Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 43

Seattle Poetry Reading tonight at 7 pm at The Station on Beacon Hill!

Monthly Poetry Reading 



November 14, 2012:

Annette Spaulding-Convy & I am reading at The Station Coffeeshop on Beacon Hill in Seattle tonight at 7 pm if you want to join us...




Here are the details on the event--

ROCKiT Community Arts will sponsor Beacon Bards, a monthly poetry reading series in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. Readings will begin at 7 pm at The Station Coffee Shop, a café located at 2533 16th Avenue South, between Bayview and Lander Streets. There is no cover charge, so please enjoy a latte or a glass of wine to support our generous hosts! Subsequent readings will take place on November 14, and December 12, and continue into 2013 and beyond. 

Each reading will feature two poets, followed by an open mic. For further information, contact Martha Silano, Beacon Bards Poetry Reading Series curator, at marthasilanoATyahoo.com  






~ Kells



 
~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Need a Little Inspiration? Recommendation: @LemonTheMovie - A Poetry Documentary

Russell Sims presents LEMON, the movie


















PREVIEW ABOVE



"If you want it, you'll really work for it." Lemon Andersen



If you know me, you'll know I'm a fan of documentaries, good documentaries.  And I found one here,  LEMON, not only an incredible documentary, but about a poet, and who is not just any poet, but a three-time felony, who became a Tony award-winner, but that is just the start of things...



What I loved about this movie was the dedication of Lemon Andersen, in the belief that poetry (of all things) was his way out.



What he said?

       

        "Poetry was the only place I knew where they didn't discriminate..."



If you have ever felt sorry for yourself as a poet or writer, if you've ever thought your life was hard, you should watch this movie.



       "Stay focused, you'll be fine."



I thought LEMON was beautiful--both in the poet's words and in the journey--we are given the chance to glance in on an artist in the world. We are able to see his success, his pain, his joy, his failures, and his continued persistence in the belief that what he is doing is important, that lives can be changed by poetry.



        "It took one poem to change my life."



An incredibly inspiring story of a poet who believes he can live a better life.



Highly recommend!











Lemon Andersen



You can buy the DVD here and here.



You can watch the full movie here on PBS here.



Or rent it on Amazon or coming soon on Netflix.





Also--

You can LIKE Lemon on Facebook here.



You can learn more about the movie here.



You can follow on Twitter here.



~ Kells



 
~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Confession Tuesday - The Double Take Edition

Looks as if the country isn't so divided after all...



Dear Reader,



It's been two weeks and one election since I've last written.  Forgive me, I was lost in the anxiety of history.  I was so lost I missed a week.  And then arrived here today lately.



But I've returned with a happy heart, a clearing mind, and a to-do list I'm slowly checking off.



To the Confessional--



1)



I confess I am truly happy the way the election turned out.  I realize that I have PTSD from the 2000 election because I woke up at 4 am and grabbed my phone to check the news, to make sure nothing had changed during the night, that Obama was still president.



I have gone to bed with one president and woke up with another.  Though that sounds a little too sexy for the nervousness it's created in me at election time.



~



I confess when I'm at my best, I'm observing the world with an open heart and not reacting to it.



~



I confess I sometimes think everyone thinks the way I do, then 48% of the United States shows up red.



~



I confess I'm kind of ready to drop this blue/red state thing as it feels more divisive than helpful.



~



I confess Washington State proved itself indigo with the voting of legalized marijuana.  We are the tie-dye state, bring your Birkenstocks and brownie mix, I guess.



~



2)



I confess I am trying to do things that scare me.  Nothing like bungy jumping, but just things a stretch out of my comfort zone.



I find if I write these things down on a To Do list they get done much easier than if I don't write them down.  Without a To Do list, I'm a dog chasing her tail, except it's not as fun.



~



I confess I would be the worst contestant on Family Feud because my answers are never on the board.

For example, when asked--



What can you never have too much of?

My answer was "slippers."



#1 answer: Money.



~



I confess I like watching videos of baby animals a thousand time more than watching videos of babies.



I realized this today when someone told me to watch a 2 year old dancing to Elvis. She had loved it.  Said she laughed until she cried and thought about it all day.



I would much rather watch a panda sneezing, a dog trying to play fetch with a statue, or a cat pouncing on someone (or something).  Baby videos don't cut it for me.



