Accidental Devotions - by Kelli Russell Agodon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Witty, humorous, and oh so tender, Accidental Devotions reminds us that in the end, life is a brief devotion of moments--beautiful, accidental, and always--gone too soon.

Kelli Russell Agogon's latest collection, Accidental Devotions seeks to find meaning in a world lit by screens and haunted by ghosts--both real and digital. Blending humor with vulnerability, we embrace the beautiful messiness of relationships, of aging, of being human. Explorations of desire, technology, spirituality, aging, and even Emily Dickinson gather here, echoing like birdsong through a chapel made of missed calls. Sharp and playful, Accidental Devotions is for the quiet rebels and devoted readers--for those who carry ashes to the beach, ask Alexa for guidance, keep Emily Dickinson's book on the nightstand, or fall in love mid-sentence. With queer tenderness, and an ongoing devotion to desire, these poems make room for grief and joy, pleasure and struggle. The result: a dazzling, defiant field guide to staying human.

Review Quotes

Praise for Accidental Devotions

"Accidental Devotions is a book of petalflamed seeking, splendored by the sinew and the speculation of connection. These poems insist on singing the many paths for closing a distance. Sometimes the way is lit by chance, sometimes by humor, and sometimes by deep grief, but always Agodon tracks the wisdom of knowing ourselves even one note closer to some other being navigating this bright but tumultuous living, already fading."--Geffrey Davis

Praise for Dialogues with Rising Tides

"The speakers of these poems look clear-eyed at the world as it is, not as we wish it were. They unpack their anxieties about the world--anxieties personal, political, and ecological--and meet these concerns with resolve, even grace. In Dialogues with Rising Tides, Agodon reassures us, poem after poem, that all is not lost. I think we all need this reminder as we leave this year and enter a new one."--Maggie Smith

"Seattle-area poet Agodon's finely crafted poems gleam like prisms, so clear is her language. . . . The everyday grace with which we attempt to live while tumbling through our days finds expression in this sinewy collection which seems to catch us before we fall, assuring us that it's going to be okay."--Booklist

"In her piercing fourth collection, Agodon explores intertwined anxieties--a family history of mental illness, looming environmental collapse, the inadequacies of love--with care and understated humor. . . Despite the tragedies at the center of this book, Agodon captures the universality of dark emotions and offers a collection full of hope."--Publishers Weekly

"We know it is treacherous out there, and we know we could benefit from some sort of guide. In this book, Kelli Russell Agodon throws her light around the roiling waters. These poems are keenly attentive, and witty, and wise. They don't shy away from revealing the dangers this ship we're in is heading toward, but they're also not afraid to tell us that they love us. They've been constructed to help us. If you let them, they might save you today."--Camille T. Dungy, Orion Magazine

"This is the book I need right here, right now, as the fires burn and the tides rise."--Diane Seuss

About the Author

Kelli Russell Agodon is a poet, writer, editor, book designer, and co-founder of Two Sylvias Press. Her latest book, Dialogues with Rising Tides, was a Finalist in the Washington State Book Awards and shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize in Poetry. She is also an author of the bestselling The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, which she co-authored with Martha Silano. She was the winner of ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award in poetry, and her work has appeared in The Atlantic, New England Review, and O, The Oprah Magazine. She is a co-director of Poets on the Coast, a writing retreat for women. Kelli is also an avid paddleboarder, mountain biker, and hiker who has a fondness for desserts, typewriters, and fedoras. She lives in a sleepy seaside town a ferry ride away from Seattle and teaches at Pacific Lutheran University's low-res MFA program.