Dear Friend, How are you this December 10th evening? Are you surprised to see me so soon?—me too! I’m usually more of your every-so-often friend who arrives with poems and snacks, but I just got the word I could officially share this with you (and I wanted to share here FIRST before you saw it on social media, etc.—Accidental Devotions has its FINAL cover—and I’m trying (um, failing) to act casual about it. But the day is perfect to share as today would have been Emily Dickinson’s 195th birthday and Emily D. is braided all through this next book (her and Darling Sue and even pressed jasmine)! So maybe this is not just a cover reveal, but also a little birthday offering to Emily’s altar of em dashes and devotion. (Side note: I recently read that AI is using dashes now, and I wanted to shout—Grrrrl, I got here first! I know there are a lot of dash-happy poets out there—maybe we need to start an Em Dash Society or at least wear t-shirts: The Em Dash: Because Periods Are Too Final). 🍾✨ But I digress as I am here to show you the COVER REVEAL! Here it is—
What made me adore this is how the designer used a textured look to the book, a very dreamy paper-on-paper. And the artist of the gorgeous image is Fatima Ronquillo, a self-taught (excuse me?!) artist who lives in Santa Fe. I’d been so stuck trying to find artwork that when this image came up on my screen, it was as if Emily were whispering to me, Yes, this is it—choose this one. (Sometimes I really do need someone’s ghost to tell me what to do. . .maybe I need this a lot of times.) Also, if you’ve spent any time in my poems, you may recognize two images from my personal iconography: hummingbirds (my mum’s symbol) and orchids (my father’s—he kept an orchid greenhouse in his younger years). But for me, it’s the lover’s eye—something from the past I’m incredibly drawn to—something that carries both longing and devotion. So after a larger conversation with my editors about my book, we decided that this image added a complexity to the manuscript instead of offering a literal interpretation. (Um, I can be a very literal Capricorn (too literal!) so trusting how artwork can open up a book felt important to me, it felt like growth—like I was the vine stretching up the center of the book!) Also, and this part I can hardly keep secret—Accidental Devotions will have something inside it I’ve never seen done in a poetry book. Copper Canyon is adding a special surprise in the final pages, and while I SO want to tell you, I’m not going to as I want you to have the delight of that discovery when you hold the book in your hands. As I said, it’s something I’ve never seen in a book of poems before and something I’m so excited for you to find for yourself. But for now: please enjoy the cover, the wings, the devotion, the vines, the lover’s eye, and a huge thank you from me—thank you for letting me share this joy with you first. And if you ever need help with cover art—please feel free to drop me a line (or an image) as I’m happy to offer some thoughts (though when you read my #1 recommendation for cover art below, you may not want me to!) Though I do design all the book covers for Two Sylvias Press, so I may have a teaspoon of knowledge (as well as a large thermos of opinions!) lol. So with that, here are my 4 bits of advice when choosing cover art—
SO that’s where we are on this wet, gray Pacific Northwest today. Saying Happy Birthday, Emily! And hello new book cover!
And of course, if you want your own copy of Accidental Devotions, you can now preorder on Bookshop.org, Amazon, or directly from Seattle’s Open Book Poetry-Only Bookstore. And don’t forget—if you do happen to preorder (which means so much to this poet and also comes with one million refillable good karma points!), make sure to fill out this Google Form, or simply send me your snailmail address by replying to this email, as I just ordered new bookplates, and I’m happy to sign one for you and drop it mail! I promise to stay out of your inbox until 2026—so happy everything until then! This has been a tough year for many of us in many ways, but we will continue to find ways to help each other (and those who need us), move forward in kindness, and hopefully continue to find a little joy and poetry through it all. Sending peace, love, and light today and always,
Know a poet who might like this? All posts are free & public, so you’re welcome to share this… 💕 📍Where to find me: Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Hopelessly Devoted
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Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Dropping in Briefly with Beauty
Friday, December 5, 2025
Anne Sexton's Recipe for Cucumber Soup...
Dear Friend,
Here’s my cucumber soup recipe AND I won the Pulitzer Prize—all things being equal. I’ve always loved letters and postcards (you may have noticed I’ve renamed this Substack Postcards from a Poet, because for me, this feels less like a “newsletter” and more like a small check-in from me to you: Hey, how are you holding up? Here are a few things bringing me joy.) And here’s something that delighted me this week: I did not know that people (and kids!) write postcards to Emily Dickinson via the Emily Dickinson Museum. While many were mailed, this one, I’m guessing this one was penned in the moment and handed over to museum staff. And well, it warmed my heart:
“Thank you for writing a soft sea washed around the house”—Come on! What a way to say thank you! It reminded me of William Stafford’s quote: Everyone is born a poet. . .I just kept on doing what everyone starts out doing. The real question is: Why did other people stop? Anyway, the holidays bring so many feels, as the kids say—wait, do they say this? ha!—I’ve been trying to be better at sending out joy more often especially during these times when everything can feel a little harder, it’s good to have a little light. Sending love this time of year,
P.S. Here’s one little secret I just learned: my forthcoming book Accidental Devotions is officially available for preorder! We haven’t rolled out the “big reveal” yet, but because you’re part of my inner circle, I wanted you to get to peek first (yes, the cover pops up when you click!—apparently the internet didn’t feel like waiting for our official announcement! lol). Anyway, you can now preorder at Bookshop.org here, Amazon here, and Seattle’s beloved Open Books: Poetry-Only Bookstore here! (and I’d be thrilled if youd did). I’ll be sending out a formal cover reveal and all the details soon, but for now, I just wanted thank you for being here at the beginning. It means more than you know. P.P.S. Oh, and if you do preorder, hit reply to this email or drop me an email directly at kelli@agodon.com and I’ll pop a signed bookplate in the mail for you!—a little love note for the inside of your copy. ❤️ P.P.P.S. If anyone tries to make Sexton’s cucumber soup, I’d love to hear what you thought! Thank you again for reading and for your kindness and support—I’m glad to be on this path with you. xo
This post is public, so feel free to share it. 💕 (Also note: this newsletter will never be paid…for me, it’s just a way to keep in touch with you…) 📍Where to find me: Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads Thanks for reading. Subscribe for poetry, creativity, and notes from a poet. Thanks for reading. Subscribe for poetry, creativity, and postcards from a poet.
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