, someone you really like.  Then Important Writer X walks by.  You catch their face, you verify their name on their lanyard.  It's them! You have got to get this out of this conversation, you must get to Writer X!  

Wrong.  You need to get out of your head and know that there will always be someone more "important" than the person you are talking to walking by. There will always be someone bigger, well-known, or more published coming around the corner.  


Be in the moment.  Eye contact with the person you're talking to... no secret glances at passing lanyards. 

Find the beauty, connection, magic, joy, interest, etc. in your own conversation.  

On the flipside of that, people have a lot of places to be, don't hold them hostage by telling them your sad luck story about your luggage or how your arm aches from lugging books around.  Ask people, "How long do you have?" Make good connections, friendships, and moments and then move on with satisfaction.

I confess, one of my favorite aspects of AWP is when people email/DM before and say, "Let's get together" or "Let's make a point to get coffee." To know I get one-on-one conversation at AWP is my favorite part. I'm bad in crowds, in big groups.  My favorite dinner parties have 4 people (no more) in them.  I love being with one person at a time.  That is how I thrive. Quality wins over quantity every time.


3)  Sometimes you'll gain more by opting out.

You don't have to go to every panel, reading, etc.  Sometimes just hanging out in the bookfair, talking to other readers, editors, and writers, is just enough.

Yes, it would be great to sit in a room with Famous Poet X, but it might be nice to sit in the lobby by yourself reading a book.  Or people watching.  Or going outside and sightseeing. Or doing nothing. Or having a drink at the bar with a stranger.  Or coffee with someone you just met.  

And when you don't go to said panel, reading, event, _________(fill in the blank), don't feel bad when someone tells you You missed the best _____________ (fill in the blank) ever!  (And they will say this to you.)  Because you didn't.  It really wasn't that good. And since you weren't there, you didn't miss it, instead you got what was behind door #2 and it wasn't the donkey pulling the cart, it was a trip to Seattle.  Enjoy it.

I confess, sometimes the best moments are the synchronistic ones--I just happened to be on the elevator with Nick Flynn and Kay Ryan (okay, I said nothing, but just being there was enough), I just happened to meet Wyn Cooper in the bookfair, I got to meet Nin Andrews in person. I ended up talking with the best taxi driver who told me would wait while I ran back into Politics and Prose for me because he liked my "funny run."  None of this was on the schedule.  Just let what happens, and arrive with no expectations with yourself or anyone else.


4)  You may feel lonely. It's okay.  Have a drink by yourself or bring a book and/or a few back-up phone numbers.

When I went to DC in 2010, one night all my friends disappeared.  Not like ghosts, but like writers in the night--Martha Silano was at dinner with her editor, Susan Rich was somewhere else, I had lost January O'Neill's cellphone number--so I wandered into the bar like a sad poet looking for friends. I recognized no one.

How could this be? I must know someone, right?  Wrong.  

Cliques, cliches, and impromptu groups were everywhere. Hipster poets and their messy-hair girlfriends, or possible girlfriends, or occasional hookup. Serious writers with their serious faces and bourbon. People sitting with their backs hunched, deep in conversation, in their seats and they weren't moving or inviting anyone in. There wasn't even a place to sit. I was ready to leave. This was the edge of my comfort zone.

But I went to bar. By myself.  

As I ordered a glass of red wine and sat at the bar all alone.  In my head I kept repeating the lines from Saturday Night Live, I am her mother. I am a barfly...  I thought, I am a sad human being.

A sad spotlight aimed at me, creating highlights in my hair and pointing me out-- Here is the only person at AWP who doesn't have friends.  

And then Wendy Call showed up. And Wendy brought friends. And then I was laughing and spilling my drink. Appetizers arrived. Someone handed me a Pulitzer Prize. Confetti fell from the ceiling. The ghost of John Berryman bought me a drink. And it was awesome.

I swear, I had just wanted to go back to my hotel, but it was a 20 minute taxi ride away and only 6 pm. So I stayed, despite knowing (or feeling) as if I was out of place, awkward, unloved, and completely anonymous.

Sometimes you have be uncomfortable before the magic and joy happens.  Remember that.




5)  You are wonderful, but so is everyone else.

