The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode 1466: “Poem about everything except—” by Amy Lemmon
Host: Maggie Smith
Date: February 27, 2026
(Podcast by American Public Media, in partnership with The Poetry Foundation)

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Maggie Smith meditates on one of poetry’s most perennial questions: what are poems about? By introducing and reflecting on Amy Lemmon’s “Poem about everything except—,” Smith examines the pitfalls of insisting on themes and the role of surprise and discovery in the act of writing poetry. She reads Lemmon’s playful, maximalist poem and guides listeners into the daily possibilities of paying attention—through language, through wonder, and through the everyday.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Challenges of Defining “Aboutness” in Poetry

• Maggie’s Anecdote:
  • Maggie Smith opens with the awkwardness she experiences when telling people she's a poet:

    “When I meet someone new or my Lyft driver strikes up a conversation… it can be a little dicey, telling people I'm a poet or a writer.” (00:50)

  • She relays others’ surprise, e.g., a dental hygienist asking, “poet. Do people still do that?”
  • She notes how basic questions—“What kind of poems do you write?” “What are your poems about?”—are surprisingly hard for her to answer.
• On Writing and Intention:
  • Smith suggests that “aboutness for a poet can be a trap”:

    “I think you can ruin a poem by going into it determined to write about something in particular. Ideally, you pay attention and listen and you let the language lead you. Not some idea of theme. The poem reveals itself over time.” (02:02)

  • This reflection sets the stage for readers/listeners to think expansively about poetry—beyond simplistic summaries or takeaways.

2. Anticipating the Poem: Maximalism and Surprise

• Smith is drawn to Amy Lemmon’s poem “from the get go” because of its title:

  “I went in anticipating maximalism. Everything but the kitchen sink, as the saying goes, and the poem delivered. But it also surprised me again and again, and I think it will surprise you too. Maybe deep down, all poems are about just that surprise, a feeling of discovery.” (02:40)

• This sets an expectation of abundance, an exploration of the unsaid, as much as the said.

The Poem: "Poem about everything except—" by Amy Lemmon (Full reading at 03:00 – 06:22)

(Attribution note: The poem itself is read in its entirety by Maggie Smith, quoting Amy Lemmon.)

Selected Notable Lines:

• “To write these days is to avoid telling people how angry I am.” (03:00, quoting Daniel Nester as epigraph)
• “Behold the Rottweiler in its cage. Behold homemade cornhusk ornaments. Behold the photo of a J. Marr miniature piano. Behold the galaxy of knees at noon facing the maestro's fragrance.”
• “Don't be that person who waits until the last chorus to join in. Makes you look careless, care less.”
• “Rejection is a state like catalepsy to move through. Behold the scroll, the wretched bankroll, the double tongue summoning his minions to court, Calculate the chorus and ford the spring.”
• “A small thing, mysterious as amaryllis, A little water, a little sun. Behold my process of pretending.”
• “The voice will always call a murmur or hum a spring burbling or a dammed up flood. Locally sourced, unforced, double spaced and tortured into shape.”
• “Behold the ample galaxy, a naked miracle through the blinds. Clean your damn windows and the bulb will bloom.”

Memorable Moments:

• The repeated imperative “Behold”—a call to witness both the mundane and the mysterious.
• The oscillation between the significant and the trivial, suggestion of abundance and omission, resonance with the episode’s theme of “everything except—.”
• The blend of humor, wisdom, and vulnerability, e.g., “Clean your damn windows and the bulb will bloom.”

Maggie Smith’s Reflections

• On Surprise and Discovery:
  Maggie’s commentary before the poem aligns with the poem’s texture of unpredictability and refusal to pin down a single subject:

  “Maybe deep down, all poems are about just that surprise, a feeling of discovery.” (02:55)

• On Process:
  Smith encourages a mode of attention—reflective, present, unforced—mirrored by the poem’s shifting catalog of images.

Notable Quotes

• “I think aboutness for a poet can be a trap. I think you can ruin a poem by going into it determined to write about something in particular.”
  —Maggie Smith (02:02)
• “Maybe deep down, all poems are about just that surprise, a feeling of discovery.”
  —Maggie Smith (02:55)
• “To write these days is to avoid telling people how angry I am.”
  —Amy Lemmon (via Daniel Nester) (03:00)
• “Behold the ample galaxy, a naked miracle through the blinds. Clean your damn windows and the bulb will bloom.”
  —Amy Lemmon (06:15)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:50 – 02:40: Maggie Smith discusses the difficulty in explaining poetry’s “aboutness” and her writing process.
• 02:40 – 03:00: Smith introduces today’s poem, situating it within the discussion of maximalism and surprise.
• 03:00 – 06:22: Full reading of “Poem about everything except—” by Amy Lemmon.
• 06:22 – 07:44: Closing credits and production information.

Tone and Atmosphere

The episode balances humor and thoughtful reflection, with Smith’s conversational warmth and the poem’s eclectic, attentive language inviting listeners to approach poetry—and daily life—with curiosity rather than prescription. The mood is gently insistent on the value of presence, even amidst ambiguity or unfinished stories.

Summary Takeaway

This episode of The Slowdown highlights how poetry can be less about clear themes and more about discovery, surprise, and a broadened capacity for attention. Amy Lemmon’s poem “Poem about everything except—” embodies this ethos—a sprawling, witty, at times mysterious meditation on all that’s included and left unsaid. Maggie Smith’s thoughtful approach encourages listeners to resist simplification, to “clean your damn windows” and let in new ways of seeing.