What do you think?
Rate this book
A Suit or a Suitcase: Poems
Instant New York Times bestselling author and poet Maggie Smith returns with a new collection of poems on the sometimes-blurry distinction between mind and body, and how the self shifts and moves through time and space.
The title of Maggie Smith’s new collection comes from the eponymous
You ask what I’ll miss about this life.
Everything but cruelty, I think.
But you want one specific thing,
so here—I’ll miss my body. I’ll miss
its companionship, how it’s traveled
with me, never leaving me—& by me,
I mean my mind. My soul? My self?
I don’t know what to call it, and besides,
my body hasn’t traveled with me.
I’ve traveled inside it. Do I wear it
or does it carry me? Is the body a suit
or a suitcase?
Within, poems turn over the strange relationships between the body and the mind, the self and the world. With her signature tenderness and clarity of observation, and with stunning swoops of imagination, Smith considers—and reconsiders—what it is to be Does one life matter in the grand scheme of space and time? How can it be that we are the same people we were ten, twenty, or thirty years ago, but also different people? And could there be more to life, just beyond the borders of we can experience?
Each poem is an ode to the power of our minds and proof that both a life and a self, whether within a suit or a suitcase, is infinitely expandable.
The title of Maggie Smith’s new collection comes from the eponymous
You ask what I’ll miss about this life.
Everything but cruelty, I think.
But you want one specific thing,
so here—I’ll miss my body. I’ll miss
its companionship, how it’s traveled
with me, never leaving me—& by me,
I mean my mind. My soul? My self?
I don’t know what to call it, and besides,
my body hasn’t traveled with me.
I’ve traveled inside it. Do I wear it
or does it carry me? Is the body a suit
or a suitcase?
Within, poems turn over the strange relationships between the body and the mind, the self and the world. With her signature tenderness and clarity of observation, and with stunning swoops of imagination, Smith considers—and reconsiders—what it is to be Does one life matter in the grand scheme of space and time? How can it be that we are the same people we were ten, twenty, or thirty years ago, but also different people? And could there be more to life, just beyond the borders of we can experience?
Each poem is an ode to the power of our minds and proof that both a life and a self, whether within a suit or a suitcase, is infinitely expandable.
Audible Audio
First published March 24, 2026
143 people are currently reading
8152 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 254 reviews
April 11, 2026
This was my introduction to Maggie Smith’s work, and, given this collection’s publication date of 2026, the most contemporary poetry offering, thus far, in this year’s poetry project.
We didn’t start off on the best footing.
Ms. Smith is a peer, so to speak, just a couple of years younger than my kid brother. We’re the same generation, but her “verse” often feels like random thoughts jotted down on post-it notes, to me. I get it; for a few generations now we’ve had a contemporary poetry devoid of several previous features, specifically meter and rhyme, but Mary Oliver has proven to all of us that random looking free verse can still be incredibly poetic.
I guess I’m trying to communicate that her poetry isn’t what I’d naturally label “poetic.”
I had another issue, right away: Ms. Smith’s work is secular, almost to a fault. Okay, I get it; she’s not into a Higher Power and she doesn’t seem spiritual, in any way that I could determine, but, although I don’t need a person’s work to align, spiritually, with my own beliefs, I do get turned off if they have adopted atheism as their compass and declare it as Truth.
Meaning: if your atheism works for you, rock on, but please don’t try and convince me that any other impulses or beliefs are foolish.
I will offer this poem of hers as an example:
Talking to yourself in an empty room
sometimes feels like prayer but isn’t.
It isn’t prayer if you’re not asking
for anything, and what would you ask for?
Any request more specific than save me
would be so granular as to be worthless.
It can’t be prayer if you’re standing
at your kitchen counter, wearing an apron
and a far-off look. It can’t be prayer
if you’re walking in your neighborhood,
muttering to yourself, while Orion
keeps buckling and unbuckling his belt
over the houses. It can’t be prayer if you have
the expectation of privacy. If you think
no one’s listening. As a child I believed
so fiercely in the power of my own mind,
when I thought apple, I half expected
a real one, large and red, to appear
in my hand. Now I know better. I talk
to myself. Sometimes I even answer.
