In her winsome, practical Dear Writer, poet and memoirist Maggie Smith shares reflections on the elements of creativity, plus useful tools and prompts for artistic practice. Drawing on her considerable experience in writing and teaching, Smith (You Could Make This Place Beautiful) dispenses craft tips alongside warm, forthright encouragement for writers of all stripes.
"Creativity is the great expander," Smith writes in the introduction, referring not only to writing but to building a spacious life. In 10 sections with titles such as "Wonder," "Vision," "Tenacity," and "Surprise," Smith dives into the mindset of an artist: someone who pays attention, asks deep questions, strives to capture beauty or process pain through the act of creation. Reflecting on that mindset, Smith offers strategies born of her writing practice; annotates and dissects her poems as illustrations; and provides suggested reading lists, advising readers to develop a "personal syllabus" of texts and techniques for inspiration and revision.
Smith's approach is both playful and serious: she is committed to writing with clarity, honesty, and grace. But she's also a student of delight, of "artistic mischief" and experimentation. Dear Writer urges readers to take the creative process seriously but treat their own work lightly--and to relish wordplay and shenanigans, pause when a fleeting "beauty emergency" arises, and notice moments of humor and joy. The creative life, Smith says, is full of gifts to acknowledge and celebrate, and Dear Writer is a joyous, wise companion for the journey. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams