Episode Overview
Podcast: The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
Host: Maggie Smith
Episode Title: 1370: "Soot" by Kaveh Akbar
Release Date: October 9, 2025
In this episode, Maggie Smith reflects on personal and existential questions, using poetry as a means of exploring ideas around spirituality, belief, and the soul. She frames her meditation around the poem "Soot" by Kaveh Akbar, examining questions of faith, loss, and the gentle mysteries that shape our lives.
Main Theme
The episode centers on seeking understanding—about ourselves, the soul, faith, and the unanswerable questions of existence. Maggie Smith uses Akbar’s poem as a catalyst for exploring “God-curious” questions, advocating for curiosity and compassion over certainty.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Grappling with Existential Questions
- Maggie opens with admitting uncertainty:
“I don’t know how I got here and I don’t know where I’m going, by which I mean in the big existential way.” (01:00)
- She distinguishes between understanding physical existence and the mystery of the soul:
“I know I was born from my parents... But these answers are more about the physical body than and less about the soul.” (01:15)
Evolution of Spiritual Perspective
- Maggie recounts her religious upbringing and reasons for stepping away:
“I went to church with my parents as a child, but I stopped going when I was a teenager. At the time, I felt like that church wasn’t aligned with my values. I needed to step away.” (01:38)
- She reflects on becoming more open as she grows older, crediting both maturation and greater exposure to diverse beliefs:
“I’m more open to different viewpoints, and part of that is maturation, but part of it is also exposure. I have friends and family from many different faith traditions...” (02:00)
The Role of Poetry in Questioning
- Maggie discusses her identity as “God curious,” as described by poet Dana Levin:
“My friend, the poet Dana Levin once said that my poems are God curious, and I loved that description.” (02:32)
- Poetry as a space for exploration:
“Part of what I do in my poems is pose existential questions to myself and think and feel my way into them. That’s not the same as answering them... Luckily, poems don’t require us to have answers.” (02:40)
- She frames Akbar’s poem as an example of poetry inspiring “better questions about the world and about the soul.”
Reading of "Soot" by Kaveh Akbar
- Maggie reads the poem in full, allowing Akbar’s imagery and existential musings to resonate (03:00–04:40).
- Notable lines from the poem:
- “Sometimes God comes to earth disguised as rust, chewing away a chain link fence or a mariner’s knife.” (03:06)
- “From up so close we must seem clean, clumsy and gloomless, like new lovers undressing in front of each other for the first time.” (03:13)
- “Long ago I lived in heaven because I wanted to. When I fell to earth, I knew the way through the soot into the leaves. It still took years.” (04:16)
- “Upon landing, the ground embraced me sadly, with a gentleness of someone delivering tragic news to a child.” (04:24)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Certainty and Curiosity
“Poems don’t require us to have answers.” — Maggie Smith (02:46)
- Describing Herself as ‘God Curious’
“I loved that description.” — Maggie Smith, referring to Dana Levin’s insight (02:35)
- On Exposure and Openness
“I have friends who are ministers, friends who are theologians, and friends who are atheists. I learn from all of them.” (02:11)
Important Timestamps
| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:59 | Maggie Smith begins her thoughtful introduction | | 01:38 | Recounts her religious childhood and change in perspective | | 02:32 | On being described as “God curious” and poetry’s role in existential inquiry | | 03:00 | Maggie introduces and reads “Soot” by Kaveh Akbar | | 03:06 | “[Sometimes God comes to earth disguised as rust...]” — Beginning of the poem | | 04:16 | “[Long ago I lived in heaven because I wanted to...]” — Poem’s closing lines |
Episode Flow & Tone
Maggie Smith’s delivery is contemplative and inviting, characteristic of The Slowdown. She weaves her personal experience into her reflections, encouraging listeners to remain open to the unknown and to use poetry as a lens for deeper understanding.
Summary
This episode of The Slowdown features Maggie Smith ruminating on existential uncertainty, spiritual evolution, and the power of poetry to guide and complicate our questions about the soul and the divine. Through Akbar’s evocative poem and her own searching narration, Smith invites listeners to “lean into wonder,” reminding them that sometimes, it’s asking the right questions—not having answers—that draws us closer to hope and compassion.