Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 67

Thankful Thursday- Cerise Press

[image error]



From the person who hasn't been submitting poems this fall (okay, one submission), here's the reward of a spring submission--



Cerise Press



The issue just came out and I'm crazyhappy to have my poem included with poets such as Thomas Lux, Floyd Skoot, Lia Purpura, Larissa Szporluk, Ed Skoog, and Franz Wright (to name a few!)



My poem is an ekphrastic poem inspired by this image--





"The Botanists" by Gabriel von Max




It's an amazing issue.  And it's free.  Just stop by their Cerise Press website to view the online journal.



They also have sections on fiction, essays, translations and my favorite-- interviews!



So thank you, Cerise Press, for choosing my work and for having such an amazing online journal. I'm highly impressed!







Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Day 2 of November's Poem-A-Day Challenge: Some thoughts to help you through...

I have decided to try writing a poem-a-day for November.  I figure why not?  I have nothing to lose in doing this and everything to gain as far as new poems go.



William Stafford didn't believe in writer's block, he would say, "if you get stuck, lower your standards and keep going."



Here are a few of my thoughts on how to make writing a poem a day a feel-good event and not a month of annoyance--



1)  Start with a prompt, but no worries if you don't like it.  Each day, I'll check Robert Lee Brewer's Daily Prompts here, but if I find I'm having a hard time starting, I just pick up a book of poems, read a poem and see where it takes me.



2)  Write the poem, don't follow the rules.  If I start the prompt given, but find myself completely ignoring the rules of the prompt, I don't worry about it-- the goal is to write a poem, not to follow directions.



3)  Set a timer.  If I'm having trouble, I set a timer for 8 minutes and I have to write in the form of a poem until the time runs out.  Usually, I'm working on a poem by the time the alarm sounds, so I just keep working on it.



4)  Low expectations.  I'm not looking to be a superpoet here.  I'm looking to get some ideas, lines, or starts for poem, not write "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."  My goal is to get something on the page that resembles a poem.



5)  No sleep until poem is done.  This is always a favorite technique of mine because I love sleeping.  I tell myself I can't go to bed until I finish my poem.  You can make your own restrictions-- no dessert/chocolate/wine until poem is done.



6)  Make it a game.  Do something different each day.  Tell yourself you will only use nouns at the end of the line that begin with the letter H.  Or you will write a poem using things you overheard your spouse, child, neighbor, friend saying.



7)  Reward yourself.  Tell yourself at the end of the month, you will get _________ if you wrote 30 poems in November.  We are each motivated by gain or loss (for me, losing sleep works better than buying a new book as a reward bc I know I'll buy the book whether I complete the task or not, but creating a restriction for me works better-- of course, you can do both!)





Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

[image error]

Confession Tuesday

Photo from AstroBob blog:  http://astrobob.areavoices.com/




Dear Reader,



It's the day after Halloween and I am on a sugar-low.  Actually, I've been just on a regular low the past few days.  I'm not sure where it came from.  I haven't been taking my vitamins or getting enough sun/outdoor time.  In the Northwest, we are known to be deficient in Vitamin D.



But it's that time again, so I need to pep up to start the confessions.



To the confessional--



I confess I had not planned to do the poem-a-day for November, but only because I had completely forgotten about it.  I think I'll try, though will probably not post poems here and if I do, they will be up for a day then down.



If you're interested in writing a poem-a-day for November, here's the first prompt.



~



I confess going out trick-or-treating with my daughter for Halloween last night made me feel a little better.



We normally go to a big celebration in a neighborhood, which is more like a street party (read: kids running everywhere, extreme decorations and adults wandering the street with alcoholic beverages).  This year my daughter was invited by a friend to a different neighbor.



I confess I wasn't sure this was going to be a good idea.



However, as I walked the street with another mother, I enjoyed it.  There were enough kids for it to be fun and for me to see all the cute costumes, but not enough to be overwhelming and chaotic.



There was an incredible crescent moon and a fog on the hillside of yellow and red leaves. I tried to photograph it then realize some memories we just have to work hard to keep in our minds.  This will be one I will remember.



~



I confess that I *constantly* need to remind myself that I do not enjoy larger groups of people where I am required to be social.  (See Halloween-Past).  It amazes me how often I need to check in and realize many times to remember this.



It's sort of like that Talking Heads song, "Once in a Lifetime" except instead of finding myself with beautiful car and a beautiful wife, my song is more like-- You will find yourself standing in a large chaotic group of people and you will ask yourself, 'My God, how did I get here?'"



~



I confess after Trick-or-Treating, I came home and watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with my daughter because we had missed it before Halloween.  This movie always kicks off the holiday season for me.  And as I was watching it, I was wishing I would have spent a few more days before Halloween roaming a pumpkin patch or just experiencing autumn more (my favorite time of year).



Of course, Autumn doesn't end on November 1st.  But this is my emotional state--longing for something I already have.  It's confusing that way.



~



I confess I long for more visible moons in the sky.



Amen.

~

Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

For the Poets-- Poem-A-Day Challenge! --->

Robert Lee Brewer has once again sent up his poem-a-day, chapbook challenge for November on his blog, Poetic Asides.  Check it out here for ALL the details.



Who's in?



A poem a day is NEVER a bad thing.



Happy Writing!



Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Happy Halloween -Edgar Allan Pooh...

From www.SoMuchPun.comKelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Happy Halloween (photo costumes throughout the years...)

 2011 - Mr. & Mrs. Ricky Ricardo (aka my husband and me)






Me as Bret Michaels & other Poison member who just happened to be at the same party!  (I'm the one on the left) Another favorite costume...




Bret Michaels (me) & Jimi Hendrix (aka husband) 2010


Jack Skeleton & and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas 2009




Later that week, I became the Devil's Advocate  (I didn't want to wear my wig anymore) 2009




One of my favorite costumes Rosie the Riveter (2008)



[image error]
An Oldie-- Probably 1995/1996 - Me as Edvard Munch & my husband as  "The Scream" painting  -- Though looking back, we look as if we're hipsters...




 I hope you all find time to dress up as someone else today... Happy Halloween! Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

[image error]

Because you asked... the Original Toaster Ad

I received a couple emails asking to see what the original toaster ad looked like before I revised it. Here you go--









Let's promise to never be in love with our toasters...



Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Art Matters - Vintage Ad: "Forget the toast-- let's write some poems"

I found this old add for a toaster and decided to fix it up a bit.



I think our priorities are a little skewed when a toaster is more important than someone's passion.  Of course, if your passion is making toast, then this world was made for you.



Art Matters!



Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

[image error]

[image error]

Thinking about Sylvia Plath a Few Days after her Birthday...

Sylvia Plath has been on my mind.



She was born October 27, 1932 (she died at age 30, February 11, 1963).  So while playing around on Google, I found this--





Which led me to this Indiana University paper: "They Had to Call and Call": The Search for Sylvia Plath Peter K. Steinberg



As I read the paper, here are a few things that stood out to me--





Anne Stevenson suggests: "Almost every writer I know has severe depression...It's when you know you're not fulfilling yourself, when you know you're letting yourself down. To be an artist, you have to grant a certain authority to yourself'" (qtd. in Malcolm 107).

Plath chose to attempt suicide while her mother watched A Queen is Crowned at the Exeter Street Theatre in Boston the afternoon of August 24, 1953.6 She took a bottle of sleeping pills, filled the Friday before, along with a glass of water and a blanket into the basement. 

(Note from Kelli:  This was what we know as her first attempt at suicide as a 20 year old at Wellesley)

In October 1962, after completing The Bell Jar, Plath stated in an interview: "I believe that one should be able to control and manipulate experiences, even the most terrifying, like madness ... I think that personal experience is very important" (Orr 169)



_____________

What I loved about this paper was the first page, the author took many of the headlines for the missing 20-year-old Plath. It's a beautiful remember about old newspapers and their different fonts.  I also learned that the Boy Scouts and a bloodhound helped search for the young Sylvia Plath.









For me, the surprise in all of this, was how reported her first suicide attempt was, though we didn't know her as we do now.  











Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Success - In a Drawing...

This is so true...Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com