1351: The Happy Middle by Hedgie Choi

Summary

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The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode 1351 – "The Happy Middle" by Hedgie Choi
Host: Maggie Smith
Date: September 12, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode of The Slowdown, host Maggie Smith reflects on the concept of "authentic intelligence" in the age of artificial intelligence, particularly as it relates to writing, teaching, and the emotional impact of poetry. Smith introduces and reads "The Happy Middle" by Hedgie Choi, emphasizing how poetry facilitates empathy and offers a glimpse into genuinely human experiences. The episode is an exploration of creativity, perspective, and the transformative power of connecting with another’s lived reality through literature.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rise of Artificial Intelligence and Writing

• AI in Education: Smith shares recent experiences fielding questions about AI’s impact on creativity and education, especially as it increasingly appears in classrooms ([01:15]).
• Concerns about AI: She highlights that reliance on AI for writing assignments “has taken a lot of the joy out of classroom teaching” for her colleagues.
• Writing as Thinking: Smith asserts, "Writing is thinking on the page. If you’re using artificial intelligence to write essays, poems, and stories, you’re outsourcing your thinking." ([02:08])

2. Authentic Human Intelligence ("Authentic Intelligence")

• Smith redefines "AI" to mean "authentic intelligence": "What I want as a reader and as a teacher is a different kind of AI—authentic intelligence, by which I mean genuine human intelligence." ([02:35])
• She distinguishes genuine human expression from generative AI, underlining the importance of dreaming, doubt, regret, hope, grief, and emotional perspective.

3. Poetry’s Unmatched Human Power

• Empathy Through Poetry: Smith describes how the best poems foster empathy and connect reader and writer’s humanity. "We are sharing in someone else's humanity when we spend time with their writing." ([03:25])
• The Draw of a Human Voice: “The poems I admire most and hold dear are the poems behind which I can sense a real human being. I trust that there is a real thinking, feeling person back there behind the text...” ([02:58])

4. Introduction to Hedgie Choi’s "The Happy Middle"

• Smith offers personal insight into the poem's impact, calling it a work that "walloped me with its authentic intelligence," especially in depicting grief and alternate perspectives. ([04:10])
• She encourages listeners to revisit the poem, emphasizing its power and resonance.

5. Reading of "The Happy Middle" by Hedgie Choi ([04:44])

“Light years away you apologized, but on my planet you had not yet hurt me. I was living not in the happily ever after, but the happy middle, which is the living one, though not the lasting one, the one that is not counted, the one that matters only to the one in the story, the one inside the story who cannot hear it told, for whom it is one continuous keening sound from which no words can be cleaved, no meaning, no moral sieved.” ([04:47-05:33])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Writing is thinking on the page. If you're using artificial intelligence to write essays, poems, and stories, you're outsourcing your thinking."
  – Maggie Smith ([02:08])

• "What I want as a reader and as a teacher is a different kind of AI—authentic intelligence, by which I mean genuine human intelligence."
  – Maggie Smith ([02:35])

• "The poems I admire most and hold dear are the poems behind which I can sense a real human being."
  – Maggie Smith ([02:58])

• "We are sharing in someone else’s humanity when we spend time with their writing."
  – Maggie Smith ([03:25])

• Reflection on the poem's effect:
  "Today's poem walloped me with its authentic intelligence. Even in her grief, this poem’s speaker envisions her situation from a different perspective. This poem imagines so artfully I think you'll want to revisit it a second time, and then a third."
  – Maggie Smith ([04:10])

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• [01:15] – Maggie Smith introduces the episode theme: AI and authenticity in writing
• [02:08] – Concerns about AI "outsourcing" human thought and emotion
• [02:35] – Defining authentic human intelligence
• [03:25] – The role of poetry in building empathy and sharing humanity
• [04:10] – Introduction and reflection on "The Happy Middle"
• [04:44] – Full reading of "The Happy Middle" by Hedgie Choi

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Episode Tone & Language

Maggie Smith’s tone is thoughtful, sincere, and emotionally attuned. She speaks from a place of genuine concern for education, creativity, and the preservation of distinctly human art forms in a technological age. Her language is clear, poetic, and accessible—inviting listeners into a meditative, reflective space.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Slowdown underscores the irreplaceable value of authentic, human-created poetry. Smith’s discussion and the reading of Hedgie Choi’s “The Happy Middle” serve as a powerful reminder of the depth and relatability that only genuine human experience—and authentic intelligence—can offer. The poem itself, with its meditation on time, regret, and the uncounted moments of living, beautifully encapsulates the episode’s themes.

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Transcript

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[Maggie Smith]

I'm Maggie Smith and this is the Slowdown over the past few months, I found myself answering a lot of questions about AI. My most recent book, Dear Writer, is a craft book about creativity in general and writing specifically, so it wasn't an unforeseen line of questioning on podcasts and during audience Q&As after events. Plenty of people wanted to know what I thought about the rise of artificial intelligence. As you might imagine, I'm deeply concerned about the increasing use of AI in the classroom. Many of my friends who are writers are also teachers. Many teach college or graduate school, and others teach high school. What I hear from these friends is that having to police students use of AI on what should be original work has taken a lot of the joy out of classroom teaching. Writing is thinking on the page. If you're using artificial intelligence to write essays, poems, and stories, you're outsourcing your thinking. What I want as a reader and as a teacher is a different kind of AI authentic intelligence, by which I mean genuine human intelligence. We can do things that generative AI cannot do because we have experiences that AI cannot have. We can dream and imagine. We can second guess ourselves, doubt, regret. We can hope and grieve. Authentic intelligence is also emotional intelligence. Humans have a point of view because because of what we've been through on this planet and because of our relationships with others. I want to read Writing from that place. The poems I admire most and hold dear are the poems behind which I can sense a real human being. I trust that there is a real thinking, feeling person back there behind the text, like the man behind the curtain in the wizard of Oz. I trust in the singularity of their point of view, even if I don't always understand that point of view. Writing and reading build empathy. For this reason, I think we are invited into other worlds. We are invited, even encouraged, to consider the experiences and perspectives of others. We are sharing in someone else's humanity when we spend time with their writing. Today's poem walloped me with its authentic intelligence. Even in her grief, this poem speaker envisions her situation from a different perspective. This poem imagines so artfully I think you'll want to revisit it a second time, and then a third. That is the power of authentic intelligence. The Happy Middle by Hedgie Choi Light years away you apologized, but on my planet you had not yet hurt me. I was living not in the happily ever after, but the happy middle, which is the living one, though not the lasting one, the one that is not counted, the one that matters only to the one in the story, the one inside the story who cannot hear it told, for whom it is one continuous keening sound from which no words can be cleaved, no meaning, no moral sieved. The Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. To get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram @downdownshow and blueskylowdownshow.org the slowdown is written by me, Maggie Smith. Our lead producer is Micah Kielbon, and our associate producer is Maria Wurtel. Our music is composed by Kyle Andrews, engineering by Derek Ramirez. Our editor is Joanne Griffith. Additional production help by Susanna Sharpless, Cece Lucas, Marcel Malakibu, and Lauren Humpert. Our executives in charge are Chandra Kavati and Mark Crowley.

[Emily Hanford]

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There would not have been a science of Reading without the federal funding. It wouldn't have happened.

[Emily Hanford]

I'm Emily Hanford. On our new episode of Sold a Story, what the Trump cuts mean for the science of reading. Go to your podcast app and follow Sold a Story.