The Slowdown
@slowdownshow.org
Maggie Smith delivers a different way to see the world – through poetry. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Sign up for our daily poem newsletter --> bit.ly/3AWdEMl
Produced in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
Produced in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
"Today’s poem is one of those that crushes me with its ending," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode, number 1456.
Read "Historical Site" by Tommye Blount — from FANTASIA FOR THE MAN IN BLUE (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4tugh2l
Read "Historical Site" by Tommye Blount — from FANTASIA FOR THE MAN IN BLUE (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4tugh2l
February 12, 2026 at 6:18 PM
"Today’s poem is one of those that crushes me with its ending," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode, number 1456.
Read "Historical Site" by Tommye Blount — from FANTASIA FOR THE MAN IN BLUE (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4tugh2l
Read "Historical Site" by Tommye Blount — from FANTASIA FOR THE MAN IN BLUE (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4tugh2l
"Everyone is a hero to someone, or a beauty, or a problem, or all of the above," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in episode 1454.
Read "Katherine with the Lazy Eye. Short. And Not a Good Poet" by francine j. harris and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4rKlDou
Read "Katherine with the Lazy Eye. Short. And Not a Good Poet" by francine j. harris and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4rKlDou
February 12, 2026 at 12:04 AM
"Everyone is a hero to someone, or a beauty, or a problem, or all of the above," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in episode 1454.
Read "Katherine with the Lazy Eye. Short. And Not a Good Poet" by francine j. harris and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4rKlDou
Read "Katherine with the Lazy Eye. Short. And Not a Good Poet" by francine j. harris and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4rKlDou
"Today’s poem ... manages to take a deep breath in and collapse two thousand years of danger into a single moment of misunderstanding," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode, number 1453.
Read "Closing Time; Iskandariya" by Brigit Pegeen Kelly: bit.ly/4qsObSf
Read "Closing Time; Iskandariya" by Brigit Pegeen Kelly: bit.ly/4qsObSf
February 10, 2026 at 5:55 PM
"Today’s poem ... manages to take a deep breath in and collapse two thousand years of danger into a single moment of misunderstanding," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode, number 1453.
Read "Closing Time; Iskandariya" by Brigit Pegeen Kelly: bit.ly/4qsObSf
Read "Closing Time; Iskandariya" by Brigit Pegeen Kelly: bit.ly/4qsObSf
"That existential question can feel like judgment or threat, but the poet turns it back toward the daily realities of our own agency," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in episode 1452 of The Slowdown.
Read “A Backstory Beyond My Recounting” by Paulann Petersen: bit.ly/4bLyEta
Read “A Backstory Beyond My Recounting” by Paulann Petersen: bit.ly/4bLyEta
February 9, 2026 at 11:16 PM
"That existential question can feel like judgment or threat, but the poet turns it back toward the daily realities of our own agency," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in episode 1452 of The Slowdown.
Read “A Backstory Beyond My Recounting” by Paulann Petersen: bit.ly/4bLyEta
Read “A Backstory Beyond My Recounting” by Paulann Petersen: bit.ly/4bLyEta
"Our most important journeys often take us through vistas that we hadn’t, couldn’t, even imagine when we took our first steps," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode.
Read “Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich: bit.ly/4ttzEIP
Read “Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich: bit.ly/4ttzEIP
February 6, 2026 at 11:58 PM
"Our most important journeys often take us through vistas that we hadn’t, couldn’t, even imagine when we took our first steps," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode.
Read “Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich: bit.ly/4ttzEIP
Read “Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich: bit.ly/4ttzEIP
"The crackdowns are beyond devastating, yet the potential for complete societal collapse seems unable to trigger our better natures to see each other’s humanity," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode.
Read "Home” by Warsan Shire: bit.ly/4ayQf6j
Read "Home” by Warsan Shire: bit.ly/4ayQf6j
February 5, 2026 at 6:46 PM
"The crackdowns are beyond devastating, yet the potential for complete societal collapse seems unable to trigger our better natures to see each other’s humanity," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode.
Read "Home” by Warsan Shire: bit.ly/4ayQf6j
Read "Home” by Warsan Shire: bit.ly/4ayQf6j
"Today’s poem reminds me of the power of poetry to comment, to respond, to shed light and offer us space to form our own impressions of what the facts may mean," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode.
