Answer extracted from the Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! podcast — listen to the full episode below.
What role does a poet take on when readers reach out through social media about personal crises?
Maggie Smith has become what she calls a "divorce whisperer," fielding direct messages from readers experiencing personal crises who ask her for everything from lawyer recommendations to reassurance about whether life improves. Rather than step back from this unexpected pastoral role, Smith engages genuinely with people seeking guidance from someone who has lived through similar struggles.
The shift from poet to informal counselor happened organically. After her poem Good Bones went viral about a decade ago, Smith found herself at the center of a deeply personal phenomenon. Readers connected with her vulnerability and began reaching out with their own pain. As Smith explains in her appearance on the show, the messages rarely come for lighthearted reasons—they arrive when someone is in genuine distress.
What makes this role distinct is Smith's recognition that people don't turn to her as a celebrity or advice columnist, but as a fellow traveler who has publicly documented her own journey through difficulty. She has written extensively about her experiences in her best-selling memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful, and later in Dear Writer: Advice for the Creative Life, establishing herself as someone willing to speak candidly about struggle.
The kinds of questions Smith receives vary widely—practical concerns like finding legal representation mix with existential ones about resilience and hope. In the podcast, Smith explores how this dynamic has transformed her relationship with her own writing, turning her platform into something she never anticipated but has come to understand as part of her work as a writer and teacher living in her native Ohio.
"People don't slide into my DMs for any kind of fun reason. It's always like, do you know a good lawyer? Have you been, like, how do you sleep at night? Does it get better?"
Maggie Smith — Poet and Author. Smith is from Ohio, best known for her viral poem Good Bones, which launched her to broader recognition about a decade ago. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers You Could Make This Place Beautiful and Dear Writer: Advice for the Creative Life, and continues to teach writing while based in her hometown near Columbus.
The full conversation delves deeper into how Smith manages the emotional labor of this unexpected role, and what it means for a writer to hold space for others' pain while continuing to create her own work.
Key takeaways
- Smith has become an informal counselor to readers experiencing personal crises through social media direct messages.
- She receives practical requests (lawyer recommendations) alongside deeper existential questions about recovery and resilience.
- People reach out to her specifically because she has publicly shared her own struggles through her writing and memoirs.
- This role, though unexpected, has become part of Smith's broader identity as a writer, teacher, and public figure.
See also
How did a poem about divorce become a viral literary phenomenon?
Maggie Smith's poem Good Bones became a viral sensation, which led to her best-selling memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful where she wrote about her experiences and insights.
What are the most shocking design failures found in short-term rental properties?
Leslie Jones encountered properties with carpet installed in bathrooms and other unusual design choices that she critiqued on her show.
What format does a new HGTV renovation show use to critique short-term rental properties?
Roast My Rental is a show where Leslie Jones goes into people's Airbnbs and rental properties and lovingly tells them their rental is not working well.