đ My *Favorite Things* List
Gifts for your Favorite Poet or Person (or both!)
Hi Friend,
The holidays are approaching, and Iâve been feeling a bit Grinchy about it allâas if the season has somehow shifted from one of joy to one giant chore when I wasnât looking. How did that happen?! Iâve always loved the holidays, but this year, they feel like too much (wait, does everything feel like too much??). Like that Christmas song says, âItâs the most wonderful time of the yearââexcept right now Iâm feeling the first partâItâs the mostâŚ, no extra words needed.
So Iâve been trying to reframe the season from oh no, the holidays are coming! to something softer, maybe a space where we choose the moments we actually need: a good conversation, a day of PJs and reading in a comfy chair, a spontaneous get-together, hot cocoa, or just a quiet hour watching the fog sink into the trees. For me itâsâslowing down, staying offline, shopping less and/or with more intention.
I know this last year has been a lot for many of us (personally, Iâve felt in some sort of crisis-mode since May 2024!) But I read the other day that the opposite of anxiety is creativity (I always thought it was calmness, as I am highly creative with my anxiety and worst-case scenarios!) But what the author shared was that we can take all those uncomfortable emotions and make something from themâwrite a poem, journal, paint something, or even string fairy lights in the laundry room just because. Make beauty where there wasnât any. And I like that ideaâleave the world a little better each day. Create when you can.
One of my beliefs as a poet and a human trying her best to navigate this strange, gorgeous, difficult planet is remembering that our time is limited and instead of giving my energy into what I donât like, I try to amplify and share what I love.
So in that spirit, I thought Iâd share a few of my favorite things (and maybe it will make your shoppingâif you do shop!âa little easier).
Alsoâwhen you can, try to shop indie and/or local this seasonâyour local bookstore, your neighborhood shops, artists and indie sellers on Etsy. I know itâs tempting to click âbuy nowâ because ânext day delivery,â but every time we shop locally, our money circulates through our own communities and helps individuals and families over corporations (yay!).
đ Favorite Things (The Early Holiday Shopperâs Edition) đ
POETRY BOOKS! Hereâs a list of current favorites:
BirdBrains: A Lyrical Guide to Washington State Birds edited by Susan Rich and Stephanie DeLaney âThis one isnât officially out yet, but Iâve had the joy of reading some early poemsâeach about a different Northwest birdâand theyâre stunning. The book itself is beautiful (hardback!) and huge! And yes, I have a poem inside about my favorite bird, the kingfisher. (Oh and thereâs a BirdBrains release reading at Seattleâs Elliott Bay Books Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 6:00âŻpm., which Iâll be at.
The New Economy by Gabrielle Calvocoressi â I just finished this book and I adored it! Gabrielle does something in these poems that reminds me why we read in the first placeâto feeeeel (yes, with five eâs). If youâre someone who has one toe dipped in sadness, but who also walks through the world noticing the small miracles of being aliveâthis may be exactly the book you need right now. Its opening line is: The days I donât want to kill myself are extraordinary. From there, the book keeps opening up into how temporary everything is, and yet somehow it keeps choosing wonder and finding joy. Itâs my current favorite readâthe book I keep returning to, the one that keeps returning to me.I Do Know Some Things by Richard Siken âEvery page is a seemingly autobiographical prose poem, filled with the sly Siken wit and humor we love from his previous books. Iâm reading one poem a day so this book will last as long as possible. (Iâm also finding Iâm writing more prose poems after reading his poems!)
Glitter Road by January Gill OâNeil â Iâve been sharing this book since it came out last year, and with good reason. It won the 2024 Poetry by the Sea Best Book Award and the Julia Ward Howe Prize, and itâs a finalist for several others, including winning honors in the Massachusetts Book Awards. This is the end of the blurb I wrote for it, and I still mean every word: I cannot recommend this collection enough. Glitter Road is OâNeilâs most powerful book yet.
