"This empathetic, wise, and honest collection is brimming with poems full of heart and feeling."
— Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
"The lyrical and touching poems in Goldenrod by Maggie Smith are sure to capture your heart. Smith has a way of turning the mundane into the profound, and in the process, she'll astound you with her brilliant insights into modern life."
—POPSUGAR
"Compared with past works, the language in Goldenrod is lean and conversational, Smith wielding her editor’s pen with surgical skill, excising syllabic flotsam and exposing her inner voice more clearly than ever."
—Columbus Alive
“Maggie Smith is that rare poet who can inspire you, break your heart, and make you stop astonished at the planet around you—all in the same poem, often in the same moment. The wisdom of Goldenrod is more than hard-earned, it is a gift.”
—Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic
“Goldenrod brims with fervent love for this gorgeous, wounded world. These are poems you want to rush into, poems you will return to more slowly again and again. They are like the stones she describes: together/ they dazzle with fire.”
—Ellen Bass, author of Indigo
“The poems in Goldenrod alternate between gratitude and anger, bafflement and forgiveness, but more than anything else, they radiate love. To read Maggie Smith’s poetry is to realize we aren’t alone.”
—Rhett Miller, Singer/Songwriter, The Old 97's
“Goldenrod is lush and intimate, full of joy and sorrow, fire and field. With wonder and poignancy, Maggie Smith navigates a reconstitution of self as she grieves what is lost. Her way of seeing is positively alchemical.”
—Marcus Wicker, author of Silencer
“With keen perception Maggie Smith charts the world like a cartographer—all the greens and blues and yellows are there, but so are all the troughs and valleys, the darkest wonders. Smith holds our hands and leads us into and through all of the grief, beauty, and alchemy of the world.”
—Victoria Chang, author of Obit
“The poems in Goldenrod are carried by that brave and devastating intersection of grief and gratitude. Smith’s words reach our hearts, speaking on behalf of the delicious “good dark” that breaks before the dawn.”
—Tiana Clark, author of I Can't Talk About The Trees Without The Blood
“In Goldenrod Maggie Smith aptly writes, ‘America, we have taken children/ from their mothers. We have separated/ words from their meanings.’ Though no injustice escapes her attention, nor any personal hurt, Smith’s daring empathy and her knowing grasp of survival deliver us to a place where pain and beauty hold hands together in grace and transcendence.”
—Barbara Ras, author of The Blues of Heaven
It’s the very first week of National Poetry Month and we know you might be wondering — how should you celebrate? What collections should you be reading? Who should you be reading? As always, we’ve got you covered. Our Poured Over podcast has welcomed myriad poets to talk about everything from collections of verse to […]
“I leave that book feeling less alone, because I’ve been welcomed into somebody else’s humanity, and I feel like they’ve shared part of themselves with me and that feels communal…” Maggie Smith’s bestselling You Could Make This Place Beautiful transcends traditional memoir in a staggering take on divorce, motherhood and what it means to be a […]
Spring’s sprung, and we have some fabulous writers joining us on Poured Over in April. Bestselling authors like: Jeanette Walls (The Glass Castle), live from our flagship store on New York’s Union Square discussing HANG THE MOON. Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain) on THE TRACKERS, a terrific noir set during The Great Depression. Dennis Lehane (Mystic […]