Good Bones

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2016

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Poem Analysis

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Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

“What I Carried” by Maggie Smith (2017)

Published in Smith’s 2017 collection Good Bones, “What I Carried” explores similar themes to “Good Bones,” such as fear and apprehension about the state of the world. Like “Good Bones,” “What I Carried” tries to make sense of a world rooted in violence and fear, and ultimately how to exist within it.

“Parachute” by Maggie Smith (2017)

Circling around themes of beauty, existence, and child rearing, “Parachute,” published in Good Bones, is a helpful poem to read alongside Smith’s “Good Bones” to gain a deeper understanding of Smith’s arguments concerning the world, children, and how to tell difficult truths to the innocent.

“What Kind of Times Are These” by Adrienne Rich (1995)

Written by poet Adrienne Rich, “What Kind of Times Are These” is an activist poem in a similar literary tradition to “Good Bones.” Rich’s poem calls attention to injustices and asks the reader to listen to the truth, calling on them to act and work to change the world from its current state.

Further Literary Resources

“Maggie Smith and the poem that captured the mood of a tumultuous year” by Nora Krug (2017)

In this piece, published in the Washington Post, Nora Krug explores how and why Smith’s poem “Good Bones” went viral on the internet. Walking through specific lines of the poem, the article is a clear eye into why the poem made such an impact in 2016-17.

“How poet and essayist Maggie Smith is carrying me through in these uncertain and jagged times” by Sophy Chaffee (2022)

Published in the San Diego Union-Tribune, this article explores Maggie Smith’s recent collection of short essays Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creative, and Change (2022). Like “Good Bones,” the collection is a road map for those who feel uncertain, dread, or apprehension about the current state of the world. Smith, who can see both the positive and negative, provides space for readers to mourn the world’s shortcomings while encouraging them to hope for better times.

Interview with Maggie Smith by Mary McMyne

This interview with Maggie Smith, published in Tinderbox Poetry Journal, offers readers a look into Smith’s full-length collection Good Bones and why she ended it on a hopeful note. It also explores Smith’s ability to balance the positive and negative in the book—and in her poems—which is a prominent theme in “Good Bones.”