There is no food chain in writing, in poetry, in the arts.  And if you think there is, you are looking at accomplishments and not at people individually.  People are just people (says the person who turned into Neanderthal girl because she was so starstruck when she had Bob Hicok sign her poetry book she could only say, "My book. You sign?") Okay, so maybe Bob Hicok makes me become uncool awkward girl, but really, he's still just a person.

Remember that.   We are all just humans who like to write. Who have this weird underlying desire.  We are your tribe. But don't arrange us by accomplishments and don't arrange yourself either.  You are neither better or worse for having or not having a book of poems, a novel, an academic job, a non-academic job, a booth, a table, a panel, a cute outfit, fancy glasses, combat boots, or a special nametag.

I think I'm misquoting Chuck Palaniuk from Fight Club here, but this important: 


You are not your swag, you're not how much work you've had published.  You are not the book you wrote. You're not the connections in your iPhone. You're not your f'ing lanyard title.  

Have fun.  Be kind.  Play well.

Drawing by Nin Andrews!  http://ninandrewswriter.blogspot.com/...~ Kells
 
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Kelli Russell Agodon
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The Creative Process: The Writing Process -- A Blog Tour of Writers

So the amazingly talented  Ba rrie Jean Borich, asked me to be part of this blog tour on the writing process.  In fact, it's called THE WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR, but you can see I've switched things up a bit in my title. . .yes, that's how creative I am.
Anyway, we're all asked the same questions to answer then we choose two more writers who will continue this on...

Barrie's answers to these same four questions are here and they are marvelous. I love how she relates her writing process to a "pirate radio station" with changing times and days.  
But before I get to my questions, let me introduce Barrie Jean Borich, who asked me to be part of this blog tour (thank you, Barrie!)
Barrie is is the author of Body Geographic (University of Nebraska Press/American Lives Series). Her previous book, My Lesbian Husband (Graywolf), won the ALA Stonewall Book Award. Her work has been cited in Best American Essays and Best American Non-Required Reading and she’s currently working on a book-length essay about repurposed industrial landscapes, urban joy, and riding her bicycle on the mean streets of Chicago. 
Borich was the first creative nonfiction editor of Hamline University’s Water~Stone Review and is currently a member of the creative writing faculty of the English Department/MA in Writing & Publishing Program at Chicago’s DePaul University, where she’s developing Slag Glass City, a creative nonfiction and new media journal focused on sustainability, identity and the arts in urban environments. Borich earned her MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop and lives now with her spouse Linnea a few blocks from Lake Michigan in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago, which was recently voted the most “incomparable” gayborhood in the world.
___________________________

To the questions:


1)     What am I working on?
Okay, I want to write "catching up" here, but that is SO uncreative.  So let's think about.
Here's my list:
a) THE POET TAROT and GUIDEBOOK
We are just finishing these amazing Poet Tarot cards that will come with a book to help writers (and artists) with their own creative process.  It's actually much less of a divination deck, but more of something that writers can keep on their desk to get guidance on their work.  The deck is made of 28 poets and also suit cards (such as Ace of Quills, two of Letterpresses, etc.)  
It's been a long time coming and we hope to have a limited quantity to sell at AWP (seriously though, this is going to be close!) then offer them through Kickstarter in March. 

b) NEW POEMS!
At some point, this will become Manuscript 4 and slowly it's working to that as I am beginning to see it forming in my mind, but right now, I've been waking up ridiculously early to write.   
I had a pretty tough autumn, lots of anxiety and emotional stress, however, all those not-so-great feelings produced a ton of pretty-amazing first drafts, which I really want to work on and revise.
I see this next book dealing with with themes of uncertainty, conflictedness, and the human desire for connection.  


2)     How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I think overall, my work differs in that it may be more conceptual than other poetry books.
In my newest book, Hourglass Museum (also, now available on Kindle here), I basically tried to create a paper museum with each section being unique (yet joined together) exhibitions. 
One section "Sketchbook of Nudes" is without capitalization and punctuation (and rather revealing), as if all the poems are undressed. At the end of the book, I even include the Hourglass Museum Cafe' where the reader gets 4 extra poems as an appetizer, entree, drink, and dessert. 
This is how I see books in my head, as something larger.  The negative of this is I have quite a few published poems that never make it into my books because they don't "fit" my vision.  The positive is I feel (hope!) the reader ends up with a satisfying read due and many unexpected moments in the book as I spend a lot of energy on crafting both the book and the poems.