Do you see? I’m all for “self-reliance,” but I recoiled, more than a little, at the notion that “God is dead,” so it’s all up to you now. This concept appears a few times in her work. Rely on self, to the exception of anything else.
I’m not trying to convince YOU that you should like what I like; I’m not trying to impose my own spiritual beliefs. I’m just trying to explain to you that I found myself tripping over some of her messaging.
These quibbles aside, this insightful compilation still garnered four stars from me, and she ended up winning me over with her thoughts on identity, recovery of self (particularly after divorce) and life, in general.
The tide started to shift for me, with her poem “In Geologic Time, It Happened Just Seconds Ago,” where she shares how unusual her honeymoon was, how unexpected and isolating it turned out to be. I have never had another person share with me what I experienced on my own honeymoon: complete disorientation and confusion as to how/why there was suddenly a shift in connection and intimacy, almost immediately following the “I do” for life.
I could relate to some of Maggie Smith’s thoughts on marriage (good and bad), and, I could also understand the upset and devastation of what happens to a marriage when one partner thinks it wasn't what they wanted, after all:
Hope Chest
As a bride, given
away. Then again,
as a wife. Twice taken
off a man’s hands.
As a bride, presented
as a gift. As a wife,
discarded. Not returned,
not given back, but
disowned, buck passed.
Not doe a deer
but the kind you pocket
and spend. Or waste.
My dowry was the dear
I am, the hope
chest I am, the whole
of me folded inside
in lieu of linen and lace
and the good silver,
so now I take it back. Dearly
I take myself back.
I felt, many times, a keen sisterhood with Ms. Smith. Even when her Truth isn’t aligned with my Truth, I respect her honesty and her capacity for introspection.
It is more than a little challenging to reinvent yourself, particularly when things didn’t work out as you planned, particularly with children in tow. I applaud her for continuing to live and breathe and work, both creatively and professionally.
Now that I have no other body
to which I might apply my own,
I’m learning to use my body
in new ways, ways I can use it
alone. I run new-foal-like
through the neighborhood,
then laugh, doubled over, rosy-
exhausted when I’m done.
I didn’t know my body
could do that. If I said
I feel newer now, glistening
like a just-born horse--
and as awkward, as startled--
could you see it?
I mean, just look at me.
We didn’t start off on the best footing.
Ms. Smith is a peer, so to speak, just a couple of years younger than my kid brother. We’re the same generation, but her “verse” often feels like random thoughts jotted down on post-it notes, to me. I get it; for a few generations now we’ve had a contemporary poetry devoid of several previous features, specifically meter and rhyme, but Mary Oliver has proven to all of us that random looking free verse can still be incredibly poetic.
I guess I’m trying to communicate that her poetry isn’t what I’d naturally label “poetic.”
I had another issue, right away: Ms. Smith’s work is secular, almost to a fault. Okay, I get it; she’s not into a Higher Power and she doesn’t seem spiritual, in any way that I could determine, but, although I don’t need a person’s work to align, spiritually, with my own beliefs, I do get turned off if they have adopted atheism as their compass and declare it as Truth.
Meaning: if your atheism works for you, rock on, but please don’t try and convince me that any other impulses or beliefs are foolish.
I will offer this poem of hers as an example:
Talking to yourself in an empty room
sometimes feels like prayer but isn’t.
It isn’t prayer if you’re not asking
for anything, and what would you ask for?
Any request more specific than save me
would be so granular as to be worthless.
It can’t be prayer if you’re standing
at your kitchen counter, wearing an apron
and a far-off look. It can’t be prayer
if you’re walking in your neighborhood,
muttering to yourself, while Orion
keeps buckling and unbuckling his belt
over the houses. It can’t be prayer if you have
the expectation of privacy. If you think
no one’s listening. As a child I believed
so fiercely in the power of my own mind,
when I thought apple, I half expected
a real one, large and red, to appear
in my hand. Now I know better. I talk
to myself. Sometimes I even answer.
