Poet Maggie Smith is back with her eighth book — this time focused on writers and the act of creativity. Smith, a New York Times bestselling author whose poem “Good Bones” garnered her a sudden and ...

DEAR WRITER: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life. By Maggie Smith. Washington Square Press. 272 pages. $28.99. Good news, friends: you’ve got mail. As in old-school actual letters.

Plus, more literary recommendations from the author of A Suit or a Suitcase.

Today I’m here with the tiniest pep talk, in case you need one. This one’s as much about saying no as it is about saying yes. In my memoir "You Could Make This Place Beautiful," I wrote, “Life, like a ...