Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 55

Portland Poets-- Join Susan Rich and Me for a Workshop & Reading, April 17th

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The dream of the 90's is alive in Portland!

Susan Rich and I are coming to Portland!

We'll be at In Other Words Bookstore, Tuesday, April 17th, reading at 7 p.m.

We're also offering a workshop at 3 p.m.

Workshop Details: Two Sides to the Poet’s Life: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Submitting to a Literary Journal & Writing Ekphrastic Poems: Award winning poets Kelli Russell Agodon & Susan Rich come together for an inspiring class on both submitting and writing poems. As editors, co-directors of the Poets on the Coast Retreat, and poets themselves Susan and Kelli will share a behind-the-scenes look at submitting to a literary journals and tips to help you get your work accepted. They will also work with participants to generate new ekphrastic poems–new work inspired by art. This is a rare opportunity to see explore both sides of the creative life–submissions & inspiration. All levels of poets welcome–from beginning to published. There will be something to be gained by all.Cost is $50 and you can register here.

Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

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Published on April 15, 2012 10:41

Writer's Thought for the Day:

This has been on my mind this morning.

As a writer and person in the world, I do not want to fall into the ATNA Club (all talk, no action).

In life, I say what's important to me and what my priorities are. This little quote makes me accountable. Do my actions express my priorities? If they don't, I need to get them in line.

So as I go for a walk with my golden retriever this morning, this will be the quote that will hover in my mind. I am a work in progress...

Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

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Published on April 12, 2012 08:03

Confession Tuesday

Is it wrong my favorite time on this clock is "adult beverage" ??

Dear Reader,

Happy 2 days after Easter and eating as much chocolate as I like again. We've also had ridiculously nice weather the past few days, which turns me into crazy-garden woman/sloth.

Let's just get to the details... To the confessional--

I confess I waited 6 weeks to eat chocolate and when I took my first bite it wasn't as good as I remembered.

Isn't this always the case with most everything in life? What I think will be satisfying rarely makes it to "okay." I think it's about expectations. Or maybe comfort--when I was eating a lot of chocolate I think I thought it was better than it was.

I'm not sure, but now that I can eat as much chocolate as I want, I'm not even craving it. And my house is chocolate filled from Lindt to Godiva to Hershey's to Dove to Swiss.

It could also have to do with deprivation. When we deprive ourselves of something, it tends to be what we want. Thankfully, I'm not much into self-sacrifice except during Lent. Though next year, I think I'm going to do something that helps others more.

~

I confess I do not know how people who live in warm climates get anything done, especially writing.

We had 3-4 beautiful days and I basically refused to go into the house. I went from extreme to extreme-- from gardening like a madwoman and using my new favorite chainsaw to sitting on the deck for hours watching birds and the ferry come and go. I'm was my own breed of animal, a worker-sloth.

I ended up googling "Key West" after a glass of wine completely convinced it's where I should be living.

I do understand why there are so many writers, artists, and musicians in the Northwest-- because we're stuck indoors.

If it were sunnier here, I don't think I'd have 2 books, a chapbook and an anthology. I think my life would have a lot to do with sitting in the sun, reading, watching birds, and napping. I would probably be happier, though with even less money.

I hadn't realized that I really could be a beach bum. I could fall into the parrothead lifestyle a little too easy.

~

However, because our weather is not always fantastic as it has been, I confess I did get some work on my third manuscript done earlier in the week when my family was away.

I printed it out, made edits and will work on revising it again on the writing residency I have planned.

It's not done as there are definitely more poems I need to write, but it's feeling closer. Less like a bunch of poems and more like a shape of something bigger. I can see it coming together and that excites me.

~

I confess poetry has been on my mind. I just ordered this book (and I think it will arriving today): Looking for the Gulf Motel by Richard Blanco (Pitt Poetry Series). He's a poet I love and I truly love the Pitt Poetry Series.

Then magically on my Paperback Swap Wish List, this book Erasable Walls by Lance Larsen came up. So I am getting this as well!

And in my Poetry Month wildness, I may have ordered this: Jerry Williams' book Admission. I write "may" because honestly, I don't remember or if I told myself I'd wait until I read Richard Blanco's book.