Do you see? I’m all for “self-reliance,” but I recoiled, more than a little, at the notion that “God is dead,” so it’s all up to you now. This concept appears a few times in her work. Rely on self, to the exception of anything else.
I’m not trying to convince YOU that you should like what I like; I’m not trying to impose my own spiritual beliefs. I’m just trying to explain to you that I found myself tripping over some of her messaging.
These quibbles aside, this insightful compilation still garnered four stars from me, and she ended up winning me over with her thoughts on identity, recovery of self (particularly after divorce) and life, in general.
The tide started to shift for me, with her poem “In Geologic Time, It Happened Just Seconds Ago,” where she shares how unusual her honeymoon was, how unexpected and isolating it turned out to be. I have never had another person share with me what I experienced on my own honeymoon: complete disorientation and confusion as to how/why there was suddenly a shift in connection and intimacy, almost immediately following the “I do” for life.
I could relate to some of Maggie Smith’s thoughts on marriage (good and bad), and, I could also understand the upset and devastation of what happens to a marriage when one partner thinks it wasn't what they wanted, after all:
Hope Chest
As a bride, given
away. Then again,
as a wife. Twice taken
off a man’s hands.
As a bride, presented
as a gift. As a wife,
discarded. Not returned,
not given back, but
disowned, buck passed.
Not doe a deer
but the kind you pocket
and spend. Or waste.
My dowry was the dear
I am, the hope
chest I am, the whole
of me folded inside
in lieu of linen and lace
and the good silver,
so now I take it back. Dearly
I take myself back.
I felt, many times, a keen sisterhood with Ms. Smith. Even when her Truth isn’t aligned with my Truth, I respect her honesty and her capacity for introspection.
It is more than a little challenging to reinvent yourself, particularly when things didn’t work out as you planned, particularly with children in tow. I applaud her for continuing to live and breathe and work, both creatively and professionally.
Now that I have no other body
to which I might apply my own,
I’m learning to use my body
in new ways, ways I can use it
alone. I run new-foal-like
through the neighborhood,
then laugh, doubled over, rosy-
exhausted when I’m done.
I didn’t know my body
could do that. If I said
I feel newer now, glistening
like a just-born horse--
and as awkward, as startled--
could you see it?
I mean, just look at me.
August 3, 2025
This is an incredible collection of poems by Maggie Smith! They are very thought provoking and emotional. These poems are beautifully written and unique. They deal with the body, mind, memory and identity. This book of poetry is under 200 pages long and I found them to be easy to read and understood. While I think they are all brilliant, my favorite one was “A Suit or a Suitcase”. The literally tropes and themes were fantastic! I think readers who love reading poems that are powerful and emotional would really enjoy this book! I rate this book a 3 out of 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley, author Maggie Smith and Atria Books | Washington Square Press for this digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is expected to be published on March 24, 2026!
Thank you to NetGalley, author Maggie Smith and Atria Books | Washington Square Press for this digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is expected to be published on March 24, 2026!
July 18, 2025
A beautiful collection of poems. As always, some resonated more than others. My favorite was the titular poem.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Washington Square Press
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Washington Square Press
May 8, 2026
Suit or a Suitcase is reflective and beautifully written — a collection about identity, the self, and life moving through time and space. So much of it resonated with me. Many poems made me stop for a moment and simply take the words in. They explore thoughts about oneself and the world, about body and mind, and how infinitely expandable both can be. Nothing is written in stone; depending on the roads we take, life continuously shapes and reshapes us. There’s acceptance throughout the collection, but also a quiet sadness peering through almost every page.
What I especially loved was the free verse style. In my opinion, poetry doesn’t need rhythm or strict structure to be powerful. In fact, I often love it more when it’s free verse, like Smith’s poetry here. It feels more intimate and reflective — like thoughts scribbled onto paper the moment they appear in your mind. Honest, raw, and unfiltered.
