Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 58

Hey Writers: You're Looking Sexy in Ireland with that Shenandoah Prize...

Okay, TWO amazing opportunity for poets and writers. 







Anam Cara - this is where Susan is teaching...




The first:  Susan Rich is teaching an amazing workshop in IRELAND (I kid you not!)  If you want to take a class, this is the place to go.  I teach with Susan at Poets on the Coast and she is an amazing teacher, and I have the feeling she'd be even more perfect in Ireland.



If I could go, I would.



Here's the info for anyone who wants to live life to the fullest--



Anam Cara - in West Cork, Ireland has invited me to teach a week long writing workshop



Speaking Pictures: A Poetry Workshop Concerning Art. August 4 - 11,  2012.

Here is the overview of what you'll do --- and soon there will be a day by day schedule available.







Speaking in Pictures: A Poetry Workshop Concerning Art



     The question is not what you look at, but what you see.—Henry Thoreau

 Poetry and painting are sister arts according to the Greeks. It's a natural collaboration to focus on ekphrastic poetry. Ekphrastic poetry simply refers to our poems inspired by visual images. Together, we will discuss traditional and experimental models of the form by Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Hayden, Lisel Mueller and Rainier Maria Rilke; study recent examples by contemporary poets, and sharpen our powers of observation and description. Finally, through a series of provocative exercises, we will write our own poems on a variety of works of art. For the purposes of this workshop, art includes sculpture, collage, architecture and the natural world. All levels of writers are welcome — from beginners to very advanced practitioners. 

And if you don't know Susan, here's a few things about her too--

Susan Rich is the author of three collections of poetry, The Alchemist's Kitchen (2010) which was named a finalist for The Foreword Prize and the Washington State Book Award, Cures Include Travel (2006), and The Cartographer's Tongue / Poems of the World (2000) which won the PEN USA Award for Poetry. She has received awards The Times Literary Supplement of London, Peace Corps Writers and the Fulbright Foundation. Her featured appearances include the Cuirt Literary Festival in Galway, Ireland and the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia. Recent poems have been published in the Harvard Review, Poetry Ireland, The Southern Review and the New England Review. Born and educated in Boston, Massachusetts; Susan now makes her home in Seattle, WA.

If you'd like to sign up or learn more -- here's the link to the workshop.

~

Then once you get to Ireland, here's a great opportunity for Fiction Writers--



The Bevel Summers Prize for Short-Short Fiction is a $500 prize for a story of 1,000 words or less.  We will be accepting entries from March 1 to March 31, 2012.  The winning story is also published in  Shenandoah .  There is no entry fee, and entrants can submit up to three previously unpublished stories for consideration.  Entrants should submit two copies of each story, one with name and contact information and one without, as well as a SASE.  All entries should be sent to the following address:

Shenandoah: Bevel Summers PrizeWashington and Lee University17 Courthouse SquareLexington, Virginia 24450

Here's the link with more information--  http://shenandoahliterary.org/bevel-summers/



****



So there you go, writers and poet, explore and submit.  Life is short!  Enjoy it!





Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

To Do List: A Planet With Rings

What my To Do List (and yours) should be


So I just was reading over my To Do List and saw this "Prepare Saturn."



Note to self:  use better handwriting.  I do not own a Saturn, nor am not planning on prepping an entire planet.  What the heck do I need to do?!





Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Confession Fat Tuesday (On Thursday)

Top photo:  My life on Tuesday & Wednesday / Bottom Photo:  Where I hope to be moving to...








Note:  I started this blog post on Tuesday and am just finishing it up today.  

Here's how it began...





Dear Reader,



Today is Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, a day to celebrate and enjoy before Lent begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday.



How am I feeling?  Basically, I'm eating a box of Camp Fire Girl mints and finishing up 2 days of preparing my taxes.  If I was in New Orleans, let's just say I'd be letting loose right now.



But I'm not.  Letting loose or in New Orleans.  I'm hear ready to confess, so let's begin, to the confessional--



****And that's as far as I got.  I opened the confessional door, but didn't go in.



So I guess should add a few things here...



I confess today is my day to catch up.  I'm doing my best to plow through my to-do list, make the most of my time and make some progress forward.



I feel overwhelmed when I'm busy, when I'm away from my home too much.



I recently heard the term "adrenalin junkie" and it wasn't regarding someone who runs or is a daredevil, but who likes the daily chaos of not finding her keys or daily dramas.  Some people exist on these things and actually (though they may tell you differently) *love* them.



I am so not that person.



What I like?  Time to read and sit.  Time to write.  Time to be with people I love and like.  Time to myself.  Time to be able to do things well (to put back the scissors, to return the cereal to the cupboard, to not be rushing around like a tasmanian devil).  I need time to think. To daydream.



~



I confess sometimes when there is so much to do, my head feels loopy.  It's the "I don't know where to begin so I think I'll read the Huffington Post" feeling.



