the people in your neighborhood 🎉
welcome the new friend you didn't even know you needed, Kelli Russell Agodon--her poetry collection is funny, intimate, and real
Up top: I’m delighted you’re here. Happy you’re a reader of my newsletter. Happy you’ve made read.write.eat. a bestseller! Yay us! Especially happy when you write to let me know what’s appealed to you, made you feel less lonely, and/or made you laugh. Please, keep letting me know.
What some of you may not know: I write a diary, THE RIGHT TO FOLLY, which is about taking care of my recalcitrant 86-year-old mother. I never send the posts directly to your inbox because you signed up for banter, books, writing tips, and recipes. Yet the writing over on THE RIGHT TO FOLLY is some of the realest writing I do. In case you are interested in browsing:
Let me know what you think. Onward!
hi hi,
I am practicing a bit of shine theory with the People in my Neighborhood series. Uplifting us all with bright and smart and interesting people doing good work… forging community, caring for the underserved, making art, expanding our lives, and teaching us to manage anxiety. Take care everyone. Be kind.
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PEOPLE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD: On a ramble through my neighborhood I got to thinking about Sesame Street (as one does), particularly about the song, “The people in your neighborhood.”
We’re all surrounded by interesting and thoughtful people, and since building and nurturing community is my forever goal, I thought I’d pay closer attention to people around me. So far we’ve met
Enter Kelli — a beloved person to me, someone who delivers much light and laughter. I admire how she shows up in the world, bringing curious and fresh views through her poetry. Plus, she’s the real-real. Not afraid to show her vulnerability. I feel so lucky to be counted as her friend. Kelli and I met at a writing retreat at Hedgebrook. In an evening of sharing work, Kelli expressed interest in my writing about breast cancer treatment. Lo… she published my memoir, COMMUNITY CHEST, through her press, TWO SYLVIAS PRESS. I’m so excited for you to meet her!
Kelli’s full-length collection of poems, ACCIDENTAL DEVOTIONS, was released last month from Copper Canyon Press. And, her previous collection, DIALOGUES WITH RISING TIDES, a finalist for the Washington State Book Awards, is a favorite of mine, for the wit, the wisdom, the tenderness.
Do yourself the favor of signing up for her substack: Kelli Russell Agodon, follow her on instagram, and check her website here.
With that, here’s Kelli…
…
read:
From Kelli: A few books I’ve fallen in love with—what you should know, I’m an editor, poet, and writer who wants to be engaged, surprised, and if possible, to have my heart ripped out of my chest—metaphorically. I tend to read a lot of poetry, and then memoirs and nonfiction over fiction. When I do read fiction, I don’t want to have to think too hard—I want to be entertained and taken for a ride. I will tell you the books I like, not what I think will impress, as those books are my least favorite recommendations — like when you ask for a bubblegum book and someone suggests James Joyce. But I do like a good messy relationship book, whether fiction or memoir.
THE NEW ECONOMY (poetry) by Gabrielle Carvorocessi. The book begins with these lines:
The days I don’t want to kill myself
are extraordinary. Deep bass. All the people
in the streets waiting for their high fives
and leaping, I mean leaping,
when they see me. I am the sun-filled
god of love. Or at least an optimistic
under-secretary. I read this book and immediately wished I had read it slower, that it wasn’t over. Gabrielle (or “Gaby” as she’s known) puts every vulnerable thought or moment all in service to the poem. And when a poet shows up to open your heart, you let them. We need more humanness. This book is it.
Natalie here: I was lucky to sit in on a lecture from Gaby at my MFA program. She was an inspiration. So kind. So approachable. I love her work, and love the way Kelli says the emotions and thoughts are ‘in service’ to the poem. We all need to do that, be in service to our writing. Don’t hold back. Readers will pick up what you are putting down.
ALL FOURS (fiction) by Miranda July. When I started All Fours, I had no idea what I was in for, but when the protagonist, a 45-year-old mother pulls off the freeway and abandons all plans from her cross-country roadtrip for a cheap motel, I was in. Yes, some people hate the main character, I didn’t. In fact, I never had any idea what she was going to do next. I liked this book so much that I asked friends for recommendations of what to read next if I loved All Fours. Several people suggested BIG SWISS a novel about a 45-year-old transcriptionist for a sex therapist who becomes obsessed with one of his clients. I devoured that one too, finishing it in two days.
Natalie here: I LOVED BIG SWISS. I laughed out loud multiple times, which in my world is an enormous gift!
STRANGERS (memoir) by Belle Burden. You’ve probably heard about this one. It opens during Covid lockdown: Belle and her husband buy a Posturepedic mattress. Four days later, he leaves her. (And no, it’s not because of the mattress. That was just one of those bizarre details that stayed in my brain.) What follows is one of those books that begins with what appears to be a happy, stable marriage until it suddenly isn’t. As the story unfolds, Belle discovers she has almost no understanding of their finances, investments, legal documents, or even what her future looks like without her husband. She has spent years doing what she called “quiet compliance” while trusting that everything was somehow taken care of. If you don’t read this book, at least let it be a reminder to make sure your finances are sound, your name is on the accounts, and you know where the important papers are. Trust me on this one.
Opportunities to engage in the r.w.e. community:
Mentor Book Group— in which we read memoirs, personal growth books, fiction and discuss what we might like to adopt in our own “work-in-progress” lives. ORBITAL, by Samantha Harvey will be our June book, meeting on 28 June at 9a pacific time. Love to have you join us.
If you’d like to discuss books with me and a group of smart and lively readers, the r.w.e. book group selection for July is THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY, by Elizabeth Strout. We will meet Sunday, 12 July, also at 9a pacific time on zoom. Want to join in?