The cover immediately pulled me in. I absolutely love it. It feels feminine, almost chaotic in a beautiful way, like thoughts scattered across time. The sepia tones give it a sense of moving through memories, evolving, growing older, and becoming.
What I especially loved was the free verse style. In my opinion, poetry doesn’t need rhythm or strict structure to be powerful. In fact, I often love it more when it’s free verse, like Smith’s poetry here. It feels more intimate and reflective — like thoughts scribbled onto paper the moment they appear in your mind. Honest, raw, and unfiltered.
The cover immediately pulled me in. I absolutely love it. It feels feminine, almost chaotic in a beautiful way, like thoughts scattered across time. The sepia tones give it a sense of moving through memories, evolving, growing older, and becoming.
August 27, 2025
Wow, what a collection of poems. I actually read most of them more than once because they were just incredible. The mind, the body, the memories we look back on.
These poems really resinated with me, the type of thoughts that come late at night, when there’s no noise to disturb your feel thoughts.
It makes you wonder, what is life? The decisions we make, the lives we live, does it truly matter in the grand scheme of things? We look back at our memories and reminisce on the past. What about the future? What about at the end of everything?
Maggie Smith created a wonderful, mind-opening collection.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.
These poems really resinated with me, the type of thoughts that come late at night, when there’s no noise to disturb your feel thoughts.
It makes you wonder, what is life? The decisions we make, the lives we live, does it truly matter in the grand scheme of things? We look back at our memories and reminisce on the past. What about the future? What about at the end of everything?
Maggie Smith created a wonderful, mind-opening collection.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.
April 24, 2026
4.25 stars
This is my first exposure to Maggie Smith. The poems in this collection divulge an obsession with the self, but not in a self-obsessed way—rather they are preoccupied with the self in an accessible, metaphysical sort of way. Overall, I was quite impressed by this collection!
This is my first exposure to Maggie Smith. The poems in this collection divulge an obsession with the self, but not in a self-obsessed way—rather they are preoccupied with the self in an accessible, metaphysical sort of way. Overall, I was quite impressed by this collection!
April 13, 2026
Poetry, melancholy, and quiet reflection. Pure bliss.
A Suit or a Suitcase is one of those collections that feels both intimate and expansive at the same time. At under 200 pages, it’s a quick read, but not one you rush through. It invites you to slow down, pause, and sit with each piece a little longer.
As someone who usually finds poetry to be hit or miss, this was a complete hit for me. What makes it stand out is how each poem meets you where you are. Some will resonate immediately, while others feel like they’re waiting for the right moment to land.
That’s the beauty of this collection. It’s the kind of book you can return to, and it will feel different every time.
By the end, I found myself wishing there was more, which is always a good sign. This is easily one of my favorite poetry collections of the year.
Highly recommend reading this one slowly. Put on some background jazz, dim the lights, and keep a warm drink nearby. It’s an experience.
A Suit or a Suitcase is one of those collections that feels both intimate and expansive at the same time. At under 200 pages, it’s a quick read, but not one you rush through. It invites you to slow down, pause, and sit with each piece a little longer.
As someone who usually finds poetry to be hit or miss, this was a complete hit for me. What makes it stand out is how each poem meets you where you are. Some will resonate immediately, while others feel like they’re waiting for the right moment to land.
That’s the beauty of this collection. It’s the kind of book you can return to, and it will feel different every time.
By the end, I found myself wishing there was more, which is always a good sign. This is easily one of my favorite poetry collections of the year.
Highly recommend reading this one slowly. Put on some background jazz, dim the lights, and keep a warm drink nearby. It’s an experience.
August 27, 2025
A unique collection of thought-provoking poetry that enhances and encourages reflection and exploration of one’s own mind and body.
My thanks to NetGalley, Maggie Smith, and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
4 Stars.
My thanks to NetGalley, Maggie Smith, and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
4 Stars.
August 3, 2025
I've spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to synthesize how much I loved this collection into a review that doesn't gush too much and honestly I'm throwing in the towel at this point. Here are the main points:
This collection is SO GOOD.
