#20 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2011.
Emily: “I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine.”
She enters, and a hush falls upon the room.
Our final Potluck Poet is here!
No better way to top off a poetry feast than with a tasty soup poem cooked up by the lovely and supremely talented Kelli Russell Agodon! I first learned about Kelli through Susan Rich, who was a surprise guest at last year’s potluck. After reading Kelli’s latest book, Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room (White Pine Press, 2010), I knew I just had to offer it as a prize in this year’s Big Poetry Giveaway.
The Emily Dickinson Room of the title refers to a guest room at the Sylvia Beach Hotel (“truly a hotel for book lovers”), located at Nye Beach, Oregon. All the rooms are named after famous authors such as Shakespeare, Austen, Tolkien, even Dr. Seuss! Kelli apparently wrote some of her poems at the hotel, which looks like the perfect sanctuary for writers with its gorgeous views of the ocean, quaint old buildings and interesting cross-section of guests. And I love that the name of their restaurant is “Tables of Content.” Would that I could set a table where fabulous food and lasting contentment were the order of the day!
Jama's Alphabet Soup 