Bonus Episode: Maggie Smith on This Old House Radio Hour

Summary

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The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Bonus Episode: Maggie Smith on This Old House Radio Hour

Date: December 20, 2025
Host: Maggie Smith
Guest Host: Jen Largess (This Old House Radio Hour)

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Episode Overview

In this bonus crossover episode, poet and podcast host Maggie Smith appears on "This Old House Radio Hour" with Jen Largess, sharing an intimate reflection on her century-old home in Bexley, Ohio. Smith explores the emotional landscape of homeownership, family history, divorce, and the powerful continuity a beloved space can provide. The conversation bridges poetry and the soul of home, emphasizing how physical spaces hold memories, transitions, and deep-rooted comfort.

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Key Discussion Points

1. First Impressions and Falling in Love with the Home

[02:31 – 04:59]

• Maggie discusses moving to Bexley, Ohio, the “first city in the US to be designated an arboretum,” enchanted by its abundance of trees and the light that fills her 100-year-old house.
• She recalls touring the house with her infant daughter, noting that windows (35 in total) were instantly captivating — both a joy and an eventual challenge due to maintenance.
• The tall ceilings and quirky, impractical layout gave the home a “light and bright” feel, helping her envision raising a family there—despite the need for extensive renovations.

Notable Quote:

“I live in, basically, a glass display case surrounded by trees. And so it's perfect for a poet. It's just like light and leaves, and who doesn't want that?”
— Maggie Smith [03:12]

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2. Home as Sanctuary and Witness to Life’s Changes

[05:00 – 08:00]

• Maggie recalls the evolution of her house from a child-friendly play space to a creative writing room, underscoring the adaptability of domestic spaces through different family stages.
• She details the physical peculiarities—creaking floors, misaligned doors, and the affectionate term “whopperjawed”—embracing the home’s character.
• She opens up about her divorce in 2018 and the pivotal importance of keeping the house for her children’s sake, describing the home as an emotional anchor through upheaval.

Notable Quote:

“The only thing that mattered to me other than the well being of my children in my divorce was keeping this house… The amount of peace that I have had raising my kids and continuing to raise my kids in the only house they've ever known.”
— Maggie Smith [07:05]

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3. Community, Continuity, and the Future

[08:01 – 09:05]

• Maggie discusses the connection between her home and neighborhood, citing her love for both the house and her community.
• She faces the dilemma of whether to stay or eventually downsize once her children have grown, conflicted between emotional attachment and pragmatic concerns.

Notable Quote:

“So much of what I love about living here is the house, but it's also the community… I can't keep this as a monument to their childhood. It needs to be useful to me and a place to live.”
— Maggie Smith [08:32]

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4. Reflection on Family and Belonging

[07:30 – 08:15]

• Maggie articulates the way her family has been shaped by their shared home, but also acknowledges that their bond transcends place: “The three of us are a family. And we would be a family anywhere.”

Notable Quote:

“To be able to have this place as a constant, it just calms my nervous system and I think it does the same thing for my kids.”
— Maggie Smith [07:35]

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On her relationship to the house’s quirks:
  “They're the original wood floors so apparently they could use some tlc. I mean the house has a coal chute... My mom would use the word whopperjawed. Wonky is maybe a more common term. But I love whopperjawed. Everything is a little off. We like to say. Oh, it just, it has character.”
  — Maggie Smith [05:54]

• On adapting spaces as life changes:
  “On the other side of the living room through French doors was my kids playroom. Now it's my writing room.”
  — Maggie Smith [05:14]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:31] Maggie Smith's introduction to her home and the city’s arboretum status
• [03:12] Enchantment with light, windows, and trees—perfect for a poet
• [05:14] Evolution of family spaces within the home
• [05:54] Embracing quirks: creaky floors and “whopperjawed” architecture
• [07:05] Divorce, keeping the house, and pursuing stability for her children
• [07:35] The house as an emotional anchor and calming constant
• [08:32] Grappling with the possibility of selling and the house as more than a monument

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Episode Tone & Language

Maggie Smith’s voice is warm, reflective, and candid. She balances poetic description (“a glass display case surrounded by trees”) with practical anecdotes about home maintenance and personal resilience. The tone is affectionate, lightly humorous, and deeply grounded in the reality of parenting, transition, and creative living.

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Summary

This episode offers a heartfelt meditation on what it means to build a life inside a house, blending the practicalities of homeownership with the art and soul of poetry. Maggie Smith's reflections will resonate with anyone who finds meaning, comfort, and continuity in the spaces they inhabit, or who has ever questioned the pull of “home” against the tides of life.

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Transcript

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[Poetry Magazine Announcer]

Hello, slow down listeners. Poetry Magazine has a special offer just for you. Subscribe to one year of Poetry Magazine today and receive their limited edition tote bag for $39. That's the cost of one Loboo. You'll receive 10 beautifully curated print magazines of contemporary poetry, unlimited digital access via the Poetry Magazine app and a tote bag to carry it all. Subscribe [e-mail] Slowdown25 to receive this special offer.