Of course, I'm the person at the party making friends with the hostess's cat or dog.



~



I confess may of my friends on Facebook are using all of November to say what they are thankful for.  I'm looking forward to the end of the month when they've run out of stuff and are things like "I'm thankful Ho-Ho's and Ding Dongs."  



Honestly, I'm thankful for my family, friends, and electric blanket.  In that order.



~



I confess this fall is moving too quickly for me and the holidays feel as if they are pushing me into a ditch and rolling over me.



I want to put the brakes on a bit, but that isn't happening... though hopefully soon.  I keep hoping soon.



Amen.





~ Kells





~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Crab Creek Review Annual Fiction Prize! Support an Indie Press! @CrabCreekRev

If you write short fiction, we'd love to read your work. 



Right now, your chances of being chosen a finalist and being passed on to our incredible judge, Shann Ray, are quite high as we haven't received many submissions.



So if you're interested in submitting, deadline is Dec. 15th!

















Guidelines for Crab Creek Review's 2012 Fiction Contest














Entry Dates: Sept. 15, 2012 – Dec. 15, 2012





















·         Submit up to 3,000 words of previously unpublished fiction, double spaced.

·         Entry fee: $10, payable (PayPal button ON THE WEBSITE) to Crab Creek Review.

·         Email submissions only.

·         Send your cover letter in the body of the email (not in an attachment). It should include your contact information: mailing address, a brief bio, and the name of the fiction piece you are submitting.

·         Send your fiction piece in an MS Word Doc attached to your email. Please send your work in New Times Roman and 12 pt. font. Title your attachment with your full name and “Fiction Contest”.

·         Name and contact info should not appear on your fiction piece.

·         Send contest submission to (after PayPal payment): crabcreekcontest@gmail.com

·         Simultaneous submissions acceptable when noted in cover letter, as long as we are notified immediately if the work is accepted elsewhere.

·         Deadline for all submissions: Dec. 15, 2012.

·         The winning writer will receive $200 and publication in Crab Creek Review.

·         All entries will be considered for publication.

·         The winner will be determined by our guest judge, Shann Ray  (see bio below).
(We ask that friends, associates, and students of the judge not submit to this contest.)



·        Contest results will be posted on our website in late January/early February.










~ Kells



 

~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Bracelet Giveaway & {r}evolution apparel - 20 Looks in One: The Versalette! #clothing #women

The Versalette being worn as a shirt and a dress and a scarf





Over the last few years, my blog has moved from writing, poetry and writers, into art, artists, and creativity.  




Smart people doing smart things and the only thing better to me than smart people doing smart things, is smart women doing smart things.




I want this blog to be a place where I can share with you my favorite things, as well as people who are doing cool things in the world.




I learned about these women through Kickstarter, they were raising money to create this item, The Versalette, which is a skirt, a shirt, a dress, a scarf, a bag, a hood as well as a few more looks which you can see below:






I purchased mine early on and watched the process unfold as these two women figured out how to make this (and in the USA) and ship it out to their customers.  It was pretty wonderful learning about a company and a product early on and seeing it come to be.




I believe in paying more for a product and company I believe in.  These women are not like Donald Trump, whose ties are made in China, but created a fantastic product that is made here in the USA--all parts of it.  




What I love is how open and detailed these women are in letting you know where they get their items and who does what. 




Here are the details--







THE VERSALETTE IS (VERY) PROUDLY MANUFACTURED IN THE USA USING: 


 

100% recycled fabric (50% recycled cotton, 50% recycled water bottles) made entirely in the USA, from recycling to knitting. 

 

Buttons manufactured in Brooklyn, New York using wood grown in Rutland, Vermont. 

 

Hand-dyed drawstrings made in the USA with GOTS-certified organic cotton (origin: Turkey), dyed by hand in Raleigh, North Carolina using fiberactive dyes.  




Labels made in the USA with GOTS-certified organic cotton (origin: Turkey), embroidered in Austin, Texas. 










Me in my Versalette at my writing residency



I wore my Versalette throughout my writing residency.  It was not only comfy, but on the one day I actually left our cabin to visit Habitat for Humanity and purchase this cool Frida painting I had my eye on, I actually looked cute and stylish-- something unusual for me on a writing retreat!



