Episode Overview

Podcast: The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
Episode: 1386: "Night of the Living, Night of the Dead" by Kim Addonizio
Date: October 31, 2025
Host: Maggie Smith

In this Halloween episode, Maggie Smith reflects on her love of movies—especially zombie films—and the unique role poetry plays in offering a lens of introspection, even in the spookiest seasons. The core of the episode is a reading and meditation on Kim Addonizio’s poem "Night of the Living, Night of the Dead," which uses the zombie genre as a poignant metaphor for human experience, identity, and the boundaries of life and death.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Appeal of Movies and the Lure of Horror (00:40–02:13)

• Maggie Smith opens with a personal reflection on escaping into stories through movies, describing her fascination with both quirky indie films and horror—zombie films in particular.
  • “I don’t watch much television, but I love movies. I love disappearing into a story for two or three hours, losing sense of time and forgetting, for the most part, my own life.” (Maggie Smith, 00:27)
• She describes zombie movies as both terrifying and strangely comforting in their predictability and relentless pace.
  • “It might surprise you to know that one of my favorite genres is the zombie movie. I like my zombies fast, like in Train to Busan and 28 Days Later, and I like my zombies slow, like in the old classics directed by George Romero.” (Maggie Smith, 01:50)
  • She muses on how, in classic zombie films, “the zombies shamble so slowly people can run right by them. They seem unable to figure out doorknobs and fence latches and cars.”

Introducing the Poem (02:14–02:38)

• Maggie shares her admiration for the featured poem and its fittingness for Halloween:
  • “Today's poem has been a favorite of mine for years, and it seemed like the right choice for Halloween.” (Maggie Smith, 02:24)

Poem Reading: "Night of the Living, Night of the Dead" by Kim Addonizio (02:39–05:20)

Maggie offers a heartfelt and immersive reading of Addonizio’s poem. The poem plays with the conventions of zombie films and imbues them with existential questions and dark humor.
Key Excerpts:

• “When the dead rise in movies, they're hideous and slow. They stagger uphill toward the farmhouse like drunks headed home from the bar.”
• “Maybe they only want to lie down inside while some room spins around them. Maybe that's why they bang on the windows...”
• “The dead, with their leaky brains, their dangling limbs and ruptured hearts, are sick of all that. They’d rather stumble blind through the field until they collide with a tree...”
• “That’s the life for a dead person. Wham, wham, wham. Until you forget your name, your own stinking face. The reason you jolted awake in the first place—why are you here? Whatever were you hoping as you lay in your casket like a dumb clarinet? You know better now. The soundtrack is depressing and the living hate your guts. Come closer and they'll show you how much. Wham, wham, whammy. Wham. You're killed again.”
• “Thank god this time they're burning your body. Thank god it can't drag you around anymore—except in nightmares, late-night reruns where you lift up the lid and crawl out once more and start up the hill toward the house.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the texture of zombie films:
  • “It’s black and white, so the gore isn’t that gory. The blood and guts are gray. It’s still scary, though, because the zombies are seemingly uncontainable. They just keep coming at you.” (Maggie Smith, 02:08)
• On the existential quality of the poem (via Addonizio’s lines):
  • “That’s the life for a dead person. Wham, wham, wham. Until you forget your name, your own stinking face.” (Kim Addonizio, read by Maggie Smith, 04:22)

Structure and Flow

• Maggie’s inviting, reflective tone sets the episode apart—she speaks as a friend, making poetry approachable and connecting it with popular culture.
• Seamless blend of personal anecdote, cultural critique, and art appreciation.
• The poem’s reading is given space, allowing listeners to experience its rhythm, bleakness, and humor.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:27–02:13: Maggie’s love for movies and zombie genres explored
• 02:14–02:38: Introduction to today’s poem and Halloween context
• 02:39–05:20: Reading of "Night of the Living, Night of the Dead" by Kim Addonizio
• 05:21–07:04: Credits and production notes (non-content section; skipped in summary)

Takeaways

• Poetry as Reflection:
  Maggie demonstrates how poetry, even when drawing on genres like horror, acts as a vessel for introspection and connection.
• Zombies as Metaphor:
  The poem invites listeners to contemplate not just fear and threat, but the plight of the dead themselves—longing, confusion, desire for rest.
• Seasonal Resonance:
  This episode, released on Halloween, cleverly weaves together pop culture and deeper existential reflection, making it both timely and timeless.

Summary prepared for listeners who want to understand the heart and spirit of the episode without missing the nuance of Maggie Smith’s voice and Kim Addonizio’s powerful poem.