Read “Nightline: September 20, 1982” by June Jordan: bit.ly/3On362N
Read “Nightline: September 20, 1982” by June Jordan: bit.ly/3On362N
February 5, 2026 at 12:16 AM
"Today’s poem reminds me of the power of poetry to comment, to respond, to shed light and offer us space to form our own impressions of what the facts may mean," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode.
Read “Nightline: September 20, 1982” by June Jordan: bit.ly/3On362N
Read “Nightline: September 20, 1982” by June Jordan: bit.ly/3On362N
"Restoration, like most things worthwhile, is far from simple," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode.
Read "Orchestra" by @russellbrakefield.bsky.social and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/46vRT6j
Read "Orchestra" by @russellbrakefield.bsky.social and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/46vRT6j
February 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM
"Restoration, like most things worthwhile, is far from simple," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in today's episode.
Read "Orchestra" by @russellbrakefield.bsky.social and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/46vRT6j
Read "Orchestra" by @russellbrakefield.bsky.social and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/46vRT6j
"Today’s poem makes a promise of its title, dresses it in flesh and bone, and tracks it across time," guest host Samiya Bashir shares in today's episode.
Read “Gratitude” by Cornelius Eady and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4r5eG0Y
Read “Gratitude” by Cornelius Eady and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4r5eG0Y
February 2, 2026 at 5:55 PM
"Today’s poem makes a promise of its title, dresses it in flesh and bone, and tracks it across time," guest host Samiya Bashir shares in today's episode.
Read “Gratitude” by Cornelius Eady and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4r5eG0Y
Read “Gratitude” by Cornelius Eady and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4r5eG0Y
"There’s a sense of relief when we realize we’re looking at an object, not a dead creature," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social notes in episode 1446 of The Slowdown.
Read “Mistake” by Heather Christle: bit.ly/3Z9Xc7t
📖: @weslpress.bsky.social
Read “Mistake” by Heather Christle: bit.ly/3Z9Xc7t
📖: @weslpress.bsky.social
January 30, 2026 at 11:08 PM
"There’s a sense of relief when we realize we’re looking at an object, not a dead creature," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social notes in episode 1446 of The Slowdown.
Read “Mistake” by Heather Christle: bit.ly/3Z9Xc7t
📖: @weslpress.bsky.social
Read “Mistake” by Heather Christle: bit.ly/3Z9Xc7t
📖: @weslpress.bsky.social
"Today’s poem is a kind of love poem — to a beloved tree, and to the sense of home it created," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1445.
Read "Hackberry" by Cecily Parks — from THE SEEDS (@alicejamesbooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/4bZhnwu
Read "Hackberry" by Cecily Parks — from THE SEEDS (@alicejamesbooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/4bZhnwu
January 29, 2026 at 10:51 PM
"Today’s poem is a kind of love poem — to a beloved tree, and to the sense of home it created," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1445.
Read "Hackberry" by Cecily Parks — from THE SEEDS (@alicejamesbooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/4bZhnwu
Read "Hackberry" by Cecily Parks — from THE SEEDS (@alicejamesbooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/4bZhnwu
"Today’s poem captures a time of grief in the speaker’s life, when life goes a little quiet after a flurry of support and care," our host, @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social, shares in today's episode.
Read "Congratulations! Your Grief Is About to Stop Being Relevant!" by Bridget Bell: bit.ly/4tb8Vk4
Read "Congratulations! Your Grief Is About to Stop Being Relevant!" by Bridget Bell: bit.ly/4tb8Vk4
January 29, 2026 at 12:19 AM
"Today’s poem captures a time of grief in the speaker’s life, when life goes a little quiet after a flurry of support and care," our host, @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social, shares in today's episode.
Read "Congratulations! Your Grief Is About to Stop Being Relevant!" by Bridget Bell: bit.ly/4tb8Vk4
Read "Congratulations! Your Grief Is About to Stop Being Relevant!" by Bridget Bell: bit.ly/4tb8Vk4
“One of the poets I discovered in college was H.D.," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1443. "I remember being wowed by her poems, which were experimental and strange, unlike anything I’d read before."
Read “Come Back!" by Camille Guthrie: bit.ly/4rarcfo
Read “Come Back!" by Camille Guthrie: bit.ly/4rarcfo
January 27, 2026 at 11:44 PM
“One of the poets I discovered in college was H.D.," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1443. "I remember being wowed by her poems, which were experimental and strange, unlike anything I’d read before."