I will say my first attempt was wearing the Versalette was a hilarious.  I had the thing wrapped around my head, completely dorky, like the issues I had when I bought a sarong in Hawaii, I was that girl all over again.  I watched the video they made on how to wear it and things got easier.



Anyway, I love mine and have even used it as a pillow case... I kid you not. And I've washed it several time and it still looks good.



They sell for $80 each, so they are pricey, but if you get used to wearing it in the many ways you can, it's worth the money for all you get.



One thing to know, they aren't fitted, it's one-size-for-all (there are strings and ways to adjust it to your size), but if you like a more tailored look, this may not be your thing.  For me, who likes more loosely fitting clothes, it's perfect.





Now for the giveaway, because my order came later than they had hoped, they sent me a couple extras, these bracelets, that I'm going to pass on to you.  Just leave me your name and a way to get ahold of you in the comment section of this post, and I'll get back to you.













I'll do a drawing for these bracelets on November 17th.  So leave me a comment before then!







~ Kells





~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Submit to a New Online Poetry Journal: Heron Tree

HERON TREE



A new online poetry journal beginning in January 2013, so get your poems in!

Go here to learn HOW to submit your work.



What's cool about this journal is while they are online, it looks as if they are going provide a yearly print issue, which is awesome!





Here are the people behind this new journal--











Sandy Longhorn is the author of Blood Almanac, which won the Anhinga Prize for Poetry.  New poems are forthcoming or have appeared recently in 32 Poems, The Cincinnati Review, Crazyhorse, North American Review, Waccamaw, and elsewhere.  Longhorn teaches at Pulaski Technical College, runs the Big Rock Reading Series, is an Arkansas Arts Council fellow, and blogs at Myself the only Kangaroo among the Beauty.

Chris Campolo and Rebecca Resinski teach at Hendrix College and are the co-founders of Heron Tree Press.

If you have questions about Heron Tree, you may contact us at info.herontree@gmail.com.  Please use submit.herontree@gmail.com for submissions.























I've sent in some poems and will be keeping my fingers crossed!





~ Kells



 

~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

White Pine Poetry Book Prize! Manuscripts Wanted! Deadline: Nov 31 #poets

Here's a poetry book prize I recommend! 

The White Pine Press Poetry Book Prize, Deadline: Nov 30, 2012.





Photo of me immediately after opening my first box of books (sadly, I was the only one home and had to take the photo myself.  My dog celebrated with me though...)







I've included the details below for you.  But here's what  you need to know, especially if you are cynical of poetry prizes, who knows whom, and judges choosing their students or people they've worked with before--



My book, Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room, was chosen by poet Carl Dennis, someone who I have never met in my life.



Actually, I had never met anyone from this press and sent in my manuscript only because I loved the way their books looked, I wanted a press that has been around for a while (they are celebrating their 40th anniversary this spring!) and I had been told the editor, Dennis Maloney is a kind, wonderful guy.  All true.



One thing I like about this press is that they don't tell you who is judging (also, they alternate between a male & female judge each year).  



But regarding not knowing who was the judge, I'll be honest--had I seen that Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Dennis was judging, I wouldn't have submitted.  Why would an older Pulitzer Prize winning male like my work?, I would have thought to myself. I guess the answer is "why not?" because he did.



As writers, sometimes we make very bad assumptions about our work and our readers.  

My advice to you is simple:  Submit to the presses you want to be published by and try not to pay too much attention to who is judging.



There are not many poetry prizes I can recommend to you with the complete faith that this prize is run honestly and thoughtfully.  But this one, I can.



So if you have a poetry manuscript that is looking for a home, you have until November 30th.








Here are the details--




White Pine Press Poetry Prize

The Seventeenth Annual White Pine Press Poetry Prize CompetitionThe Seventeenth Annual White Pine Press Poetry Prize competition will open for submissions on July 1. The award consists of a $1,000 cash award and publication by White Pine Press.

Manuscripts must be between 60 and 80 pages in length. Poems must be original, but may have appeared in magazines, anthologies, or chapbooks. Translations are not eligible.

Manuscripts must be postmarked by November 30th. They must be typed and should include a table of contents. The author’s name, address, email address, and telephone number should appear on the cover sheet only. Manuscripts will be recycled at the end of the competition. Please include a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope with your submission if you wish to be notified of the results.