3)    Why do I write what I do?

My dumb answer is: because I cannot not write it.

My better answer is: because I believe in connecting with others and trusting that what's inside and comes out on paper is what we need to be writing about.  

My more surreal answer is:  we live a timeless existence on paper and it's open to every possibility so I may be writing about my father's death or I may be writing about seeing bones in the woods or I may be writing about cake, eating a lot of cake.  I don't think I necessarily choose, but my mind is more like a sky waiting to see what cloud animals or objects float by. It may be a flapper or the entire city of Paris, it might be a birth or a Roman candle. It's dreamlike, and bizarre, and is much more connected to a deeper part of myself. 

So I don't really know in a rational way why I write about what I do, but in a spiritual way, which sounds a little woo-woo.

Mostly best writing is done when I'm not thinking about anything else but existing in the poem.


4)  How does your writing process work

I seriously want to say "magic"  here because that is how it feels sometimes, especially lately.
I will tell you about my new way of writing poems and I think this may be helpful for other poets in finding their best way to write poems.
A few years ago, I noticed that when I was listening to group The Fray, especially the songs "How To Save a Life" and "Over My Head (Cable Car)," the poems came easier.  I am an auditory learner and very connected to sound; I've have played the violin (though terribly) through school, then started playing again when I was 40.
In the fall when I was not feeling like myself a friend sent me a link to a video of a sad song. Then another.  Then I started going on YouTube finding other songs that I connected with, that brought up in me the feeling of creation, or something-- melodies that would wake me up (though not in a bebop way, as there are few songs I love, like Harlem by New Politics which I can listen to on replay over and over, but I can't write to it).  And every time I found a song that brought me to that "place" where something changed inside of me, I added it to my YouTube playlist.  (I now currently have 76 songs on this list...) 
One song on the list that has inspired quite a few poems (not in topic or subject, but just by taking me to that "ready-to-write" place is a song by Crystal Fighters "At Home." I can just keep playing in the background, and it brings me to that place where something opens, something clicks and my writing just happens. Even relistening to the Fray today made me want to stop writing this post and write a poem.

I think part of it is habit. Like Pavlov's dog, I've taught myself when I wake up early (4:30 am - 5:30 am) and put on my earbuds, and choose a song from my YouTube playlist, it's time to write.
So my advice for other writers, is to write daily if you can, and find what creates the spark in you? Is it something you do-- light a candle, do yoga before, meditate?  Is it something you taste, drink?  A certain scent? Something you hear?

Another background sound I sometime put on is this:  it's called http://rainycafe.com/ and you can choose the sound of rain or the sounds of a cafe to have your backdrop to when you write. Since I live in the NW, the rain comes without needing its own soundtrack, but the cafe is something I will put on in the background as it gives me the feeling of being out in the world and connected, even though I'm in my writing shed alone and no one is serving coffee or dessert.  (Um, that last sentence sounds more sad than inspirational, but it's actually a great way to write.) 

I think there's a lot to say about muscle memory, what you connect to your muscles (sound, movement, taste, touch, etc) when you write.  I know think I've just connected the muse to music and I'm in the habit of waking early, hearing music, and writing.  Though every day I just hope it's still there and when it is, I am amazed.  So realize, I don't even arrive to my dsek with a lot of hope, in fact, I don't.  But I also don't expect anything, and that's okay. If I type out a few lines that don't lead to anything, so be it. I just go through the routine--turn on laptop, go to YouTube, choose a song, write.  
And I think once we each find our way/time/style we write best, stick with it, daily.  
It's been an interesting process in watching how my poems have improved with the daily repetition of sitting down before the rest of the house is awake and writing a poem.  I feel so William Stafford here, except with a soundtrack and earbuds.
__________________________


I'll be updating this post with the next two writers who will be adding their thoughts to this blog tour on their blogs very shortly!