This is why I keep a list.  When I'm overwhelmed, my head says "so much so much" and my brain clicks into the "where will you begin," and all I have to do is pick up my to-do list (which I have actually numbered) and pick up where I left off.



(I know. I am an organized nerd who lives a very boring life.)



I usually make my to-do list before bed, writing down all I want to do, then choose the top 3 or 4 that either have deadlines or will make the most difference on my emotional state.



Maybe my adrenalin rush comes from getting things done, making lists, organizing.  Because that is so uncool, I'm kind of thinking it's true for me.



~



I confess Lent began yesterday and I gave up sweets, yes, dessert.  Day one with no candy or sweets.  I kind of amaze myself. ;-)  I have 2 boxes of Camp Fire Mints left-- I plan on ripping them open Easter morning.  Okay, Easter afternoon.



Or maybe by then I'll be done with sweets, have the "Dessert? No thanks" attitude or "I live a healthy lifestyle."  Oh wait, I'm not that girl.



Amen.





Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Where I Am (Under the Table)--

This is a visual representation of how I have felt all week.  And no, I am not the baby.  The baby looks as if s/he's getting things done and that s/he has a short to-do list.



Yes, I missed Confession Fat Tuesday, but plan on posting that. Maybe tonight or Maybe on Thursday.



Anyway, I am here.  I am just hiding under the table surrounded by paper.  No worries.  All of this is only temporary.



Breathe.

Breathe.





Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Thankful Thursday on Friday: @RobertLeeBrewer

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Thank you Robert Lee Brewer for including me in this year's list of best blogs for writers!

Very happy to have been selected!



If you want to see the full list, go here.







Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Thankful Thursday-- YOU

I may not know you personally.  Or I might.



Either way, here's a message for you today.  Know: I don't lie.  Know: in every way it is true.



You are the fox.  And your life, your passion, is the heart.



Live well friends...









Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

If you keep a baby-inspired blog & are looking for a sign--

Okay, please file this under "My Weirdest Blog Post Yet". . .



but last night I had a dream that the Wicked Witch of the West came to tell me that someone in the world (a mom, I'm guessing) has a baby-inspired blog and wants to go to a writer's conference, but isn't going to because she feels she "just has a baby-inspired blog" and isn't a real writer.



If this is you, you should go to the conference.  Glenda the Good Witch believes you should go.  She said it's a first step before many.



~



(Oh and if you think this is you, drop me a note or leave me a comment... I'm curious if I'm losing my mind, having visions, or just shouldn't eat a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries before bedtime.)








Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Being in the Present & Synchronicity...Or How a TV Drama Can Change Your Life

For the last couple weeks I've been weirdly emotional (both good and bad, but mostly bad).



Last night I was trying to tell my husband about the final scene on the last Grey's Anatomy episode and I was holding back tears and could hardly tell it to him because I was so shaken/moved by it.



(If you're interested-- Basically, one of the storylines had this woman who was so upset her boyfriend didn't get her a ring on Valentine's day that when she received a necklace he gave her, she threw it at him and ran out of the house.  He chased after her and was hit by a car.



The next scene is kind of funny where they are pulling up in an ambulance, he's bloody and she's yelling at him for not proposing (He knows I want a ring).  As the show goes on, the girlfriend is still mad, can't believe she's wasted her time with this guy who wouldn't propose, etc etc.  Of course, doctors realize that the boyfriend has internal injuries and needs surgery about midway through the show.  As all good dramas go, he dies.  He dies and they tell the girlfriend who is heartbroken and realizes, I didn't need a ring, I just needed him.



The last scene is one of the doctors putting the dead boyfriend's final possessions into a bag and she sees the necklace he bought the woman who is now full of regret, it's a heart locket.  She opens it and in scratched in blue pen are the words "Will you marry me?"



I, of course, like any normal person gasp, "Oh no!" and start crying.  (Have I mentioned that my family just *loves* watching Grey's Anatomy with me; I'm a complete stress-case through every episode)).





The image that made me gasp.


So yesterday, Valentine's Day morning I walked out to my driveway to say goodbye to my daughter before she headed off to school and I looked down and saw 2 silver hearts, when I picked it up, I realized it was a locket... just like the one in the show.





inside my found locket


It looks as if it's been driven over, but the thing is, we have no ideas whose it is, where it came from, but the fact I found it on Valentine's Day wasn't lost on me.





Outside of found locket


I pick up the locket and immediately think of Grey's Anatomy (and I also think of my dad who died when I was 22).



I think about the lesson on the show-- how the woman didn't appreciate what she had and just wanted more, a little more...



In the last 2-3 weeks, I've been living about 6-8 years ahead of my regular life.  I've been thinking about the future and where I'm going and what I'll be doing and where I will live. Some people use wine or television or food or movies or overworking or running to escape, I use the John L. Scott website.



And here's the problem, when I live in the future I'm not appreciating today.



