Podcast Summary: Let's Give A Damn
Episode 276 – Maggie Smith
Release Date: April 3, 2025
Host: Nick Laparra
Guest: Maggie Smith, poet, author of "Good Bones" and "You Could Make This Place Beautiful," and author of the new book "Dear Writer"
Overview
This episode features a heartfelt, candid conversation between host Nick Laparra and acclaimed poet and essayist Maggie Smith. They discuss the creative process, the importance of art in turbulent times, tackling “content” culture, the realities of a writer’s life, and Maggie’s newest book "Dear Writer: Pep Talks and Practical Advice for the Creative Life." The exchange is both practical and philosophical, offering encouragement for creators and anyone seeking meaning amid chaos.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Maggie's New Book Release and Navigating a Writer’s Journey
- Nick celebrates Maggie’s imminent book release and explores if her tenth (or eighth, as Maggie clarifies) book feels different from her first.
- Maggie: “It’s been 20 years since my first book came out. This feels much different. My first book, I was in my 20s... Now this is what I do full time, and I’m older and a little bit wiser." [06:41]
- They discuss the myth of overnight success and the reality of the “long game."
- Maggie: "Even the quote unquote, overnight success... they’ve been toiling in the dark, probably alone, failing more than they're succeeding for many years..." [08:54]
- Nick: “Everything's going to happen... when it actually happens are the right people for it...” [09:38]
2. Roots, Upbringing, and Creativity
- Maggie reflects on growing up in suburban Ohio, her free-range Gen X childhood, and being the only artist in her family.
- Maggie: “My sisters were playing sports, I was sort of incubating in my bedroom, listening to The Cure on cassette, reading books and writing and... doing jigsaw puzzles…” [16:53]
- Both Nick and Maggie discuss how spending time alone as kids helped foster their creative interior lives.
- Maggie: “Kids who spend a lot of time alone, not on video games, but with their own minds, build really rich interior lives that then might surface later as some kind of creative endeavor.” [17:58]
3. On Influences & Belonging
- Maggie notes that family or environment don’t always explain creative drive, admitting a certain mystery to how artists emerge.
- Nick relates his similar feelings of being a family “black sheep” and the unique urge to create and move beyond his upbringing.
4. Spiritual Upbringing & Evolving Belief (20:11–23:06)
- Maggie opens up about being raised Methodist and opting out at age 14.
- Maggie: “I was raised Methodist, although I stopped going when I was 14... I just opted out at a certain age and was pretty vocal about that.” [20:30]
- Both discuss reconciling or departing from religious roots, learning to "take what works" and "leave the rest."
- Nick: “When I reconstructed... I get to keep what I want... take the good, use those things, just leave all the terrible, toxic stuff behind.” [22:18]
5. Writing as Confronting Hauntings
- Maggie likens writing—especially memoir—to a “ghost tour.”
- Maggie: "Maybe writing is a ghost tour... a memory is kind of a haunting... A good memory is like a friendly ghost... bad memories can feel a lot like you're being terrorized.” [23:33]
- Writing is a way for her to live with—rather than erase—her ghosts.
6. The Age of Content vs. Making Art
- Nick questions how artists can resist the pressure to make “content” for algorithms rather than authentic art.
- Nick: “Too many artists are creating content instead of making art... it’s about besting the algorithm.” [28:18]
- Maggie responds fiercely:
- “The word content really bothers me.... I’m always making things for readers. I’m not making things for necessarily, like consumers... Readers are as savvy and intelligent and would absolutely see through that kind of bullshit.” [29:35]
- She encourages a mindset of community over “platform,” and advocates making things “for myself first.”
- “How do I build community? How do I find more readers?... What could you make that might make their day a little better?” [32:39]
- Both reflect on the dangers of commoditizing creativity and how it erodes genuine connection.
7. Endurance and Self-Care in Hard Times
- With the world’s crises in mind, Nick asks how Maggie continues to create art amid such heaviness.