UPDATE 1:  SUSAN RICH will be joining this tour next week!

Who will the other mystery writer be??  Stay tuned!

Thank you all for writing and being part of this creative tour. 



~ Kells

  Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
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Retreats, Ira Glass, & Beauty

Just a few things ---


Poets on the Coast: A Weekend Retreat for Women September 5-7, 2014 in La Conner, WA:
Price goes up tomorrow morning..



Ira Glass (aka My Secret Boyfriend) on being an artist, having passion, and persistence.




What I fell in love with this week:
Beautiful series of photographs of a boy with Muscular Dystrophy leading a "normal" life.






Art made by artists in love

Georgia O'Keeffee


~ Kells


  ~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
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The Beauty of Cancellations...

So yesterday I mentioned feeling stressed out and the universe responded by having two meetings I was supposed to have this week, rescheduled in March.

I know some people get sad, offended, or bothered when their lunch dates or meetings get put off, rescheduled, and/or cancelled. I am the opposite, for me it's like a snow day-- What? I don't have to leave my house?  What I don't have to put on acceptable clothing and wander into the world?

For me I feel as if I've been given a handful of time-- Go enjoy! Play! Write! Work!  It's yours to keep!

I realize how much I love my solitude, to stay home.

John Mulaney is my new favorite comedian, here's what he says:



So I have a day to catch up, to be in a quiet house... until carpool happens, until this evening happens, and my world extends into teenage girls, a drive to Kinko's, Pho, other people's schedules. . .

But for now, thank you Universe, for these next 8 hours.  I am grateful other people are crazybusy too.  Let's postpone everything until after AWP...



~ Kells

  ~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
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Confession Tuesday: The A Little Stressed Edition

Hello, My Name is Overwhelmed 
Dear Reader, 

It's been a couple weeks from my last confession. I can't even tell you when because the last three weeks have morphed into one giant day.

I blame myself for much this, I have this nature that says yes, when what I meant to do was run screaming from the building or say no.  I also have this nature that believes that I can do a lot-- and I can-- but today I woke up with the telltale sign I have taken on too much...

To the confessional--

I confess I know I've taken on too much and am officially "stressed" when I look in the mirror and see a red dot on my left cheekbone.  Seriously.  I get this weird breakout right there every time I take on too much.  And I noticed it last night and woke up this morning and saw it here.

I was a young 26 year old corporate go-getter the first I got it.  We were moving offices and I was not only in charge of the full move, but actually designing the office.  First, who gives this kind of responsibility to a 26 year old?!  Second, this was the exactly moment I knew I needed to get the heck out of corporate America.

~

I confess right now, today's "To Do" list has 10 *must do* items. (Writing a blog post is *not* one of them.)  This is insanity in ink-- the To Do list, not the blog post.

There is a list of 17 other things I need to have done by the 20th.

Most of the things have to do with AWP, Two Sylvias Press, the transition from editor of Crab Creek Review to non-editor, my book, and the workshops I've been teaching recently (though my last workshop is this Saturday in Seattle... and yes, there are a few more spaces if you're interested. )

~

I confess I have been waking up at 4:30 am - 5 am to get things and have been cheating on my To Do list by writing poems.  I try to make that the first thing I do so I don't resent the rest of my life.

~

I confess while at a poetry salon on Sunday, I received a text from my daughter that said, "Demi & I cleaned the whole house for you."  My response, "I have never been so proud of you."  (Forget the fact she got all As last year and went to Washington DC as a state champion for the National History Bowl, she cleaned the house!  Let the confetti fly!  --wait, no confetti, I don't have time to sweep.)

This is a sure sign that my priorities are a little messed up.

~

And here's the thing, I know this is temporary. 

And I have more to be grateful for than to be stressed about.

I know that every time I cross something off my list it helps me feel less stressed. But I also need to learn to live with things undone. It's hard for me and my Capricornness. It's hard for me in the middle place. I write and rewrite To Do list. I get a huge satisfaction of crossing things off.

But there's a point when I feel overwhelmed.  And I've reached that place.