[Jen Largess]

I'm Jen Larges, host of another American public media podcast, this Old House Radio Hour. Every week we answer your home improvement and DIY questions and also take a deep dive into the art, science and soul of home building. We recently had the pleasure of featuring the Slowdown's Maggie Smith on our show where she took us inside her 100-year-old home that carried her family through every chapter of their lives. Here's Maggie's segment from that episode. If you'd like to hear more, you can follow this Old House Radio Hour in your podcast app. It's this Old House Radio Hour. I'm Jen Largess. Coming up, cheap old houses are back with a budget friendly Georgia starter and an 1850s upstate New York mansion in need of a hero. But first we go to Bexley, Ohio. Award winning poet and host of the Slowdown, Maggie Smith invites us into our century old home where she believes a home should reflect the life you build inside it.

[Maggie Smith]

Hi, I'm Maggie Smith. I'm an author and the host of the Slow Down. And this is my old house. I live in Bexley, Ohio. It's the first city in the US to be designated an arboretum. There are so many trees. It's really what charmed me most about moving in here. My house is 100 years old this year. It was built in 1925. And I think it's an American four square. That is the style that most resembles my house. It's basically two and a half stories. There's an attic that we don't really use except for book storage. What charmed me right away about this house is the number of windows. But I think the house has something like 35 windows. And now, as a homeowner who has replaced all of those windows over the past 15 years, I feel slightly differently about the number of windows. It's a lot of glass, and I love it because I work from home, and it's light and bright all day long, regardless of which room you're in. And when I go into other people's houses now, they feel dark to me. I live in, basically, a glass display case surrounded by trees. And so it's perfect for a poet. It's just like light and leaves, and who doesn't want that? I remember walking into this house because I had my daughter Violet, who is now about to turn 17, in the front load baby carrier. And I walked into the house, and I saw all the windows, and she just started, like, looking up and looking around, and I could tell that it was catching her eye. The ceilings are really tall, which is sort of unexpected. And the layout, in a lot of ways, made no sense. It was ancient. It needed a ton of work. Almost everything was painted mauve or pink, but it just felt so light and bright. And I could see us raising a family there. And then I saw the little room at the front of the house with all the windows, and it was like the perfect playroom. It just spoke to me, and all the trees, and it had a fenced backyard. And I was like, oh, that's where the swing set will go. I just started to imagine all the different life stages we would get to have in this house. When you open the front door to my house, you are standing in the living room. So you're standing on a rug and looking at a sectional sofa that is floated in the middle of the room because there's no place else to put it. And then there's a staircase to the right that goes upstairs. And if you keep going a little bit to the left, you'll Go into the kitchen and then the dining room is right beside that. So it's on the front of the house. On the other side of the living room through French doors was my kids playroom. Now it's my writing room. And then there's another set of French doors off the dining room that goes out to the back patio and the backyard. If you go upstairs, it's tiny. Everybody shares a wall with someone. Like there's no wing of the house. This house is full of quir. But we're a quirky family so I think we don't notice them. And I say that because I recently had a friend stay here for a few days and she said, how do you do it? And I said what do you mean? And she goes, the floors are the creakiest floors I've ever stepped on. Isn't it annoying to you? I don't even hear it anymore. I mean they're the original wood floors so apparently they could use some tlc. I mean the house has a coal chute. I've noticed, probably because of settling. Like none of the doors or windows quite seem flush. Everything is a little. My mom would use the word whopperjawed. Wonky is maybe a more common term. But I love whopperjawed. Everything is a little off. We like to say. Oh, it just, it has character. We moved in in January of 2010. In 2018, my kid's dad moved out of our house and we got divorced the following year.

[Poetry Magazine Announcer]

Really the only thing that mattered to.

[Maggie Smith]

Me other than the well being of my children in my divorce was keeping this house and now having it in my name and the amount of peace that I have had raising my kids and continuing to raise my kids in the only house they've ever known. So now I am a single mom living in this house with two teenagers.

[Poetry Magazine Announcer]

The three of us are a family.

[Maggie Smith]

And we would be a family anywhere. But we have made so many memories. I really cherish the, the continuity where, you know, life throws you a lot of variables. And so to be able to have this place as a constant, it just calms my nervous system and I think it does the same thing for my kids. I have debated a lot with myself over the past few years about whether I will stay in this house when my kids aren't here anymore. On one hand it doesn't make a lot of sense because I'm a single woman and this house is. It's not quite the money pit but it is a constant project. You know, I've got maybe five years before I'm a complete empty nester and I don't know if it makes sense to stay yet. I really love this house and I really love my neighbors. And so part of what I've been doing is asking my neighbors, like, are you sticking around? So much of what I love about living here is the house, but it's also the community. I think the kids are also attached to the house. Like, I can't keep this as a monument to their childhood. It needs to be useful to me and a place to live. But I also don't want to just be flippant about selling it and getting a condo when my son goes to college. So it's kind of a wait and see thing right now.

[Jen Largess]

That was poet Maggie Smith. Listen to the Slowdown wherever you get your podcasts.

[GoFundMe Announcer]

Foreign.

[Poetry Magazine Announcer]

Hello Slowdown listeners. Poetry Magazine has a special offer just for you. Subscribe to one year of Poetry Magazine today and receive their limited edition tote bag for $39. That's the cost of one Loboo. You'll receive 10 beautifully curated print magazines of contemporary poetry, unlimited digital access via the Poetry Magazine app and a tote bag to carry it all. Subscribe [e-mail] Slowdown25 to receive this special offer.