The book groups are a perk for paid subscribers. I’d love to get to know you better:
Thank you in advance for sharing your love!
Check my read.write.eat. Bookshop Store, where you will find many of the books I've recommended in the newsletter. Buying books from my shop is a way you can be a friend to the newsletter.
write:
Natalie here: Please note Kelli’s invitation to all of us to show up!
From Kelli: For my morning writing practice, I’ve begun writing prose poems. I make a cup of coffee, read some poems by another poet, then put on my headphones (I write to music for the muscle memory), and just start writing about whatever is on my mind or the events of yesterday while not worrying about line breaks. Here’s my playlist:
What I’ve learned: the prose poem is a place where seemingly unrelated things coexist.
I take unrelated events, memories, conversation snippets, whatever weird thought is on my mind and put them in a poem. I can be writing about wildfires and bring in a memory about my first dog, Cookie. I can then move on and how sad I am about world, but also how delicious that Key lime pie was at dinner. I started viewing prose poems as Joseph Cornell boxes, a space where you put items into a container and they create connections and meaning.
To share what a prose poem is, here’s one from my newest book ACCIDENTAL DEVOTIONS:
~ Kelli Russell Agodon from Accidental Devotions (Copper Canyon Press)
As you can see, this poem has all the feels. Everything all at once, which is pretty much how my life has felt for the last two years, if not the last decade.
Since beginning this practice of writing prose poems, I’ve probably written more than a hundred drafts. That doesn’t mean they’re all finished or that they’ll all become “real poems.”
It simply means I’ve been showing up.
Most mornings, I wake up and write a prose poem before email gets its hands all over me. I’m less attached to the outcome than I am to the act of writing itself. I don’t worry too much about whether the poem succeeds or fails. I’m curious about what arrives when I sit down and pay attention. Sometimes it’s a poem. Sometimes it’s a confession. Sometimes it’s a rant because I made the mistake of checking the news before coffee. (I don’t recommend checking the news before writing…ever.)
I’ve started to think that if I ever kept a diary of my world, it would be in prose poems. Every so often, I’m tempted to buy one of those old-fashioned diaries with a tiny lock and key and fill it with daily paragraphs of my life.
Hmmm, maybe that’s an idea I’ll offer to you—buy a notebook (or diary!) and give yourself a paragraph a day. Don’t worry about whether it’s a good poem or even a poem at all. Let it be a place to notice your life as it’s happening—a diary of crows and coffee, heartbreak and hydrangeas, text messages and windchimes. After a year, I bet you’ll end up with something better than a record of your days; you’ll have a conversation with the person you were while you were living them.
Two easy poetry writing exercises you can do even if you don’t consider yourself a poet:
WRITING EXERCISE #1:
THE JOSEPH CORNELL BOX POEM (5-7 minutes)
Make a list of six things that don’t seem to belong together.
For example:
A specific type of bird
A voicemail or overheard conversation
A childhood object
A famous person (dead or alive)
A weather event
A secret
Now use all six inside a prose poem.
Do not explain how they connect. Trust the poem to create its own logic.
If you need an opening, start with “I carry” or “I remember” (you can always edit it out later). Write for 5-7 minutes.
WRITING EXERCISE #2
DAILY COLLECTIONS (5 – 7 minutes)
Begin with:
“Today I…” (Or “I remember…”) –again, you can always edit that out later.
Then fill the prose poem with:
• one thing you saw
• one thing you remember
• one thing you lost or found
• one thing you wish you’d said
• one impossible thing (whatever that means to you)
(If you do this daily, you may want to jot these down before you begin or if you use a notebook, grab that!)
Allow the poem to move through all of them without worrying about transitions.
eat:
From Kelli: One thing about me, I am not a chef by any means. Cooking has always made me feel completely uncomfortable and stressed. Some people unwind by chopping onions, I see a recipe with more than six ingredients and immediately need a nap.
Many evenings I eat what the internet now calls “girl dinner,” which sounds much more charming than me standing in front of the refrigerator holding a container of hummus and celery while making important life decisions. My version usually includes several cheeses, fruit, veggies, crackers, and whatever else can be assembled rather than prepared. Dessert is a thin cracker smeared with goat cheese and fig jelly—well, several of those!
But, I do have a cocktail for you! The Devotional, was created by my friend, poet Lucy Griffith, to go with my book, ACCIDENTAL DEVOTIONS.
The Devotional
Ingredients:
1 sugar cube
2 dashes of my friend Davis’s homemade bitters (if you’re not friends with Davis, Angostura will do)
2 ounces bourbon (Woodford Reserve or Basil Hayden’s are my go-tos)
1 orange twist
1 large ice cube
Rocks glass (chilled)
Instructions
1. Place the sugar cube in the glass.
2. Add the bitters and muddle until the sugar begins to dissolve.
3. Pour in the bourbon.
4. Add one large ice cube and stir until well chilled.
5. Garnish with an orange twist.
Drink with moonlight, beautiful strangers, Emily Dickinson, and/or ghosts.
Thank you, Kelli! I’m so tickled you took the time to be here with us and I could not be more delighted that your poetry, your voice, is in the world! I’m verklempt!
Stanley, gazing at a bright future!
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Wonderful post (as always)...thanks for introducing me to Kelli (we'll be friends forever!)...and terrific photo of Stanley! Thank you
Natalie - I love how you keep bringing the unexpected. Even though I just enjoyed Kelli's company at our last book club, it was delightful to run into her again here. The cocktail recipe is on my mind, though I thought I would abstain tonight. And I loved revisiting that poem - with one of her truly delectable titles.