Poets at Work, Overnight Oats, & Orcas...
Join Me To Write New Poems this Month
Dear Friend,
Since we last connected, Seattle’s AWP happened, as well as a surprise trip to Paris, a fantastic teaching gig with Jane Wong at Write Doe Bay on Orcas Island , several poetry readings, Jeannine Hall Gailey’s book launch for Flare, Corona, and probably a few more things I’m forgetting.
Above is the patch I wore on green coveralls at AWP while working the Two Sylvias booth. The best compliment I received on this look was from a student who attends the MFA program where I teach (Pacific Lutheran University’s Rainier Writing Workshop (aka RWW) who said, Kelli is wearing a flight suit like Maverick in Top Gun and totally pulling it off! I laughed so hard—um, watch out, Tom Cruise, I am coming for you. Here’s the full look (I had not even considered I looked like Top Gun cast member!):
I’m on the left in coveralls, poet Saúl Hernández is in the middle holding his beautiful new chapbook, At Night My Body Waits, which won the Two Sylvias Chapbook Prize, and Annette Spaulding-Convy, the other cofounder of Two Sylvias is on the right.
Also, this week a dream of mine was fulfilled. I was paddleboarding on Hood Canal ( a fjord in Western Washington and one of the four main basins of Puget Sound) when I heard what sounded like porpoise. So I turned my board towards them and began to paddle out towards the sound when I saw what looked like a small black sailboat sail coming out of the water. As my heart began to pound, I realized I was looking directly at the dorsal fin of an orca whale!
I hectically grabbed for my iPhone, which was around my neck in a waterproof pouch, hit record, and aimed it towards the whales (I could see two at this point—one directly in front of me and one to the south). I hadn’t realized how “slow” orcas seem, so for about the next 10 minutes I just watched them pass in front of me.
While the canal rarely has the resident pod of orcas visit, this transient pod (Pod TS65A) called “Bigg’s Orcas” visits several times a year. I have lived here for seven years and have never seen them. So not only seeing them but seeing them while on my paddleboard was a huge gift.
And when I saw them, I had been thinking about the new poetry manuscript I am working on—sometimes when I’m on my paddleboard, I run titles through my head or think about the structure of the book. I think seeing the orcas right at the moment I was thinking about my manuscript made it extra special, as if the natural world was giving me a positive sign to keep working on it.
If you want to see the video I took of the orcas, you can see that here. Note: The quality is not super great, as filming with an iPhone in a plastic bag while balancing on a paddleboard does not yield the best results (weird!), but I’m glad I captured something. A lot of the other video was of the empty water, my sweatshirt, the sky, my finger—I’m sure Steven Spielberg's early work looked similar to this.
Upcoming Classes, Workshops, and Poetry Salons:
Write Poems with Me:
Generate New Poems: A Weekly Muse Zoom Class with Kelli Russell Agodon (aka me!), June 24, 2023 from 10 am - 12 pm PST:
We are calling these “pop-up” classes and salons as we will share the dates they are occurring about 3-4 weeks before they happen; however, we do have NY Times Bestselling poet & memoirist Maggie Smith scheduled for a salon in September/early October and Pulitzer Prize winner Diane Seuss right after that!
We also JUST added Jeannine Hall Gailey to our schedule. She and I will be offering a Zoom session on The Art of Book Promotion and PR for Poets in the next few months!
We created these extra Zoom classes to say THANK YOU to all of you who supported us with our Weekly Muse through year one! So if you’d like to take my generating new work class or be part of any of the others listed, you can do so by subscribing to the Weekly Muse here: https://twosylviaspress.substack.com/subscribe
Once you’re a paid subscriber to the Weekly Muse, you’ll receive tomorrow’s issue (Sunday, June 11th) and next week’s issue (Sunday, June 18) with a Zoom link, and you’re in! And if you can’t make the class, I’m recording a separate Generating New Prompt class to upload so you can watch it and write with me when it’s convenient for you!
And yes, if you subscribe for the year, you’ll have access to ALL the upcoming Zoom classes and salons we offer all year long, plus the Weekly Muse in your inbox EVERY Sunday. Or subscribe monthly, as that’s better for you. You just have to be a paid subscriber when these classes and salons happen to have access to them.
I understand the Weekly Muse is incredibly unique to the poetry world in what it is and what it offers, so if you have any further questions on how it works, just email me!
Things I Love This Month:
’s post on Sylvia Plath’s notebooks is fantastic! It’s on her Substack account Noted here.Two of my favorite people in conversation: Mike Birbiglia talking with Ira Glass on Working It Out Episode 100: Ira Glass and Mike Birbiglia's Best Advice For Creatives.
Well, I do not love that the TV series Ted Lasso is over, but I did love this series! Then I got hooked on watching all these “What You Missed When Watching the Ted Lasso Finale” videos, where they show all the callbacks, Easter Eggs, and references in the finale episode. The writers of that show did a wonderful job of returning to previous episodes to make the finale even richer (and note: this is why I love poetry books that do the same thing, and this is something I try to do when creating a manuscript too.)