I got goosebumps in the middle of a Florida summer while reading these.
I love how Maggie Smith loves Columbus, and her children, and how she's able to find magic in the mundane.
I will return to these poems again and again.
-Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication. What a gift!
This collection is SO GOOD.
I got goosebumps in the middle of a Florida summer while reading these.
I love how Maggie Smith loves Columbus, and her children, and how she's able to find magic in the mundane.
I will return to these poems again and again.
-Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication. What a gift!
March 26, 2026
I’ve only given out a handful of 5-star ratings to collections of poetry or short stories. Usually there are some parts of the collection that I enjoy, but others that don’t, which leads to a sort of “middling out” of the rating.
Maggie Smith - for the second time now - is one of those rare exceptions. Her poetry on body ánd loss resonates with me in a way that few contemporary poets can match, and this collection might be my favourite work of hers to date.
I will happily shelve this besides her previous collection Goldenrod, among my favourite pieces of poetry.
Maggie Smith - for the second time now - is one of those rare exceptions. Her poetry on body ánd loss resonates with me in a way that few contemporary poets can match, and this collection might be my favourite work of hers to date.
I will happily shelve this besides her previous collection Goldenrod, among my favourite pieces of poetry.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
received ARC from Goodreads giveaway. excellent collection, I love her work.
September 23, 2025
I truly cannot get over how gorgeous this book cover is. Definitely a huge deciding factor in me requesting.
I don’t know how to rate poetry, so instead, here’s a few of my favorites:
- The Score
- Vision (only bc I am reading this on my phone in the dark in bed when I should be sleeping and I too open and close each eye to watch my vision shift back and forth)
- Self portraits as an incomplete list of mysteries
- Three thoughts after crossing nameless creek
Thank you to NetGalley for this e-ARC
I don’t know how to rate poetry, so instead, here’s a few of my favorites:
- The Score
- Vision (only bc I am reading this on my phone in the dark in bed when I should be sleeping and I too open and close each eye to watch my vision shift back and forth)
- Self portraits as an incomplete list of mysteries
- Three thoughts after crossing nameless creek
Thank you to NetGalley for this e-ARC
March 25, 2026
Thank you to the publisher for a free ARC. When I saw that Maggie Smith had a new poetry book coming out, I knew I had to read it. I devoured it in one sitting. I loved it. I connect so much to her reflections on the self as we grow older. I especially to connect to her depictions of motherhood. There are certain books that you just immediately want to share with your friends because the ideas are just so perfectly expressed and relatable. That’s how I feel about this one.
March 24, 2026
Another lovely poetry collection from Maggie Smith! She's given us five sections, each named after a type of art work that is full of self reflection (detail, study, self-portrait, triptych, installation) and ponders the nuance of our day to day existence, usually in relation to nature/cycles.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
April 29, 2026
Poetry at its absolute best: generous, moving, profound, and achingly beautiful.
Read
October 31, 2025My favorite poems in this collection were “Time-Stamped” and “Self Portrait as an Incomplete List of Mysteries”. Not rating because I don’t know how to rate poetry.
April 2, 2026
I don’t think I was smart enough to understand these poems. But it was short…
September 7, 2025
Maggie Smith has such a beautiful way of sharing feelings and scenes that seem so specific and yet are universal. I love the way she sees the world and these poems felt plucked from my own heart.
This collection explores the connection between mind and body, and the different versions of a person throughout the eras of a life. It's reflective and contemplative, and makes you ruminate on the meaning of the life we're leading, in this moment and the next, and then whatever might come after.
My favourite poem was Time-Stamped:
Time-Stamped
There is a revision of me that lives
in the future, watching me from the future,
which makes me a prototype,
an earlier version, the one she thinks of now.
She looks back at me and at the life
I live in the house she must think of
as 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, and at my children—
her children-still lap-small
and sticky-cheeked. She watches us
the way I watch old, time-stamped versions
of myself, the roughest drafts, feeling
I'd slit a stranger's throat for the clean slate
that was mine—the slate I wanted
only to write and write on.