Read “Come Back!" by Camille Guthrie: bit.ly/4rarcfo
Read “Come Back!" by Camille Guthrie: bit.ly/4rarcfo
"Life will throw at us things that are hard or impossible to describe, both beautiful and awful things," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1442. "So I think [language play] isn't just a writing tool — it's a life skill."
Read “Apocatastasis” by G.C. Waldrep: bit.ly/3M2lI7D
Read “Apocatastasis” by G.C. Waldrep: bit.ly/3M2lI7D
January 26, 2026 at 6:00 PM
"Life will throw at us things that are hard or impossible to describe, both beautiful and awful things," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1442. "So I think [language play] isn't just a writing tool — it's a life skill."
Read “Apocatastasis” by G.C. Waldrep: bit.ly/3M2lI7D
Read “Apocatastasis” by G.C. Waldrep: bit.ly/3M2lI7D
"Today’s poem muses on different kinds of knowing without privileging one over the other," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1441.
Read “Birthday Wish” by @davidgroff.bsky.social — from LIVE IN SUSPENSE (@triohousepress.org) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/49Q9U06
Read “Birthday Wish” by @davidgroff.bsky.social — from LIVE IN SUSPENSE (@triohousepress.org) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/49Q9U06
January 23, 2026 at 11:35 PM
"Today’s poem muses on different kinds of knowing without privileging one over the other," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1441.
Read “Birthday Wish” by @davidgroff.bsky.social — from LIVE IN SUSPENSE (@triohousepress.org) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/49Q9U06
Read “Birthday Wish” by @davidgroff.bsky.social — from LIVE IN SUSPENSE (@triohousepress.org) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/49Q9U06
"I don’t think there’s ever an expiration date on well wishes, and frankly, we need all the well wishes we can get for 2026," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social says in today's episode.
Read "New Year" by @katejbaer.bsky.social — from WHAT KIND OF WOMAN (@harpercollins.bsky.social): bit.ly/3LZ8pEU
Read "New Year" by @katejbaer.bsky.social — from WHAT KIND OF WOMAN (@harpercollins.bsky.social): bit.ly/3LZ8pEU
January 22, 2026 at 3:56 PM
"I don’t think there’s ever an expiration date on well wishes, and frankly, we need all the well wishes we can get for 2026," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social says in today's episode.
Read "New Year" by @katejbaer.bsky.social — from WHAT KIND OF WOMAN (@harpercollins.bsky.social): bit.ly/3LZ8pEU
Read "New Year" by @katejbaer.bsky.social — from WHAT KIND OF WOMAN (@harpercollins.bsky.social): bit.ly/3LZ8pEU
"Today’s poem explores memory and loss — and how objects can help us resurrect the past," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1439 of The Slowdown.
Read "I Have Lost It" by Monica Ferrell — from THE FUTURE (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/49W02SK
Read "I Have Lost It" by Monica Ferrell — from THE FUTURE (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/49W02SK
January 21, 2026 at 5:51 PM
"Today’s poem explores memory and loss — and how objects can help us resurrect the past," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1439 of The Slowdown.
Read "I Have Lost It" by Monica Ferrell — from THE FUTURE (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/49W02SK
Read "I Have Lost It" by Monica Ferrell — from THE FUTURE (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social) — and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/49W02SK
"Today’s poem addresses a child — a child full of questions about the world," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1438 of The Slowdown.
Read "The Long Now" by Robin Beth Schaer and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4b3k3sB
Read "The Long Now" by Robin Beth Schaer and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4b3k3sB
January 20, 2026 at 6:02 PM
"Today’s poem addresses a child — a child full of questions about the world," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1438 of The Slowdown.
Read "The Long Now" by Robin Beth Schaer and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4b3k3sB
Read "The Long Now" by Robin Beth Schaer and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4b3k3sB
"Today’s poem is a love poem, one in which the long-married speaker can hardly imagine their own 'beforetimes' — the life before their spouse," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1437.
Read “Now that we’ve been married all these years" by Keetje Kuipers: bit.ly/3ZlrrbC
Read “Now that we’ve been married all these years" by Keetje Kuipers: bit.ly/3ZlrrbC
January 19, 2026 at 5:50 PM
"Today’s poem is a love poem, one in which the long-married speaker can hardly imagine their own 'beforetimes' — the life before their spouse," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1437.
