Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 97

Monday meditation

Best Books of 2010

Kristin Berkey-Abbott made a list of her favorite poetry books of 2010 and I am happy that my book made the list (as did Susan Rich's, January O'Neil's, Sandra Beasley's, Diane Lockward's, Sandy Longhorn's, and, and, and...



I'll let you go to Kristin's blog post to see who else she recommends.

Beautiful WINNER of the Alchemist's Kitchen: Nancy P.

The winner of Susan Rich's wonderful new collection, The Alchemist's Kitchen is Nancy P!  



I will be seeing Susan Rich tomorrow and will have her sign it for you, then send it on your way.



Many congrats!



Thank you all for playing.  I have a new giveaway currently up.  A hardcover of The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin



which you can sign up to win here: On the 4 Day of Christmas...



Good luck all!

On the 4th day of Christmas... Free Happiness Project Book!

Several months ago, Kristin Berkey-Abbott sent me this book, The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin to read.



Which I did.



Then I loaned it to my sister and she read it.  Then to a friend and she read it.  Now, I finally have it back and I'm ready to send it to one of you.



What's fun about this book is Kristin left some notes in it. I left some notes in it (my friend and sister did not as they were being respectful to my book), but you are welcome to read it, leave some notes in it and when you are done, pass it on to someone else.



I thought it was a good read, an easy read, and it's one of those DIY memoirs I like where the author takes a project (whether it's doing everything Oprah says: Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk by Robyn Okrant to The Year of Yes by Maria Dahvana Headley who says yes to everything for one year).



Gretchen is trying to find happiness and does quite a lot, even to the point of trying to create a collection of bluebirds (because she heard people that have collections are happier).  There was one point in the book where I just wanted to say, Relax. Enjoy.  It was sort of a realization that she couldn't see the forest for the trees.



Anyhow, I will let you enjoy this book and make your own conclusions.



If you want me to mail you this book (a hardcover even!) to read, leave me a comment in box below anytime from now until December 12th, 2010 with a quick note on what makes you happy and I'll do a random drawing December 13th and mail you out the book.



In peace and happiness and gratitude,

~Kells

Mr. Penguin - First Homemade Gift of the Year

Thankful Thursday - The Friday Edition

I am behind in everything this week.



But I am thankful I am breathing, have good people in my life to listen to my concerns and to laugh with.



I am thankful that though I haven't got everything done, or even close, that my home is warm, my family is well and my pets are entertaining and happy.



I thank the hot shower every morning for coming on.  I thank the radio, the blow-dryer, and the clean clothes in my closet.



While the To-Do list remains undone, I am thankful that I am not a brain surgeon and missed an important surgery, all that I didn't do can wait, no one will die because I didn't check off "Laundry," because the house looks as if a small tornado filled with glitter and paint landed on our dining room table, that we're out of something important, something I was supposed to pick up, but forgot.  My life is not that important to anyone else's life and I am thankful that when things become a tad overwhelming, the only person who really suffers is me and honestly, compared to the world at large, to the people who wonder where their next meal is coming from, I have nothing, anything, to complain about.



I am thankful for the things I have that I haven't done, for leftovers, snacks, and finding a bottle of talking rain in the garage when I wanted something with bubbles.



The world can be a mess and I can feel like a mess, but I am typing this up, I am not overwhelmed or so tired I cannot realize all I have and give thanks.  For the pen, paper, and a few minutes when no one asks anything of me.  I am thankful that they ask, that they are here to ask and that all of this, the crazy, the busy, the hectic and the beautiful is all mine.



Giving thanks for the ability to give thanks.  This is what's important.

Under the Category: How did I miss this? Harryette Mullen interview!

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I have loved Harryette Mullen ever since I purchased this book Sleeping with the Dictionary (New California Poetry, 4), and was thrilled to see this interview with her here at How 2.  It's back from March and I'm happy to have found it.

Homemade Gifts for Christmas - The List of Things You Can Make Yourself

So I mentioned I would be making some of gifts this year.  Here are a few that are on the top of my list



(Click on the link to get the directions of How To)





Felt Penguins & Other Animals



































Bottlecap Necklaces, Charms, etc.

(you could make anything from these-- earrings, bookmarks, magnets...)





































Wood Block People (made from kid's blocks)

okay, a "real" artist did these, but I thought they were so cute and looked fun to do - my favorite being the one that looked like William Shakespeare--you could do a group of poets in these!)































Silhouette Checkbook Covers for the Relatives

























Patchwork Clipboard (I love these)



































Cute (or personalized) Binder Clips















































Marble Magnets (with photos of those you love...)





































