Maggie Smith Has Had to ‘Unlearn’ Her Identity as a Poet

In a book of “pep talks and practical advice,” the author of the memoir “You Could Make This Place Beautiful” shares 10 key ingredients to creativity. In an email interview, she talked about why she’s not embarrassed about gaps in her reading, and the viral poem that changed everything. SCOTT HELLER

What books are on your night stand?

I know myself well enough to know a night stand wouldn’t cut it, so I have a bedside bookshelf. Within arm’s reach are “Us Fools,” by Nora Lange; “When the Harvest Comes,” by Denne Michele Norris; a galley of Kelly Sundberg’s “The Answer Is in the Wound”; and Marie Howe’s “New and Selected Poems.”

Describe your ideal reading experience.

I love having uninterrupted time so I can read a whole book in one sitting. My best reading (and writing) happens in a cabin in the woods in southern Ohio, where I’ve been going for 22 years now. It’s my happy, quiet place, with a fireplace, comfy reading chair and absolute darkness outside — and no calls, no emails, no kids asking for meals or rides, no dog staring at me for a walk, no dryer buzzing in the basement. …

What’s the last great book you read?

“Modern Poetry,” by Diane Seuss.

What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?

I wouldn’t say I’m embarrassed, but I’m aware of the gaps in my reading. I think there are many more Americans who have read John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” than have read Clarice Lispector’s “The Stream of Life,”which is one of my favorite books. Are those people embarrassed not to have read Lispector? I doubt it, so I won’t be embarrassed about not having read the Steinbeck yet.