Dear Writer - Maggie Smith
Genre - Nonfiction; the Craft of Writing
Maggie Smith is a beautiful poet and writer. I have read and love her poetry. I have read and love her memoirs. How could I resist reading Dear Writer by Maggie Smith, a book about the process of writing. I am sure glad I didn’t resist it!
Smith’s subtitle is Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, as it should goes a long way to capturing the spirit of this work. Not that I expected it - given her other work - this book is not a dry instructional manual about the written word. In most ways she shows how she lives as a creative - it can very much shape the reader’s approach to life. As someone who longs to express creativity but prioritizes below tasks that “must” be completed all too often, I very much appreciated her honest insight into her very busy life and how she finds a way to nurture her desire to write each and every day. As a retired English teacher who spent much of her career teaching poetry and writing, I was also drawn to her chapter called “play.” In it she captures much of the joy of writing, that I always worried that I wasn’t communicating to my students. And perhaps, a joy that I wasn’t even experiencing myself. What a fun approach to the writing process. She graciously uses her own work as examples. She uses those beautiful poetic terms like “enjambment” and makes the discussion magical. (I fear I treated that topic in a rather dry way!)
I have long wanted to be a consistent writer and have consistently failed in doing so. But boy have I learned to admire the magic that poets create. I have worked hard to appreciate their work as fully as possible. I am so grateful that Maggie Smith in Dear Writer created a beautiful balance of joy and technique and inspiration. I may never be the writer that I dreamed but she gives me hope that I can write.
Dear Writer by Maggie Smith book cover