Kid's Art (or your art) Handsoap (very easy & cute)

























No Sew Totes with Journal

The Voice of Reason: Charles Jensen Responds...

Charlie Jensen also blogged about that torturous article I posted yesterday, and he wrote about it so much better than I did!





Here's some things he said that I wish I did:









I've always thought that making more poets was a good thing, since it created more readers of poetry (theoretically). If more people are reading poetry, then more people are reading books, talking about poetry, thinking about poetry, supporting poetry readings and events, creating reading series, founding journals and magazines, and generally working to widen the reach and impact of poetry. This is a change from the former model, where only the highly educated, wealthy, and/or pretentious elite had access to "literature."





Do photography MFA programs worry they are creating too many photographers? While some MFA graduates will go on and become literary superstars, some will go on to write in their diaries. And there is certainly nothing wrong with that. 



For some people, the teaching credential is valuable. For others, the time to write. For still others, the community of writers with whom they work. These are all valid and valuable reasons to pursue an MFA degree. An MFA degree is also only required in the case of the first concern. . .









The world is already full of reasons why people shouldn't write. Let's not be part of creating another one.









~~  Yes!  And education for the sake of education is not a bad thing.  People spend money on new cars, giant televisions, monthly cable, dinners out and we don't say anything, but someone goes back to school and we wonder if they are "wasting their money."   Hmmm.





Thanks for this, Mr. Jensen!  An excellent response!

Confession Tuesday

My Answer?  "I'm taking the pets..."






Dear Reader,



I'm off to visit my friend Susan Rich today in Seattle, but wanted to slide in a few confessions before the ferry arrives...



To the confessional--



The Number 1 Answer was...



I confess I have realized that I would be the worst player on Family Feud because I realize my perception on the world is not the "majority's" perception on the world.



Example-- I was watching Family Feud and they said, "Name something you can never have too much of."  My answer?  Slippers.   Survey says: X   #1 answer:  Money.   My second answer:  Books.  Survey says:  XX



I was also kind of amused that "slippers" came before "books" for me, but honestly, who can enjoy a book if your feet are cold?



~



Shaken, Not Stirred



I confess I spent all day yesterday on military base for my daughter's field trip.  It's the same military base I would bring my daughter to when she was a baby for playgroups when she was a baby (pre 9/11).  After 9/11 everything changed on getting onto the base. It became much more strict and serious.  No cellphones with cameras allowed, car checks, strict background checks, etc.  Before it was, "Hey there!" and drive on in.



It's always weird for me (the peace activist, the liberal, the poet) to be on the military base (I tend to think about the bombs, the secret areas, the weapons), but I must say it's pretty intriguing to get to visit a military base if you haven't-- I have a huge respect for the soldiers, their rules & procedures on the base, and have met some of the nicest people there.  Of course, what really made my day was that my Visitor's Pass was numbered 007.  I tell you, had I been wearing my secret decoder ring, it could have been a very different day!



~



I confess I'm completely lost in the holiday spirit, domestic bliss, and all the home things I tend to ignore most the year.



I confess I am cooking (cooking!) these days.  This is not a norm for me as I confess that my husband does the majority of the cooking because I tend to get overwhelmed in the kitchen.  "Overwhelmed in the Kitchen" would be the title of my recipe book and it would include pages of menus of restaurants to call to make reservations.



But there's something about Christmas music playing in the kitchen that makes me don my vintage apron my Nana made and whip up enough Hearty Corn Chowder to eat and even extra to freeze.  I think honestly though, there is a part of me that worries if I get too Suzy Homemaker I might forget to write, I might give up everything to be June Cleaver.



Once I said, "I could be the person who just redecorates her house again and again..."  It was this fear that I might lose my artist self if I get too involved in what has been called (and not so nicely), "women's work."  I think if I look deeply into myself, one of the reasons I tend to poo-poo the domestic chores and housewifely things, is because 1) it's hard to be both  2) maybe I worry that I'll use all my creativity on the remodeling the bathroom and have nothing left for the page.



I'm not sure, but there's something more to for me to think about it, to think about why my artist heroes have always been the opposite of my life -- Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keeffe, Annie Lebowitz.  And my favorite poet mothers (Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton) killed themselves, something I wouldn't recommend.



But I'm happy these days with the Christmas music on in the background.  Maybe it's more of an "ignorantly bliss" since NPR has been turned off, but it's a good place, lala land, in the world of my mind and memories (I cannot tell you how many times I have mentioned my father in this last week), so I'll stay here a little longer, at least until Christmas, and maybe New Year's, then the real world will poke its head in again.  I'll be ready.



Amen.