Hey, Valentine! ❤️

Sending love, light, and poetry to you...

Kelli Russell Agodon

Feb 14

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Dear Valentine,

Good morning, good afternoon Eastcoasters, & Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤️

For the last several years, I’ve been creating valentines from my favorite poets and artists, and I realized in 2020, there was no valentine, just blank space—I get that.

But today, I write to you from a mini-writing retreat in a Pacific Northwest town so small that you don’t have to lock your door when you leave and walk to the one small market that sells kid’s ice cream cones in the flavors of “Maui Wowie” and “Death by Chocolate.” It’s oddly fun to hear a child or an adult say, “I’d like death by chocolate, please.” They also make the best Reuben sandwiches around if you are into Reuben sandwiches.

Everyone around me is in fleece and/or walking a dog. On my walk into town, I passed by this garden that had Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with the Pearl Earring” hidden in the back of what seemed to be a winter veggie garden…I realize you never know what you will find in this quirky, artsy beach community. And I love that.

I wandered down to the beach and an old dock that once was a ferry transport to the Seattle side of the water. Look at that sky—it’s just too easy to fall in love with nature here. (For perspective, if I moved the lens to the left, you’d see part of the Seattle skyline, the water you see is Puget Sound minus the orca whales, which are up north today.)

So today, I write to you to wish you a Happy Heart’s Day. A happy hallmark day. A happy I-Am-My-Own-Valentine Day… (I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand…) Whatever you want to call it, this is just me reaching out to you to send some love your way.

I’ve been practicing getting offline more (it’s so much easier to do at a writing retreat because time is so limited), but I wonder if I can bring it into my everyday life. It’s funny how everything seems easier to me when I’m traveling, at a hotel or a writing residency—sometimes, our own lives can have a heaviness, which isn’t always helpful to our art and/or our mental health. As poets and artists, it’s a joy to live lightly, to move easily through the world, and yet, we’re human, and we have stuff (online and off, emotional and physical).

So here is my Valentine’s wish for you—try to let go of what is holding you down.

Be the heart balloon that escaped the terrible office party and flew off into the cosmos. Or the valentine that ended up in the library book to be found by the person who didn’t know they needed it.

Each day, I’m reminded how temporary we are. Even as I make mistakes, bumble around, waste time…I realize we’re just a wingbeat here. But each moment we find connection makes it worth it.

So love hard, and don’t wait for Valentine’s Day to buy a card for someone you care for, do it whenever you have the feeling…

And speaking of valentines, Here are a few Valentines I’ve created from seasons past (you may remember some of them or even received one or two in the mail). The Valentino typewriter and the quote from Agha Shahid Ali may be my favorite because it incorporates three of my loves—poetry, typewriters, and writing letters.

(I’m hoping these following images come through, if they don’t, you can find everything here)

So wherever you are, thank you for being part of this beautiful poetry community and my beautiful community and doing your best to find the light in a world that seems to keep turning the dimmer switch on and off.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

from someone who continues to learn how to write love letters,

Kelli

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Things I Love This Month & Offerings:

Dot Card, a Techie New Business Card
For those going to AWP, I just discovered these Dot Cards two days ago that you can use instead of paper business cards (they are $20 each, $18 if you use WELCOME10 as a promo code).

Supposedly, you just tap your card against someone’s smartphone, and the person will get all your contact info (or whatever you want to provide) immediately on their phone. My order is in the mail, so I’ll let you know how it works the next time I send this out.

And if they do work, they can replace Linktree (https://linktr.ee/), which is something many poets use in their bios, but Linktr.ee went from something like $3 a month to $9ish, but you get a free Dot profile page with your Dot Card purchase (I linked mine if you’re curious). The profiles aren’t as pretty as linktr.ee, but free, so better…I’m looking into it and will let you know how it goes. The jury’s still out on this one…

If you do prefer paper business cards, I recommend Moo Cards.

* * * * *

Friends Who are Now Writing on Substack:

Susan Rich: Blue Atlas / Note: Susan’s newest book is just out: Gallery of Postcards and Maps: New & Selected Poems, and her next book, Blue Atlas (as her substack account is named!) will be out this year from Red Hen Press, so watch for it!)

Maggie Smith: Dear Life / Note: Maggie’s new memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful (a line from her “Good Bones” for everyone paying attention) will be out April 11th, but you can pre-order hardcover, Kindle, or audiobook right now)

Tatyana Sussex: Beauty Hunter: Tatyana also hosts various creativity online salons on Humor & Play and one coming up on Desire (yes, I have already signed up for that one!) To learn more about these salons, click here.

* * * * *

Friends Who Are Teaching in the World:

My friend, Michael Tomlinson, a singer/songwriter you may recognize from some past Billboard Top 10 hits, is leading a one-day class on creativity called Creating the Dreams Inside You: A One-Day Creativity Workshop for All Levels. You can learn more or sign up here. (Note: And it’s for everyone, not just songwriters.)

Jennifer Jean is teaching The Line as a Unit of Attention: a Master Class (via Zoom), April 30 @12:30 pm - 2:30 pm EST at the Hudson Valley Writer’s Center.

* * * * *

Also, I shared this Sarah Russell poem on Twitter, and it got 18,000 likes and a ridiculous number of shares…I’m always intrigued by what people connect with, and it was this poem.

After I shared it, two people got in touch with Sarah (who I just met through sharing her poem) and translated it into other languages—I mean, we never know what will stick, so just keep writing and sharing!

* * * * *

For Valentine’s Day, 2 Free Weeks of the Weekly Muse:

So this (the Weekly Muse) is what Annette Spaulding-Convy (my partner at Two Sylvias Press) and I spend our time on every week. It’s quite a bit of work, but I appreciate having a job where I get to write poetry prompts, find new ways to inspire others’ poems, and help others keep writing.

What is the Weekly Muse? It’s a new tool for poets that arrives every Sunday in your inbox with poetry prompts & writing exercises, ideas about where to submit your work that week, insider tips to help you with your publishing goals, access to editors and other poets to answer your questions and offer advice, a space to help keep you connected to poetry, learn about new poets and poetry books, a nurturing online poetry community, articles on creativity, the occasional pep talk, giveaways, and so much more!

A poet told us the Weekly Muse was both her poetry coach and personal assistant as it has helped simplify, prioritize, and organize her writing life. She wrote, I recommend to my friends to sign up for a year as each Sunday you’ll have exactly what you need for your writing week. Sometimes I miss a few weeks because of life, but I know a new Weekly Muse is coming the next Sunday, and I can always return to past Muses easily. I had no idea how much time the Weekly Muse would save me, especially in trying to determine where to submit my poems and manuscript. I just have one request, please don’t even stop creating it! ~ Elizabeth S.

So if you want to try it, Two Sylvias is offering a 14-day free trial here.

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I think that’s it from me, dear friends.

May you find the love around you. Even in the darkest, most tiring times, may you turn into whatever love enters your space.

It hasn’t been easy (believe me, these last six months have challenged me in and intriguing ways!), but may you turn your internal radio station onto the good, to what’s working and who is helping out. And see the good in each other; it can make a difference.

Love, light, and poetry,

Kelli

P.S. On a very personal note—Thank you to those who asked how my 95-year-old mother-in-law was settling in after her big move into our house from the Philippines—she is now fully vaccinated and doing terrific! Travel has become a little more challenging for Rose and I; otherwise, we’re all doing well. She spent Super Bowl eating a big plate of nachos, then falling asleep on the couch in a nacho coma as one does. She makes me laugh daily with her sayings; one of my favorite she says as she passes my black cat is, “Hi Kitty Kitty, sometimes you bite.” —she’s not wrong. So thank you for all your notes, texts, and caring.

Thank you for reading The A-List: Notes from my Electric Typewriter. This post is public, so feel free to share it with anyone you feel may enjoy a little Valentine love.