Making overnight oats for breakfast. What you need:
Oats: This is really the only ingredient that’s non-negotiable. Make sure to use plain old-fashioned oats and not quick oats because the consistency is best with rolled oats. You can also use gluten-free oats. Do not use steel-cut oats.
Milk or Almond Milk: I use vanilla non-sweetened almond milk, but you can use full-fat, 2% or low-fat milk or other plant-based milk like coconut milk, cashew milk, oat milk, or even just use water.
Chia seeds: These are optional, but they’re very nutritious and they help give the oats a pudding-like texture. (Just try them, you won’t even notice them, and they’re good for you.)
Walnuts, craisins, raisins, dates: Depending on what I have in the house, but these all make the texture and taste better.
Fresh fruit: Blueberries for sure, and I’d started adding them in at night so when I wake up in the morning, it’s just all done. And occasionally, I’ll add strawberries.
Sweetener (optional): Use honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, or agave to sweeten the mixture. I usually don’t do this, but I know others love it a little sweeter.
Other things: Sometimes I add cinnamon, but you can basically add anything else you want to make your oats to your taste. Some other ideas are—dried fruit, nut butters, nuts, seeds, and spices (like cinnamon, nutmeg or cardamom).
I put all of this in a small Mason jar before I go to bed, and it’s such a treat to wake up to. Note: I’m also a huge fan of toasted banana bread for breakfast!
Friends with New Books:
Oliver de la Paz’s new book, The Diaspora Sonnets (W.W. Norton) releases July 18! But you can preorder a copy right now! I’ve heard Oliver read some of these poems, and this is probably his best work yet!
Sati Mookherjee’s beautiful collection of poems, Ways of Being (MoonPath Press) is now available! Also, Sati and I will be featured in Arizona State University’s Distinguished Visiting Writer Series next April 2024!
Lana Hechtman Ayer’s not only has one new book out, When All Else Fails, but two more books of poems coming out shortly as well! What a wonderful year for this beautiful poet!
Meet Me in Atlantic City (Tin House Books) Jane Wong’s new incredible memoir is out and also available as an audiobook! It’s a really good read—full of Jane’s signature humor and poetic style.
Claire Dederer’s Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma is receiving a lot of well-deserved attention! I’m listening to the Audible version and it’s fantastic and even better as it’s read by Claire herself! (Here’s the book description: A timely, passionate, provocative, blisteringly smart interrogation of how we make and experience art in the age of cancel culture, and of the link between genius and monstrosity.)
Friends Who Are Teaching in the World & Other Things:
Rachel Rose, who writes in all genres and who is co-director of Vancouver Manuscript Intensive, is leading Write Outside VMI Summer Intensive With Rachel Rose at Vancouver BC’s Jericho Park in August!
Ilya Kaminsky is in Ukraine right now to raise money for 1) War Refugee Center and food bank in Odesa, Ukraine, 2) Evening Odesa newspaper that continues to fight corruption and cover culture even during bombardments and electricity outages and 3) Odesa UNESCO City of Literature Program that benefits Odesa poets. You can make a donation via PayPal here: Eveningodesa@gmail.com (Details here)
Note: This is not garbage but a mountain of donation bags delivered from Odesa to victims in flooded Kherson at Gostina Khata, a food bank & refugee center in Odesa that’s helping victims of disaster in Kherson and Kakhovka. (Ilya’s on the left.)
SUBMIT:
Rocky Horror Picture Show Poetry Anthology Open Submissions: Time to write & submit your Rocky Horror poems! Deadline August 1, 2023 Guidelines: https://www.forktinepress.com/calls-for-submissions Note: Normally, Fork Tine Press is open exclusively to BIPOC, Queer, & Disabled poets, but their anthology call is open to ALL poets! So EVERYONE is invited to submit their Rocky Horror poems!
And I’ll end with two things:
A follow-up on the Dot Cards, from the Valentine’s Day issue—yes, they mostly work with iPhones, but did I use my Dot card once? No. I think I’m sticking to paper business cards.
When I was visiting Paris, I had the “brilliant” idea to recreate the iconic Sylvia Plath photo in front of Notre Dame (which is still under construction). I did not nail the shot. ha! But did I love returning to literary places like Shakespeare & Co., Café de Flore, Père-Lachaise Cemetery, and a few places from the movie Midnight in Paris.
Also, while going to this amazing event hosted by concert pianist Beate Perrey, we stumbled upon Emily’s house from the TV show Emily in Paris. And as you can see, the French have a funny sense of humor (note: the graffiti below!)
So that’s it! Thanks for reading. And remember, if you want to write new poems with me this June 24 (Saturday) from 10 am - 12 pm PST or have access to the video I’m recording, just become a paid subscriber to Two Sylvias Weekly Muse to have access to both options here: https://twosylviaspress.substack.com/subscribe
Wishing you all good things!
with love from the Pacific Northwest,
Kells
I wonder if I can sign-in from the sky? I'll be on my way to Cape Cod as you bring poems into the world...Maybe we should plan an event for Demystifying the Manuscript: Essays and Interviews on Creating a Book of Poems?
an angelic ambassador of poetry!