So here's what I'm going to do:

1)  Get my top items off my list today
2)  Do the same tomorrow 
3)  Eat good food and have an amazing dessert
4)  Spend fifteen minutes starring out the window at the birds and the water
5)  Spend time with my family
6)  Try my best, but not take anything too seriously

~

I confess reaching this place of stress is a good reminder to me to make sure I am saying yes to the right things and to not take more on than I can handle.

I know this is a lesson I have been learning and relearning all my life.

But it reminds me not to volunteer to do things just because others aren't stepping forward, or to say yes because I want to do things and not out of obligation.  In fact, say no if I just feel obligated.  


So I made a list of what I'm focusing on this year and what I'll say yes to:

My book, Hourglass Museum and my own writing

Two Sylvias Press

Poets on the Coast

~

These are my top three areas of focus.  All the other stuff (family not included as they are the top of the top) has to fall to the sidelines.


And if you find yourself to be a YES person, here are a couple good articles to read:

When To Say Yes (Things to ask yourself before saying yes)

The Yes Trap (a great article on *why* we say yes to things-- fear of missing out, guilt, being uncomfortable in saying no, good girl hang-ups, etc.)

Setting Boundaries, Saying No Nicely (this is a little more corporate world, but good ideas here.


~

My life is good and I am thankful. It's my own internal laid-back, low-stress, no drama temperament that gets a little bent out of shape when there's a lot going on.  But good stuff, stuff I'm thankful I need to do and complete.

Amen.



~ Kells

  ~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Win a Free Copy of Hourglass Museum! Enter on GoodReads

My press, White Pine Press, is giving away 5 copies of my new book, Hourglass Museum!

If you want to enter to win one of your own, click here to go to the GoodReads webpage.


Also, if you win a book (or order a book from White Pine Press or Amazon.com) and would like it signed or inscribed to you, I had bookplates made up and would be happy to mail you one for your book.

Just email me at kelli (at) agodon.com and I'll send one your way!

~ Kells


  ~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Poetry Writing Retreat Day/ Generating New Work Class in Seattle with Kelli Agodon & Susan Rich

So before all the crazy AWP stuff and book related events kick in, Susan Rich and I are giving one LAST workshop this winter in Seattle.

This is a great workshop if you need some good creative energy and some fun writing prompts to help you start new poems.

Here are the details--

Poetry Writing Retreat Day in Seattle!
     Saturday, February 15, 2014,  11 pm - 3 pm, $107

Join acclaimed poets Kelli Russell Agodon and Susan for four hours of writing.  This class is designed for all levels of poets and will consist of different types of writing exercises including working from the visual arts to help you kick start new poems. Come celebrate the day after Valentine's Day by going deep into your writing. You will learn new ways to create poems and by doing so, you’ll push your writing to new places.  We will wrap-up the afternoon with a salon-style discussion of poetry publication. In addition, each poet will leave with a new listing of poetry journals. Class limited to 21 participants.

More information here to sign up.

Or email me at  kelli (at) agodon.com to hold your place.


Hope to see you there!



~ Kells

  ~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Confession Tuesday: What I Learned As An Editor

Dear Reader,
I am stepping down as the editor of the 30-year-old print literary journal  Crab Creek Review to focus my time on Two Sylvias Press, a small indie press I began with Annette Spaulding-Convy (the other editor at Crab Creek Review).  

the last issue I'm editing...
I confess I am both sad and yet, I have this feeling of freedom, as for the last few years, I've had one hand in the cookie jar of Crab Creek Review, and the other hand mixing the batter of Two Sylvias Press.  It feels good to know that after AWP, I will be focused on one press.

I confess being an editor taught me a lot about being a writer and poet in the world.  It taught me a lot of what not to do, how not be a jerk in the publishing world. It taught me how to be strong and still be kind.



So here are a few things I learned as an editor 
that taught me how to better myself as a writer--


1) As a Writer, You Teach Editors Whether or Not To Work With You Again -- 

I have learned this lesson a few times both while editing the eBook anthology Fire On Her Tongue: An Anthology of Contemporary Women Poetry as well as through the many issues of Crab Creek Review.

There are poets who I admire and like as people who I will not work with again because they are pain in the butt.  

There are ways to ask for what you want without being a jerk or rude.