La Fermière Yogurt â A stupidly expensive but yummy French yogurt that comes in a reusable ceramic pot. This yogurt is more of a dessert (with its 17 grams of sugar), but itâs all natural and comes in the cutest little containers that you can buy lids for. I think I may have entered some sort of yogurt cult with this new love ($3.99 a pop!)âoh, I just learned they go on sale: 2 for $5! Now Iâm trying to figure out what art project to do with all my cute containers! Candles?
Loverâs Eye Jewelry: While we havenât had an official cover reveal for Accidental Devotions yet, I will share that the cover has an image of a loverâs eye on it. What is a Loverâs Eye, you ask? A âloverâs eyeâ is a miniature painting of a single eye, created as a token of secret affection during a late 18th and early 19th-century trend. These paintings were often set in jewelry, such as rings, brooches, and lockets, serving as a discreet way for lovers to show devotion while keeping the subjectâs identity secret. I found this Etsy shop (IzzyBees Treasures) that handmakes these and have ordered two, which I adore ($18 - $49).
Plant Propagators: I gave this to a friend last year and she loved it. Whatâs especially nice is that it sticks right to your windowâso itâs both a beautiful little decoration and a useful way to grow new plants. (Oh, and this shop also has hummingbird feeders.) Prices vary from $20 - $50.
Poet Mugs (& More) at HerbTeller: I gave the Elizabeth Bishop mug ($17) to a friend as a Hanukkah gift, but they also have Sylvia Plath, Rainer Maria Rilke, even Louise GlĂźck, along with Emily Dickinson Dew Herbfume (Oil/Perfume).
Aqua Notes ($15): Do you get all your best ideas in the shower? I do! So after forgetting lines or ideas for poems, I found these Aqua Notesâa waterproof pad and pencil I keep suction-cupped to a wall in my shower. I realize I have now been using them for over 10 yearsâwhich is crazy to me. (Also, I have these linked to the Evil Empire (aka Amazon) as the Aqua Notes website seems to be down today.)
Mini Word Cards by Muji â Iâm pretty sure I picked these up at Uwajimaya in Seattle and theyâve become one of my favorite little writing tools, but they make such sweet gifts for friends (especially poets). I jot a few words on each card and when Iâm writing and need an image or an idea, I pull one at random. (I also make wordlists on index cards because of course I do.) Iâve started making sets of these for poet friends, but if the person isnât a poet, you can fill the cards with favorite memories or things you love about them. It becomes this tiny deck of joy they can return to.
The Days of Accidental Devotions (which sounds like a new soap opera!)
Other than that, Iâve been spending my days/my daze deep in the cathedral of proofing my next book of poems, Accidental Devotions, which comes out May 12, 2026 from Copper Canyon Press.
Iâm both wildly excited and proud of this book, but also carrying some anxiety that comes with sending something so personal into the world. Itâs very much that feeling of Omg, this is the best thing Iâve ever written! and Omg, I didnât realize vulnerability has a publication date! Itâs a lot, but a good lot. I do hope youâll like it.
Oh, if you ever want to come to a poetry event or classâwhether itâs in real life or on Zoomâhereâs my current calendar. Iâve been starting to update it with events for 2026!
Also if you know of any opportunitiesâpodcasts, interview series, guest-speaking gigs at universities, online readings, conversations about poetry, desire, Emily Dickinson, technology, grief, the Pacific Northwest, or just being a human in the worldâfeel free to send them my way. You can reply to this email or always reach me at: kelli@agodon.com
So thatâs the downlow on the book and the favs. I hope youâre hanging in thereâmaybe even thriving! Or slowing down enough to spot the bits of beauty trying their best to outshine the ugly stuff as we continue spin together on this strange little planet.
Oh! And before I go, I want to share this image I snapped in downtown Seattleâjust in case you need to hear this today:
Sending peace, love, and poetry,
xo Kells
đWhere to find me: Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Daydreaming












I love this so much, Kelli! Just ordered Januaryâs book and yes on that crazy yogurt! I have been in that cult as of last week. âşď¸ Thank you for using your powers for good. Iâm inspired.
Love this! I, too, have these yogurt containers collecting all over the house as my daughter was on a huge kick earlier in the fall. Thanks for the titles!