London Writers' Salon #085: Maggie Smith — Crafting Viral Poems, Writing Memoir, Becoming a Better Poet, Narrative Device, Substack, Commercial vs Creative Work
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Dec 2, 2023 
Award-winning poet Maggie Smith discusses her process of crafting viral poems, writing a memoir, and becoming a better poet. Topics include narrative device, Substack, and the balance between commercial and creative work. The episode explores navigating personal boundaries, the importance of prioritizing poems, and embracing change and experimentation in writing.
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Poem Born From New Parenthood
- Maggie wrote the poem "First Fall" after a year-long hiatus from poetry when her daughter was a newborn.
- The poem came from walking the park with her baby and noticing small images that became a tour-guide poem.
Write Narrow To Reach Wide
- Write with concrete, sensory images instead of dumping feelings to reach universal meaning.
- Use a narrow, specific scene to open an aperture that lets your poem speak to larger ideas.
Poetry As Logical Exploration
- Maggie treats poem-making as an intellectual, often logical process rather than pure feeling.
- She follows language and metaphor like math: extend a metaphor logically to discover the poem's path.