There is a way to be a gracious writer in the world-- learn to be that person, or realize, your chances of publication decrease with every obnoxious email you write, despite your talent.

Yes, your poem was marvelous, but you give me a headache.  You teach me not to publish you again by your actions.  I'm sorry, but there are just as many talented, fantastic, and overlooked writers who do not make my head hurt that we can publish.  We only have limited space and limited time, so we're choosing them.  

Please realize that along with talent, you need to have kindness too.  If you never learned that as a kid, I guess I'm going to have toughlove you into learning that with a rejection. I hope you figure it out.


2)  Sometimes You're Poem is Amazing and You're Still Rejected --

We are a print journal, so our space is limited.  We loved your poem (and hopefully, we let you know this on your rejection slip), but we had to say no.  Why?  We ran out of room for the issue.  

How can you raise your chances of being accepted?  Submit at the BEGINNING to midpoint of a reading period, not at the end.

I wish it was different. I wish we had bigger envelopes and a larger budget, but space and money always play into publishing. 


3)  Submit Like a Man (for the women)--

This has become a mantra I've shared with my women friends because here's a trend we've noticed as editors.

When we tell a writer we like their work and ask them to submit again, the male poets will submit work within a month (two at the very latest) of our asking.  The women writers?  We usually never hear from them again or until a year or more later.

When an editor asks you to submit again, she isn't kidding.

The male writers do what we ask-- they resubmit and usually accepted.  

The women, I imagine them sitting at home wondering, "Is it too soon to resubmit?  Did she really mean it or was just being nice?  What should I send, and when?"

And when in doubt of when to resubmit, feel free to ask with a note like that-- "I am so glad you enjoyed my poems.  Would you like me to resubmit in this reading period or the next one?"

And when you resubmit, remind the editor that s/he liked your poems-- we forget like that. Say something like, "Thank you for your kind note about my poems about death and thank you for asking me to resubmit. Here are four new poems I'd like you to consider..."



4)  Watch Out For the Three Fs (for the men)--

We noticed a trend in poems by male poets, which we labeled "The Three F's."  In every batch of poems, we received a poem by a male with one of these topics:

1)  Frogs:  The poem is how they injured or killed a frog as a boy and now feel bad about it. 

2)  Farting:  Either a poem about a bathroom, toilet, or fart joke about midway through.

3)  F*%#ing:  Yeah, you probably expected this one.  This isn't to say we don't like these poems or references, but realize, trying to write a good sex poem is hard.  Many times I felt as if I was reading a first draft of porn script (if they have script) and well, "pubic hair" is just clunky and reads as ugly as it sounds.


5)  Remember Most Editorial Teams are Volunteer--

Before you write the angry email about why no one has responded to the poem you submitted 6 weeks ago, remember, along with editing a literary journal, many of us have full-time jobs, children, families, ill parents, and are writers ourselves.  We try to give our best to the journal, but we are pulled in many different directions.

When you don't hear from us as soon as you like, it's most likely because we're behind and has nothing to do with you.  We love you poets and writers!  Journals exists because of you! This is why we would never charge you to submit your work to us.  But sometimes we get behind, especially as all the submissions start to slide in.  

Annette and I had a short sentence we'd always remember when doing something for Crab Creek Review-- Writers first.  

Writers are the reason we have a journal to publish.  Writers thrill us with their words and images.  We dedicated six years of our life to get your poems out into the world, to nominate them for Pushcart Prizes, and celebrate them as much as we can.

Sometimes we all get behind.  But we still love you.


~

I've learned a lot more as an editor, which I'll share at a later date, but right now, Annette and I have a day of The Poet Tarot planned (a new project soon to be released from Two Sylvias Press). Here's a sneak peek at a new card--
He's missing his crown... but a general idea of where we're going.






~ Kells 

  ~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Electronic Postcards for the Literary Types...

Since many of you want to stay connected and to receive literary correspondence, I started an email mailing list of electronic postcards to help keep in touch and keep creativity alive in our busy lives.

If you'd like to sign up for my occasional, every-so-often, not-too-many Electronic Postcards, you can do that by clicking the link here:  https://tinyletter.com/agodon

They won't be often, but they will be sent with love.




~ Kells

  ~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon