Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 77

Karen from the Art of Doing Stuff Builds a Chicken Coop in Real Time

Now, here's some good live TV.  My favorite part is when the chickens run by.  ;-)

Live TV : UstreamKelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Why Punctuation is Important-- It Can Save a Person's Life-- Read on...

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Now, if every your kids ask, is it really important?  You'll have an example!Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Good Though of the Day (Neil Patrick Harris style)

I *heart* him.
Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Poetry: Where the Big Money Is(n't) - Let's Talk...

There's an interesting blog post here by Nic Sebastian to check out called "poetry – an inherently non-profit activity?"



Nic writes:



The fact is that selling poems is just not good business. Packaging poems 'for sale only' doesn't make money and cuts down on potential readership. Do we want to sell poems, or get them read? The two objectives are, in my view, mutually exclusive to a high degree. Sell, ok – but don't only sell.





~

It's an interesting concept that goes even deeper in the large much read book, The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde.





Truth be told, the majority of the money I've from by writing poetry has not come from royalties, book sales, or payment from magazines and publishers, but from reading honorariums, teaching at writing/reading conferences or poetry festivals, individual consulting and editing on poems and poetry manuscripts with writers, and from grants.





Writing a poem has not been my ticket to J.K. Rowling-ville.  It has not equalled a movie deal or an appearance on Oprah.  I am not on booktour in England.  I do my own laundry.



But still, I do it.



Why spend so much time on something that offers such a small financial reward?  In a world & culture centered around commerce, this doesn't make sense.



But it does.



I've said it before-- Writing a poem is an optimistic act.  And this is what I know of all true artists and writer friends-- the writing or art is always the first thought, not the money.



We forget there are other rewards besides financial.



If I was making zero money from writing or the things attached to writing (teaching, editing, consulting, one-on-one work, etc), I would have less time to write because I would need to find some way to pay the rent.  But I would still write.



I would still write poems even if I knew they wouldn't be published.  Even if I knew they or their comet tail of dreams would never open any doors, earn me any money, bring me any amount of success.



Would I like poets, writers, & artists to be earning equal or greater amounts of money compared to Hollywood actors--- oh, I would love that!



Do I think poets, writers, and artists should have salaries as high at the top paid CEO -- yes, and even more so they can share the wealth with others.



But maybe that's the thing-- money distracts.  It can make us forget who we are.



But if I had the choice-- I'd take the risk that you all could live on incredible over-the-top poetry salaries and still make the best decisions for you and your art.  I would trust that.



I guess my feeling is don't ever close the door on the idea that writing poems could earn you enough money to live more-than-comfortably, give you enough money to travel freely, or take care of you, but also, don't expect it.



Will it ever happen?  I guess we'll all just have to live a little longer and see what works out.



(Though I'm thinking my new Kelli Ru$$ell Agodon signature might be a little premature.)



Cha-ching!Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Thankful Thursday - Summer Reading Edition

I am feeling thankful today for the writers and artists in the world.  And I'm also thankful for books.  

Here's a list of what I've read, what I'm currently reading and what I plan to read this summer--



TOP PICK for Parents--

The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School  Alexandra Robbins  ---  I just started reading this, but am tearing my way through (I have the eBook edition).  

If you have kids, especially tweens-teenagers (5th-12th grade), I highly recommend this.  

It discusses that the qualities that can make a child "unpopular" in middle school and high school are the qualities that make them a successful and strong adult.  (BTW, unpopular kids in school included Bruce Springsteen, Steve Jobs, Lady Gaga, Steven Spielberg -- though all I kept thinking when I read this was how I wished I went to Bruce Springsteen's high school...)

It looks at the different "types" of kids (through real observation of actual kids) exploring The Gamer, The Popular Bitch, The Weird Girl, The Loner, The Geek, The New Kid, and some others.

Anyway, I have a feeling I'll be finished with this in a couple of nights and will do a full review of it.  So far, it's been hard to put down and is a great reminder how important it is to follow your own path & help your kids do the same (despite the high school/middle school push to conform to the beliefs/values/personalities of others).

~

Great Summer Read (hilarious)--

Bossypants by Tina Fey.  I read the eBook extended version, which had extra photos & even a short audio file (which was kind of cool), but I bet this would have been hilarious in (Audio) because she narrates it.

~For the Visionary-Wanna Bes--

Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible by Daniel Burrus - A pretty interesting book on how companies and people make the right choices because they know the difference between a hard trend & a soft trend, as well as other "triggers" that can help you see where the future is going. 

The triggers he offers are smart (if you go to the Amazon page, the first review has a great summary of them).  However, much of the book looks at the internet and towards the end, his own business, which for me, wasn't as interesting as when we were exploring the ways to get FlashForesight.

Also, while I'm a writer, I have also always been stronger in math and business (no fooling), so I do want to say since I know many of you who read this are more artisty, writerly types, there is a lot of talk about business, companies like Crocs, Starbucks, etc, and really, not too much discussion on the arts.  

But I did find the idea of having Flash Foresight interesting in many aspects of our lives.

~

For those Looking for Calmness--

Buddhism for Busy People: Finding Happiness in an Uncertain World by David Michie --

I'm listening to this book and it's a good listening voice because the author is English--the only weird thing about the audio edition is that every so often, it goes completely silent, there's this sort of stop/start element to it as if the recording studio didn't know how to manage pauses or editing.  It doesn't really change the content of the book, just something I noticed.

The book is lovely though.  I'm not sure someone who is well-versed in Buddhism would like it as much as it goes over the principles of Buddhism and the basics, but for me, it's an interesting account of how a London business man ended up adding Buddhism to his life.  

And as an extra benefit, I've started meditating again.  10 minutes a day.  Not much, but a start.  



For the Poetry Lovers--

Dean Young's Fall Higher  I haven't purchased this, but plan to very soon.  He just had a poem on Poetry Daily you can read here.

Jeannine Hall Gailey's She Returns to the Floating World will be out this month!  You can pre-order.  I have had the pleasure of reading this book pre-release since Jeannine is a good friend of mine, and it was pretty incredible mixing Japanese folklore and myths with modern life.





Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Confession Tuesday

Dear Reader,



It's been a long sunny weekend since the last time I confessed.



I confess sunshine helps.



It's amazing when you live most of your life wearing a gray helmet, what some blue sky, some birds, some sun on my face does.



I'm constantly learning so much about myself, it's as if I've been living in this body for 42 years, and still have no idea who I am sometimes.



So let's begin, to the confessional--



I confess the HHP (huge home project) I've been mentioning lately has actually made me want to sell my house and move.



And I confess when I took a walk and realized that smaller home on the sea was for sale, I walked down the driveway and saw that it was vacant.  And when my daughter pulled open the back door and I knew it was unlocked, I returned the next day with a friend and we walked through the entire house imagining what it would be like to live here.



I confess this feeling of running away from my troubles kind of worried me.



But when I sat on the back deck and said to myself, "If I see a seal, it means I should buy a house a water" and a seal appeared, I thought it was a sign.



And maybe it was.



Maybe it was a sign that one day I will live in a house on the sea.



And maybe it means I live in a place with a lot of seals.  And a lot of bald eagles, and deer (and coyotes and bear, but I didn't want to see one of them).  And I could have chosen any of those animals and be given the answer I wanted to hear.



And maybe at that moment when I sitting on the dock, it occurred to me that the life I have right now is exactly the life I had visualized and wanted at an earlier time-- house near the water in a small town with a family and pets where I live my life as a writer.  Check. Check, check, check.



So my dream came true, but then I changed.  Or more truthfully, my life feels a little chaotic due and I want to run away.  I want to live someone else's life.



So once again I realized it's not the wood house in I need to change, but what's inside my own flesh & blood house.  And then the sun came out.



No, that's not a metaphor, quite literally the sun came out.



Finally, a break in the weather, after 8 months of overcast and 30-50 degrees we hit the sunshine target.  77 degrees.  Even warmer.  I have not seen 77 degrees since last August.  The city people shed their blazers.  The country folk shed their shoes.



And I spent a day in the garden doing what I could to the part of the house I could take care of.  All day the towhees flitted above me and our neighborhood mourning doves, they sat in the tree above me sounding like midday owls.



And I put my hands in the soil.  And I pulled buttercups.  Trimmed the obnoxious butterfly bush.  Dusted off my Kuan Yin statue and put a flower in her hands.



And it was here I realized for the one-billionth time: it doesn't matter where I live as the happiness comes from inside.  



And at that moment, I felt happy.  Even with the looming HHP, I could see my daughter in her treehouse painting the walls with names of countries with her cat (albeit on a leash) looking out through the lattice enjoying the day.  My golden retriever was sleeping with a random glove he found in someone's yard (um, sorry neighbors, he knows not what he does), and I noticed the grey sky was completely gone (literally and metaphorically).



All of it.  Blue sky, lawnmower music from the people down the road, my loud neighbor Judy laughing, a cozy bed waiting for me when I was done.  I was finally feeling like myself again.  And not the self that wants to run away from troubles, but the one who gets her hands dirty.



I guess the prescription was -- just add sunshine and a little outdoor time.



And even with my worries about the house project, I could still hear the birds.



Amen.Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Hold on Tight, Ladies! The Summer is Arriving...

Okay, if you live in the Northwest where I do, you might be saying that I am an incredible optimist in writing "Summer is Arriving" as there has really only been one or two days this spring when it a) hasn't been raining  b) we could actually see blue sky  c) it's been above 60.



So, last night I put on my turtleneck, wool sweater and wool hat (yes, sadly, this is normal June entire in the NW) and went for a walk.



Things I saw on my walk--



1) a deer

2) a seal

3) a giant birthday balloon



No, I do not live in the zoo, though to the average reader, it might appear so.



But in going for the walk I realize that my "Summer Hours" on my computer must begin for me now.



I realize that I have been spending WAY too much time inside and/or on my computer than outside.  Today despite the weather I will either go mountain biking or for a hike.  I need to clear my head.  And oddly, I need to do less.



So what does this mean?



Less is the New More:  As I said in an earlier post and have sort of done, but I'll be posting less frequently.  But definitely on Confession Tuesdays, so if you're feeling as if you need a Book of Kells kick, visit me here on Tuesdays for sure.



Postcards from the Outside - I do hope to email into this blog from the outside world.  I did this one summer before and it was a good time.  I'd email photos in of what was going on or what I was seeing.   And while a few postcards arrived as just visual images and not words, due to my inability to figure out a simple email format, I still enjoyed keeping touch that way.



As I type this, this post feels oddly familiar, like the post I typed a few weeks ago overly excited about the summer.  It's been a long December here in the Northwest, but weather report is predicting sun and I think I need it.  I am too close to becoming a vampire (when was the last time I saw sun), a vampire in a turtleneck wearing a wool hat and watching seals...Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Thankful Thursday - Blogs & Introverts... or Introverts & Blogs

Today is Thankful Thursday and here are a few things I am grateful for--



Introverts! --

A great article in Forbes magazine on why introverts make great leaders.



I've been appreciating (and dare I say "honoring") own introvertedness.  Yes, I've said before, if you met me, you'd think I was an extrovert.  I speak loudly (I have terrible hearing), I'm friendly and smiley (big eyes, big teeth), but truly, large social gatherings do me in.



I gain my energy from being alone. I probably need 2 hours quiet/alone time for every one hour with a large group.  This is really what being an introvert is-- where you gain your energy (from the inside = introvert) rather than from being with other people (from the outside = extrovert).



It's not how well you do in a social situation and being an introvert is not the same as having social anxiety (though sometimes they do go hand-in-hand). But know that many introverts are incredible socially and there are extroverts who are socially inept.



And we live in a culture where "being popular" and "having a lot of friends" are considered good things and things one should strive for.  But I tend to lean toward quality and not quantity, not that I don't have a lot of people I consider friends, but I'm cautious and aware of who I spend my time with.



And I do sometimes remind myself that normal & happy (for me) is having a large amount of time alone.



What I love?  And what am I thankful for--



Dinner parties/social outings with no more than 4 friends

One-on-one time

Dinners out with no more than 2 other couples

Spending the evening talking to one person

Meeting new people, but being able to talk with them outside a group

__________________



I'm also thankful for Blogs and other bloggers!



I was supposed to put 5 new blogs I've been reading for DJ's Versatile Blogger Award, but haven't.  So here are some new blogs I've started reading recently and a little description of them.



What I realize as I put them down one-by-one, is that they each have something visual and creative to offer me.  Even if it's something to do with the home, these blogs offer eye-candy and the part of the mind that appreciates simple beauty.





Inspired by Charm:  This blog makes me happy.  It's so clean and well, inspiring.  The blogger, Michael, is a bed and breakfast owner in Saint Marys, Pennsylvania.  He cooks and sews and appreciates beauty.  One of his blog posts said something like "Today was one evil test and although I'm pretty sure I failed miserably, I'm happy I get to try again tomorrow."



Kelly Sauer Blog:  She's a photographer from Charleston, South Carolina.  I read her bio and she likes rainy days and poetry.  Always good.  I like seeing her photos, plus she's creative in other ways.



You Are My Fav: I may have mentioned this one before, but I love this blog because the blogger, Melanie, just posts her favorite things.



Jane's Apron:  Domestic eye-candy.  Vintagey stuff.



Marta Writes:  Marta offers both the visual and the words to go with them.  If there's a blogger who has the spark to "make it big" somehow, she'd be my pick.  Maybe's she's already made it big, I'm not sure, but I always enjoy her blog.





~~~  So there's my picks of new blogs I'm reading and have found in 2011.



Happy Thursday.  And feel free to tell me what you're feeling thankful for today.  I am currently feeling thankful for Goodwill and finding the perfect bowl for my betta fish, Picasso Whitman.Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Happy Birthday, Marilyn...

When it comes down to it, I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I'm already better than them.



Marilyn MonroeKelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com

Confession Tuesday - The Finding Your Passion Edition

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I love his smile...




Dear Reader,



It's been one week, one 3 day weekend, and one headachy week since my last confession.



I am feeling better today.  There is a point when one realizes that life happens and we can go running into the streets cursing at the sky for being too blue, or we can sit on our porch and agree we have a lot to be thankful for.



I must say, coming to the chapter "Finding Your Passion" in Cecile Andrew's The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life could not have better timing.  I have been reread this book yearly since 1998 and honestly, it's like having my own personal therapist on my nightstand who "gets it," who gets what I'm trying to do in my life.



But before I go any further, we might as well make this official.

To the confessional--





Being a Writer During a Recession:



I confess this section of the book is underlined in many different colored pens and has stars everywhere.



Last night, I restarred this line (spoken by another artist):



When the economy collapses, it's not going to make much difference to the artists.  We're the cockroaches of society, and we an survive anything.





Now while I'd replace the word "cockroaches" with the word "stones," I get what s/he is saying.  We can live well in a recession because we're always in a recession.



Someone once asked me if it was hard keeping a literary journal (Crab Creek Review) going during a recession and I replied, "Literary journals are always in a recession."  But that's the beauty, our donations and the orders to our journal have not gone done after the housing market crashed, after stocks plummeted.  The people who support us, support us no matter what the economy is doing.



I feel the same way about poetry readers and poets and writers.  And I am thankful for those who keep their priorities straight-- books before _______________ (fill in the blank).  I know I may not have enough money for the new fashion item of the season, but I always have enough for a book.



~

On Finding Your Passion--



I confess I love this paragraph:



Living your passion means finding something that you love to do, committing yourself to it, believing in it, and persevering, no matter what the financial rewards.  It is something that is an authentic expression of who you really are.  You get energy from it, you feel alive when you do it.





page 84, The Circle of Simplicity



I am always interested when people say, "But I don't know what my passion is..."



I tend to think they know, I always respond, It's the one thing you'd still be doing EVEN if no one paid you for it... 



But that's the problem many times.  We live in a culture that puts monetary wealth over what brings us joy.  We want to do what brings us money even if it doesn't bring us joy.  We believe in equals:  money = happiness.  And while I believe we need a certain amount to make sure our key needs are met-- food, warmth, housing (and for me, time to write), I have always agreed with Forrest Gump, "Now, Momma said there's only so much fortune a man really needs and the rest is just for showing off."



~

How Writing Helps the Suck-Factor



When you are doing what you love, you feel more magnanimous, more kindly, less resentful and envious.



I confess when I had what felt like such a sucky time last week, it was writing that brought me back to myself.



Being lost in revising a poem or writing something new is equal or greater to most everything I might want to do in a life, in a day.



It reminded me that while we have to pay for something that is sadly, more than we can afford, that does not affect my writing life.  Yes, there will be sacrifices, a loan, a new monthly payment, but I am still a writer.



The library did not close.  The books were not stolen from my shelves.  No one took my laptop or internet connection.  My paper and pens are still on my desk.  I still have a home. My family still hugs me.  My cats still break things and are loved for their cuteness.  My golden retriever still wants to lick the whipped cream can.  In essence, all is the same except my entire life's financial amount has decreased, so what.  No one was putting that on my gravestone anyway.



I can still write.  And I do.



~



Finding Happiness:







I confess I made a list to see what I really needed to bring me happiness. Here is part of it---



1)  my family

2)  my good friends

3)  a comfy bed, enough light to read and a book

4)  warm feet

5)  hot showers

6)  writing and my laptop

7)  a good internet connection

8)  playing Boggle with my family

9)  having good food to eat

10) my pets

11) a tidy house

12) time

13) allergy medicine in the spring through August

14) decent health

15) coffee in the morning



My most-expensive expenses are my laptop and the internet.  Writing makes me feel grounded. Time is my most important fortune.  My family, friends and pets are what I value and love most.  I have a warm bed and give thanks for the $29 lamp on my nightstand.



~

Open Heart, Closed Doors





I confess I think I learn and relearn everything I've written about above.  And while I might sound confident today, I'll forget and have to refind myself again, revisit what brings me joy.



I'll open the door to misery, to the person who tries to steal my energy, to TV news, to garbage blowing into my home.



I'll forget--I always do--and purchase that new thingamabob, thinking, "This will make me happy" (or "This makes me happy, I shall buy it!") only to find, I now have something new to dust and have added work to my life.



I need to open my heart to what really fills me--family, writing, friends--and not much else.  In certain ways, I am Forresta Gump, simple pleasures, simple life.



Yes, it's easy to forget the beauty in the world.



I do it too often then have to catch myself, my net is thankfulness what I do have.  And walls to block out parts of the world, I choose not to let in.  So today, I feel a little more connected and thankful, but as you read this, please don't think it's always easy to feel this way, we are humans being bombarded with messages of "what we're missing" - we're not, we have all we need in this very moment.  I have to remind myself of that all the time.



I confess I am thankful for my imperfections and forgetfulness, as these lessons are always good to learn again.Kelli Russell Agodon
www.agodon.com