I had a preview of Kelli Russell Agodon's Letters From the Emily Dickinson Room by Kelli Russell Agodon before it was published, thanks to a manuscript swap, and I'm delighted to see it out, and sporting a stunning cover. Kelli's playful way of musing on life, relationship, art, and self through engagement with words, right down to their component letters, is highly original. The poems have a breezy, dancing quality that evokes the more buoyant moments in Dickinson, justifying the title. The word "letters" is apt for this book, as its attention to the letters, sounds, and layered meanings of words form a vital subject matter here. A great read, and a thought-provoking collection. (And Kelli's comments on my manuscript were very helpful!)
It's that time of year: no, not the holidays, but Pushcart nominations. Redactions has a nice lineup of nominated poems to enjoy. Able Muse also has posted their Pushcart-nominated poems for this year, a nice read. If more online magazines nominated and posted the poems in an easy-to-read list of links, we could enjoy editors' picks of the best of their zines for the year. Many zines list the poems a year later, but with no links to read the works. As so few nominated poems actually get the prizes, it would give those poems another boost of publicity, a nice thing to do for the poets.