Sometimes I feel this almost desperate need to feed up on poetry and when I feel this way, I kind of lose my mind.

Amen.

Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

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Published on April 10, 2012 12:19

Is it wrong my favorite time on this clock is "adul...

Is it wrong my favorite time on this clock is "adult beverage" ??

Dear Reader,

Happy 2 days after Easter and eating as much chocolate as I like again. We've also had ridiculously nice weather the past few days, which turns me into crazy-garden woman/sloth.

Let's just get to the details... To the confessional--

I confess I waited 6 weeks to eat chocolate and when I took my first bite it wasn't as good as I remembered.

Isn't this always the case with most everything in life? What I think will be satisfying rarely makes it to "okay." I think it's about expectations. Or maybe comfort--when I was eating a lot of chocolate I think I thought it was better than it was.

I'm not sure, but now that I can eat as much chocolate as I want, I'm not even craving it. And my house is chocolate filled from Lindt to Godiva to Hershey's to Dove to Swiss.

It could also have to do with deprivation. When we deprive ourselves of something, it tends to be what we want. Thankfully, I'm not much into self-sacrifice except during Lent. Though next year, I think I'm going to do something that helps others more.

~

I confess I do not know how people who live in warm climates get anything done, especially writing.

We had 3-4 beautiful days and I basically refused to go into the house. I went from extreme to extreme-- from gardening like a madwoman and using my new favorite chainsaw to sitting on the deck for hours watching birds and the ferry come and go. I'm was my own breed of animal, a worker-sloth.

I ended up googling "Key West" after a glass of wine completely convinced it's where I should be living.

I do understand why there are so many writers, artists, and musicians in the Northwest-- because we're stuck indoors.

If it were sunnier here, I don't think I'd have 2 books, a chapbook and an anthology. I think my life would have a lot to do with sitting in the sun, reading, watching birds, and napping. I would probably be happier, though with even less money.

I hadn't realized that I really could be a beach bum. I could fall into the parrothead lifestyle a little too easy.

~

However, because our weather is not always fantastic as it has been, I confess I did get some work on my third manuscript done earlier in the week when my family was away.

I printed it out, made edits and will work on revising it again on the writing residency I have planned.

It's not done as there are definitely more poems I need to write, but it's feeling closer. Less like a bunch of poems and more like a shape of something bigger. I can see it coming together and that excites me.

~

I confess poetry has been on my mind. I just ordered this book (and I think it will arriving today): Looking for the Gulf Motel by Richard Blanco (Pitt Poetry Series). He's a poet I love and I truly love the Pitt Poetry Series.

Then magically on my Paperback Swap Wish List, this book Erasable Walls by Lance Larsen came up. So I am getting this as well!

And in my Poetry Month wildness, I may have ordered this: Jerry Williams' book Admission. I write "may" because honestly, I don't remember or if I told myself I'd wait until I read Richard Blanco's book.

Sometimes I feel this almost desperate need to feed up on poetry and when I feel this way, I kind of lose my mind.

Amen.

Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

View more on Kelli Russell Agodon's website »

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Published on April 10, 2012 10:35

Bloggers-- 2 More Days To Be Part of the Big Poetry Giveaway!

Here's the updated list of bloggers and poets giving away their books and their favorite books for National Poetry Month.

If you'd like to participate, leave me a comment with your name, your blog name and a link to your giveaway by tomorrow (April 10th) at midnight and I'll add you to the list.

If you want to try to win some new poetry books, click on the links below to enter into about 30 separate giveaways (that's at least 60 free poetry books!) Good luck--