- Nick: “How do we... create the stuff that is literally going to help people?... How do you do that?” [38:20]
- Maggie: “All times are bad. These times feel particularly bad and weirdly bad... but 10 years ago was bad, 20 years ago was bad, 200 years ago was bad. Every time is bad for someone... Writing is how I feel most like myself.” [38:20–41:46]
- Recommends leaning into what centers us: “Whatever we do that makes us feel like ourselves and makes us feel grounded—those are all valid choices." [39:53]
- Self-care is not ignoring the world, “The way that we take care of ourselves as makers of things is by taking care of ourselves as whole people." [41:46]
- Nick highlights how people need permission to enjoy life without guilt, even while injustice persists.
- Maggie: Citing Toy Derricotte: “Joy is an act of resistance... I don’t want to live in a world where everyone is grayed out and keeping their eyes down and not living with some sense of what’s still possible for us.” [43:21]
8. On "Dear Writer," Her Newest Book (44:41–52:14)
- Nick compares Maggie’s new book to Rick Rubin’s “The Creative Act”—a creative bible you can open anywhere and find inspiration.
- Nick: "This is really laid out in a way that I could open... and I find something that’s really helpful in that section.” [44:41]
- Maggie describes the book’s intent:
- “My goal for it was... there will be some practical tools... and there’s going to be some encouragement... but really, any question I get about writing is also a question about life.” [45:34]
- The sections “live independently,” and it’s okay to bounce around.
- Her hope: “People have a hard time getting through it because they read a little bit and then get an idea of their own that they want to apply...” [47:59]
- On why write this book now:
- “I had to get a couple decades under my belt before I felt like I had enough... These are the conversations I’ve had... None of it’s ever lived in one place, though... What if I just did kind of a greatest hits compilation of the best advice I’ve gotten about writing...” [49:55]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On creativity and slow growth:
- “We’re playing the long game here and time never made anything worse.” – Maggie Smith [09:19]
- On authenticity:
- “If I started doing things that felt pushy or inauthentic... readers would frankly leave me.” – Maggie Smith [29:35]
- On the role of art:
- “The people that are moving everything along, they rely on art to sustain them.” – Nick Laparra [28:53]
- On handling difficult times:
- “All times are bad... All times are beautiful, all times are terrible. And we endure through all of it.” – Maggie Smith [38:20]
- On joy as resistance:
- “Joy is an act of resistance.” – Toy Derricotte, quoted by Maggie Smith [43:21]
- On her hope for Dear Writer:
- “My hope is that [readers] have to stop and start many times—whether they read it in order or not.” – Maggie Smith [47:59]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 05:03 – Maggie’s reflections on book releases and artistic longevity
- 12:45 – Childhood memories and how solitude fosters creativity
- 20:30 – On leaving religious tradition
- 23:33 – Writing as confronting the ghosts that “haunt” us
- 29:35 – The tension between making art and “content”
- 38:20 – Sustaining art and self in tough times
- 43:21 – Joy and permission to rest and enjoy life
- 44:41 – The unique structure and intent of “Dear Writer”
- 49:55 – Why “Dear Writer” now and how it came to be
Tone and Language
The conversation is warm, humorous, and deeply empathetic, marked by Maggie’s blend of clarity and humility and Nick’s openness and mutual identification with the creative path. Both speak candidly and critically but always with encouragement for listeners.
Conclusion
This episode is an inspiring, honest look at what it means to make art—and to live—in uncertain, turbulent times. Maggie Smith and Nick Laparra provide both practical wisdom and emotional reassurance, making this an essential listen (or read) for anyone grappling with how to contribute light and meaning to the world. Their message: Embrace the long game, nurture your interior life, seek joy, and create with courage and authenticity—your art, and your humanity, matter.
For more on Maggie Smith and her work, check out her new book “Dear Writer: Pep Talks and Practical Advice for the Creative Life” and her previous memoir “You Could Make This Place Beautiful.”