Manuscripts must include a $20 entry, reading, and processing fee. Checks should be made out to White Pine Press. The manuscript, along with a self-addressed, stamped postcard for notification that it has been received, if so desired, should be sent to:

White Pine Press Poetry Prize
P.O. Box 236
Buffalo, New York 14201 
If you send the manuscript via express mail services, the manuscript should be sent to:

White Pine Press Poetry Prize
5783 Pinehurst Court
Lake View, NY 14085 

Manuscripts are screened by the editorial staff, and a poet of national reputation makes the final selection. The name of the final judge is not revealed until the end of the competition. We alternate between a male and a female poet each year as final judge.

Due to the large number of entries received, manuscripts cannot be returned.

Previous Winners:
1996 - Nancy Johnson, Zoo & Cathedral
1997 - Doborah Gorlin, Bodily Course
1998 - Jacqueline Johnson, A Gathering of Mother Tongues
1999 - Joel Long, Winged Insects
2000 - David Keller, Trouble in History
2001 - Stephen Frech, If Not for These Wrinkles of Darkness
2002 - Sandra Castillo, My Father Sings to My Embarrassment
2003 - John Sorowiecki, Watching Cartoons Before Attending A Funeral
2004 - Frances Richey, The Burning Point
2005 - George Looney , The Precarious Rhetoric of Angels
2006 - Roy Bentley, The Trouble With A Short Horse in Montana
2007 - Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, Paper Pavilion
2008 - Al Maginnes, Ghost Alphabet
2009 - Ansie Baird, In Advance of all Parting
2010 - Kelli Russell Agodon , Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room
2011 - Alexander Long, Still Life
2012 - , Notes from the Journey Westward

Copies of these books should be available from your local bookseller. If you cannot find them, they may be ordered directly from the press for $12.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. 




~ Kells 





 
~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Confession Tuesday on Halloween

Dear Reader,



Happy Halloween!



I was on a week plus a few days writing residency and just returned.

It was incredible and I wrote so much.  So much.



But now I am behind on the rest of my life, which didn't stop and organize itself while I was away.  Weird.



I believe I have caught up on email, but my house is trashed, my office is trashed and it is raining.



But it's Halloween, so I'm happy.  Though I wish we got more trick-or-treaters...I give out the large bars, but sadly, they miss them when they don't show up and I am left with a pile of wrappers on my lap.



I confess I love candy. I love candy and ghosts and the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.



I confess I feel as if I want to take a rope and lasso time as it's moving faster than I'd like.



I confess I hope to catch up on things by next Sunday night.  But if I don't, I don't.



I confess I've been sidetracked (aka procrastination) by getting my fill of Hurricane Sandy news and the upcoming election.



I confess if you don't vote and you bellyache about the US, I'll shut you down.  I have one rule--you cannot complain if you don't vote.   And you especially can't complain to me because I take voting seriously and since I was eighteen have never missed an election.  I am not kidding, not even the primaries.  You give me an election day and I will be there.



Amen.







~ Kells



 

~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

The Simpson's Version of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" #halloween

I recommend this every year.  It's our family's tradition to watch it.  And a great way to introduce poetry, Edgar Allan Poe & literature to kids.





It makes me happy each time I see it and when Bart asks, "Do you know what's scarier than nothing?" -- You'll have to watch it to find out the answer.













~ Kells



 

~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

A Good Day as a Writer

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I'm having one of those incredible days when I want nothing to do with TV news, with celebrity craziness, but instead I am in my mind about what an amazing world we live in.



I want to create.



I want to write and say something that hasn't been said before.



I know, who can do that?  We've said so much.  But I love it when I'm in this place of creation.  Of just being in the flow of art.



This doesn't happen often.



Most of the time, I'm an anxious poet hoping this all works out.



But then there are these moments when I can let go. Be in the middle of creating something new.



I want you to be there too.

But it doesn't always happen.



Mostly our lives are the suck and grind of things we really don't want to do.



Sometimes our souls know better.  Though it's hard to hear them in the buzz of everything else.

Once I said "the buzz of money."  There's so much static it's hard to remember why we are here.  It's hard to remember we have work to do, art to make.



Even if it seems no one is paying attention, we need to listen to that voice inside.



It's not about money or success, it's about creating.

And knowing this will all work out.







~ Kells





 

~ Click here to subscribe to Book of Kells by email or in your favorite readerKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon