Kelly’s Spring Reading List

This is essentially page two of my spring newsletter...lots happening this month. So please, indulge me. April is poetry month. My birthday month. When I was a teenager, I used to write down my favourite lines from poems and books and stick them onto the wall beside my bed. I was 15-16 years old, and we lived in an old rundown house with ancient wallpaper on the walls. It was slated to be taken down, (my mother was an interior designer) so I was allowed to draw, or write anything I wanted before it was changed. That was so liberating. I had a party and gave everyone markers. Well maybe that was a bit much. People got carried away. I had to cover a few things with the world map pinned sideways. But those quotes gave me courage in difficult times. As we find ourselves in difficult times again, I’ll be posting my favourite poetry quotes on Instagram and Facebook for the next month and reviewing poetry books on my blog.

Events & Readings:

Friday, April 18th—I’ll be reading from

The Weeping Degree @The Studio, 2 Nottawa Street, Nottawa, ON. Afterwards there will be an open-mike.

Saturday, April 19th, 1 – 5pm—I’ll be teaching fun flash fiction writing at The Studio, address above. Come discover your personal epiphany with flash writing! No experience necessary. Hope to see you there.

Kelly’s Reading List:

Here’s a list of the books I read this winter or am planning to read and review shortly:

Berlin Noir Trilogy by Phillip Kerr

Next Level: Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond by Selene Yeager and Dr. Stacey Sims

Future Life poems by Nina Corwin

Wild Bone Season Chapbook, Poems by Susan Thurston-Hamerski

Things We Take, Things We Let Go, poems by Catherine Marenghi

All Things Podcast:

I had the good fortune to appear on a couple of podcasts in the last month. One with Jason Emde who lives in Japan called Writers Read Their Early Sh*t. I laughed. A lot. We talked about the transformational voodoo of books, early writing life, early writing heroes, and going on pilgrimages. There’s great music. Here’s the link: https://wrtes.buzzsprout.com

I was also able to snag a short 15-minute chat with Jamie Tennant, the host of our local Hamilton literary show, Get Lit. The show was a double header. I was followed by climate change writer, Grant Linney. Think: #mexico, #poetry, #SMWC2025. Here’s the link: https://getlit.libsyn.com/get-lit-e435-with-kelly-watt-and-grant-linney

On Get Lit, Jamie asked me how I felt about becoming an Amazon International Bestseller and I mumbled something incoherent about the importance of promoting one’s work these days…but in hindsight, what I’d like to say is this: THANK YOU TO MY FRIENDS, FAMILY AND FANS OF THE WRITTEN WORD. I’M SO LUCKY THAT I HAD SUCH A SUPPORTIVE AUDIENCE WHO WENT OUT AND BOUGHT MY BOOK. THANK YOU FOR SIGNING UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER AND FOR WRITING REVIEWS OF THE WEEPING DEGREE. AND THANKS MOSTLY FOR CARING ABOUT BOOKS.

Yesterday, tariffs were imposed between the US and Canada and the markets are dropping. There’s too much bad news. I went to an American university, I have as many American friends as Canadian, French, German, Mexican or Indian. In Buddhism, there is an important concept called interdependence. My former teacher, Lama Yeshe explained that it means that we are all interconnected and dependent on other factors, nothing and no one exists in total isolation. Other people help us. We help them. So, when you shoot your neighbours, you essentially shoot yourself. I think this is as good a time as any to remember how interdependent we all are. I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST IN THESE TRYING TIMES.

THANK YOU FOR READING.