Read “Now that we’ve been married all these years" by Keetje Kuipers: bit.ly/3ZlrrbC
Read “Now that we’ve been married all these years" by Keetje Kuipers: bit.ly/3ZlrrbC
"Today’s poem ... reflected my own experience back to me — in a way that helped me see it differently," our host, @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social, shares in today's episode of The Slowdown.
Read "Vacation" by Sara Moore Wagner and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4jFNLX1
Read "Vacation" by Sara Moore Wagner and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4jFNLX1
January 16, 2026 at 9:48 PM
"Today’s poem ... reflected my own experience back to me — in a way that helped me see it differently," our host, @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social, shares in today's episode of The Slowdown.
Read "Vacation" by Sara Moore Wagner and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4jFNLX1
Read "Vacation" by Sara Moore Wagner and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4jFNLX1
"Today’s poem feels to me like an invitation INTO poetry, into a space where the reader, or listener, can move freely," our host, @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in today's episode, number 1435. "I hope you find yourself welcome."
Read "ars poetica, 2019" by Airea D. Matthews: bit.ly/49Pl4mR
Read "ars poetica, 2019" by Airea D. Matthews: bit.ly/49Pl4mR
January 15, 2026 at 6:48 PM
"Today’s poem feels to me like an invitation INTO poetry, into a space where the reader, or listener, can move freely," our host, @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in today's episode, number 1435. "I hope you find yourself welcome."
Read "ars poetica, 2019" by Airea D. Matthews: bit.ly/49Pl4mR
Read "ars poetica, 2019" by Airea D. Matthews: bit.ly/49Pl4mR
"Waiting is a kind of purgatory, a middle ground," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in today's episode, number 1434 of The Slowdown. "In that liminal, in-between space, we alternate between hope and fear."
Read "Waiting for the Call I Am" by Wyatt Townley: bit.ly/3YVkEFD
Read "Waiting for the Call I Am" by Wyatt Townley: bit.ly/3YVkEFD
January 14, 2026 at 4:48 PM
"Waiting is a kind of purgatory, a middle ground," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in today's episode, number 1434 of The Slowdown. "In that liminal, in-between space, we alternate between hope and fear."
Read "Waiting for the Call I Am" by Wyatt Townley: bit.ly/3YVkEFD
Read "Waiting for the Call I Am" by Wyatt Townley: bit.ly/3YVkEFD
"Today’s poem touched me in how it explores the intimacy of sound, and especially the human voice," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1433. "How, too, the silence between us can be so loud."
Read "Given to Rust" by Vievee Francis — from THE SHARED WORLD: bit.ly/4pzKBVO
Read "Given to Rust" by Vievee Francis — from THE SHARED WORLD: bit.ly/4pzKBVO
January 13, 2026 at 4:49 PM
"Today’s poem touched me in how it explores the intimacy of sound, and especially the human voice," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1433. "How, too, the silence between us can be so loud."
Read "Given to Rust" by Vievee Francis — from THE SHARED WORLD: bit.ly/4pzKBVO
Read "Given to Rust" by Vievee Francis — from THE SHARED WORLD: bit.ly/4pzKBVO
"Today’s poem touched me because it acknowledges the patience and tenderness we need to have as spouses and as parents," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1432.
Read "The Good Guy" by @blasfalconer.bsky.social — from RARA AVIS (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/4buKSGe
Read "The Good Guy" by @blasfalconer.bsky.social — from RARA AVIS (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/4buKSGe
January 12, 2026 at 7:03 PM
"Today’s poem touched me because it acknowledges the patience and tenderness we need to have as spouses and as parents," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1432.
Read "The Good Guy" by @blasfalconer.bsky.social — from RARA AVIS (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/4buKSGe
Read "The Good Guy" by @blasfalconer.bsky.social — from RARA AVIS (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/4buKSGe
"Today’s poem is surreal and unnerving," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social says about episode 1431 of The Slowdown. "When I finish reading it, I have that feeling of having woken up from a strange dream, suspecting it has something to tell me."
Read "Going Home" by Joan Kwon Glass: bit.ly/4952mYe
Read "Going Home" by Joan Kwon Glass: bit.ly/4952mYe
January 9, 2026 at 8:48 PM
"Today’s poem is surreal and unnerving," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social says about episode 1431 of The Slowdown. "When I finish reading it, I have that feeling of having woken up from a strange dream, suspecting it has something to tell me."
Read "Going Home" by Joan Kwon Glass: bit.ly/4952mYe
Read "Going Home" by Joan Kwon Glass: bit.ly/4952mYe