BIG POETRY GIVEAWAY PARTICIPANTSKelli Russell Agodon: Book of Kells
Collin Kelley: Modern Confessional
Renee Emerson: This Quiet Hour
Iris Jamahl Dunkle: Poet 2.0
Susan Rich: The Alchemist's Kitchen
Laura E. Davis: Dear Outer Space
Mary Stone Dockery: Hang Windows from the Sky with Yarn
Marie Gauthier: A View From the Potholes
Joseph Harker: Naming Constellations
Emily Stoddard Furrow
Carol Berg: Ophelia Unraveling
Shawnte Orion: Battered Hive
Jessica Goodfellow: Axis of Abraxas
Drew Myron: Off the Page
Celia Lisset Alvarez: Writing With Celia
Erin Coughlin Hollowell: Being Poetry
Kathleen Kirk: Wait! I Have a Blog?!
Katrina Roberts: Cat Pajamas
Tawnysha Greene: On Writing
Stephen S. Mills: Joe's Jacket
Janet McAdams: Rabbits in Green Weather
Allyson Whipple: How Can the Poet Be Called Unlucky?
Tara Mae Mulroy: Poetry & Effrontery
Molly Spencer: the stanza
Tiffany Midge: UGH - Uncivilized Grunting Heathen
Donna Vorreyer: Put Words Together. Make Meaning.
Jessie Carty
Karen Weyant: The Scrapper Poet
Margo Roby: Wordgathering
Shara Lesley: Inns Are Not Residences
Elizabeth Austen
Jeannine Hall Gailey: Jeannine Blogs
Terry M. Clark: Coffee with Clark

Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

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Published on April 09, 2012 10:25

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny considers his life...

Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

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Published on April 08, 2012 07:48

Thankful Thurday

Here's a quick list of some things I am feeling thankful for today--

1. Spring break without a schedule

2. Time with my family

3. Dying Easter eggs

4. Blooming! from cherry trees to tulips and daffodils

5. The screaming pheasant in my neighbor's yard

6. My new electric chainsaw

7. Weather to go for walks in and weather to stay inside and read in

8. Writing a poem a day

9. Having enough cereal for one more bowl

10. A small town theater in our old fire station

11. Lent is almost over

12. Finished paperwork that if approved will help tremendously

13. Baby deer

14. Waking up and hearing the birds again

Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

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Published on April 05, 2012 18:59

Confession Tuesday

My Yoshino Cherry Tree - in bloom!

Dear Reader,

It's that time again. We're in spring heading towards Easter and the end of Lent, a good time to confess, though as usual, I have no idea what I'm going to confess...

To the confessional--

I confess next year I am not giving up chocolate for Lent. Here's the thing--I think I'm happier and healthier with chocolate. With chocolate, I know I've finished a meal. Without chocolate, I look for ridiculous alternatives such as vanilla yogurt, carbon chips, raisins, graham crackers. None of this satisfies as a piece of chocolate does.

I do think occasionally, I need to take a break from chocolate as there's a point when I go from eating good well-made chocolate to thinking of a bag of M&Ms is fine dining.

~

I confess I am writing a poem a day and am so far on track. I like poem 1 better than poem 2.

~

I confess to keep myself on track, sometimes I write 2 poems on one day. This is the poet's version of cheating or maybe it's called planning ahead.

~

I confess I'll be going to Portland with Susan Rich for a reading and workshop on April 17th and besides arriving safely, my next goal is stop at VooDoo Donuts.

~

I confess because of a bad incident of eating raw donut dough and smelling like grease all day in a high school Home Ec class, I am very picky about my donuts.

~

I confess yesterday I got an electric chainsaw and my new motto is "let there be light." Though I confess, I did not touch or hurt my Yoshino Cherry tree, which is currently in bloom.

Because it's National Poetry Month, I'll leave you with a poem I wrote about my Yoshino Cherry tree after my husband decided it was getting a little too large...

Once on the sofa you told me, you longed for the sofa.

And I thought you were referring to haiku, but you were just tired.

You don't think about art anymore.

What you want is an organized resume, cherry blossoms that don't litter the driveway.

The day I found my Yoshino cherry tree in pieces,

I realized perfection couldn't compete with a chainsaw.

My nostalgia carried to the truck branch by branch.

I said nothing as nothingwas left of the tree.

You said it was scratching the van. You said, Dismantle.

My bumbling arborist. My broken city.

What I wanted to say was, You cannot restrain what is wild.

What I wanted to say was, Collaborate.

Across the field, the cuckoo's cry could almost be heard.

from Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room (White Pine Press, 2010)

Amen.

Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com