~



I mentioned to my doctor at my yearly visit that I've been feeling down and my anxiety has been sneaking up on me lately.  I sort of see my anxiety as the least-favorite friend who doesn't have your best interest at heart and arrives with the motto, "Trust me, I'm here to help..."



My doctor being a granola-girl herself, doesn't prescribe any medications for me, but instead prescribes this book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, which oddly enough I had just borrowed from my mum's library the day before.



~



Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's bad to want more.  Or to dream a better life for yourself.  But I think lately, I've been living in the future because I haven't been satisfied with the present.  I haven't been grateful for what I have now.



In 6-8 years, I do not know what and who I'll have around me.  So my future world is fantasy. I'm trying to make choices or plans based on a scenario I have no idea about.



~



So yesterday was a kind of kick-in-the-pants day.



I've had quite a few bits of synchronicity happen lately--the locket, receiving a reading request, the Power of Now book, and a few dreams.   I feel more connected to the world around me, which is a good place for me to be given that my emotions and have be rollercoastering me through my life lately.



I'm keeping the locket on my shelf in front of my desk, so I see it every day.  A reminder that magic happens and that if I'm not in the moment, I'll miss it.



~



Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Happy Valentine's Day from Pablo Neruda--

XVII (I do not love you...) by Pablo NerudaI do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.



I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.



I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way



than this: where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.







Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Confession Tuesday: Valentine's Day Edition

Image from Owly Shadow Puppets Etsy Shop
Dear Reader,



It's been one week and confetti hearts since my last confession.  And since today is Valentine's Day I thought I'd focus on love and relationship confessions today (oh, this could be one long post!)



So let's begin!

To the confessional--





I confess as someone who'd be an uninsured writer, the above image rings true to my heart.



If it wasn't for my husband, I'd be uninsured.  Or partially insured.  Or oddly insured.  Most likely, I won't be going to doctor and would be getting my seasonal allergy medication on the black market.



And I confess, if I wasn't married, I'm not sure I would want to get married except for the above reason of health insurance because I think I'm the type of person who would treat a person I lived with but wasn't married to-- better.  I think when it comes to a husband I see almost every day, I can easily take him for granted and that is a personality defect in me and one I try to improve.



I have even suggested to my husband that maybe we should get divorced and just live together because we'd have more fun and I'd be a better girlfriend than a wife.  (He thinks I'm a lunatic for suggestion this, btw.)



~



I confess all of the guys I have or had crushes on are what regular people call nerds. (This includes famous people like Conan O'Brien, Lyle Lovett & Elvis Costello...)



~



I confess I recently ended up in touch with my first boyfriend, which was weird.  He was kind, but I was slightly awkward as per usual.  I mailed him back his high school football jerseys and apologized for being a nutty girlfriend back in the day.  Though I wasn't really crazy, just heartsick, lovehappy, an insecure romantic in high school and I wasn't very good at managing my emotions.



I'm a lot better now, though there is a part of me that still loves the girl I was who not only wore her heart on her sleeve, but wore it in bright flashing neon while Madonna's "Crazy for You" played in the background.



~



I confess one Christmas Eve at seventeen I cried in my car over said first boyfriend while listening to George Michael's "Last Christmas" on the radio.   My best friend and I still enjoy reminiscing about this embarrassing scene whenever we hear the song.



~



I confess I always wanted to receive one of those super-cheesy LARGE pink ruffled heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolates for Valentine's Day.



Then I did and realized that they don't always contain the best chocolate.



This is a good lesson for not falling in love with super-cheesy men with pinky rings who wear ruffles and use product as like the chocolate-- there's usually nothing of quality inside.





Note: David Hasselhoff could be of substance, but he was the first pinky ring man with product hair I found.  (Also, no Hasselhoffs were hurt in the making of this post)


~



I confess once in my 20's I told my husband not to waste his money on flowers, but if he wanted to get me something, he could buy me tools or something useful.  In my thirties, I began appreciating fresh flowers again, though I've suggested he not waste money on a card.



~



I confess I left the romantic-me somewhere on a high school gymnasium floor under a silver-glitter moon and a crepe-paper sky.  I've grown into too-much of a serious Capricorn.  This is a downfall for me or a blessing for my husband who can never mess up Valentine's Day because I have no expectations whatsoever.



~



I confess I think you can be in love with many people at once, but you have to choose.



I also believe there's more than one soulmate for everyone. I think there are many people you can have that kind of connection, but the trick is choosing the best for you, then working at it.  Love is easy, but relationships require work.



~



I confess I love sending and receiving valentines so much that I have a miniature metal mailbox on my kitchen window where my husband leaves me notes & drawings on days he goes to work.



If I could have a valentine's box outside my door and my neighbors and friends could/would leave me valentines, I would.  To me, there was nothing I liked better than decorating a shoebox and having classmates drop valentines in it-- that was a magical day in elementary school.





Happy Valentine's Day

to all the lovesick and moonstruck!



Amen!



Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com