She watches from the future
to remind me I am not finished,
not as fleshed out as I feel.
I must be full of blanks she'll know
how to fill, and she'll fill them.
She looks back at me, and someone
looks back at her, and I am watching
every version of myself behind me:
never overridden or replaced
but saved, each of us saved.
This collection explores the connection between mind and body, and the different versions of a person throughout the eras of a life. It's reflective and contemplative, and makes you ruminate on the meaning of the life we're leading, in this moment and the next, and then whatever might come after.
My favourite poem was Time-Stamped:
Time-Stamped
There is a revision of me that lives
in the future, watching me from the future,
which makes me a prototype,
an earlier version, the one she thinks of now.
She looks back at me and at the life
I live in the house she must think of
as 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, and at my children—
her children-still lap-small
and sticky-cheeked. She watches us
the way I watch old, time-stamped versions
of myself, the roughest drafts, feeling
I'd slit a stranger's throat for the clean slate
that was mine—the slate I wanted
only to write and write on.
She watches from the future
to remind me I am not finished,
not as fleshed out as I feel.
I must be full of blanks she'll know
how to fill, and she'll fill them.
She looks back at me, and someone
looks back at her, and I am watching
every version of myself behind me:
never overridden or replaced
but saved, each of us saved.
March 5, 2026
This was a nice, intelligible collection with a few poems that struck me with their nostalgia, particularly the titular poem and “The Score”. Even though they weren’t especially deep or heavily themed, I got a sense of Smith’s voice. There were times I felt like I could have been reading someone’s purse-notebook-scribblings and, while they weren’t fully fleshed out, it was charming. Like road thoughts or the place your mind goes when you glaze over.
While I prefer poetry that is a little more elusive, I think many would find this to be a lovely, easy-to-interpret read.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
While I prefer poetry that is a little more elusive, I think many would find this to be a lovely, easy-to-interpret read.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
December 25, 2025
A Suit or a Suitcase: Poems by Maggie Smith is a thoughtful, beautifully resonant poetry collection that meditates on the intimate, mysterious relationship between body and mind, the shape of the self over time, and how our lived experiences both expand and confine us, using clear, lyrical language that feels both conversational and deeply wise. The title poem asks unforgettable questions about identity, mortality, memory, and what we carry with us through life, wondering if we “wear” our body like a suit or if it is more like a suitcase that contains a lifetime of internal journeys.
What struck me most about this collection is how Maggie Smith writes with startling tenderness about what it means to inhabit a human life, shifting effortlessly between philosophical reflection and grounded emotional insight, so that even abstract questions feel felt in the bones, heart, and breath of lived experience. Her poems turn over big ideas about time, self, and transformation without ever losing the sense of everyday mystery, and there is a generosity in her voice that made me revisit lines again just to feel their echo in my own body and thoughts. The way she balances clarity with imaginative depth made me feel seen and gently challenged at the same time: I could sense both the finite fragility of life and a luminous possibility in the spaces between moments. I liked the collection for its grace, clarity, and emotional breadth, with voices like Roxane Gay and Diane Seuss highlighting the precision and confidence in Smith’s poetry that makes each line feel purposeful and alive.
Rating: 4 out of 5. I’m giving A Suit or a Suitcase this score because it quietly lingers in the mind long after reading, offering poems that feel like wise companions on questions of self and existence, beautifully balancing intimacy, wonder, and gracious reflection. If you love poetry that feels both personal and philosophical, this collection will likely stay with you like a soft, persistent echo.
What struck me most about this collection is how Maggie Smith writes with startling tenderness about what it means to inhabit a human life, shifting effortlessly between philosophical reflection and grounded emotional insight, so that even abstract questions feel felt in the bones, heart, and breath of lived experience. Her poems turn over big ideas about time, self, and transformation without ever losing the sense of everyday mystery, and there is a generosity in her voice that made me revisit lines again just to feel their echo in my own body and thoughts. The way she balances clarity with imaginative depth made me feel seen and gently challenged at the same time: I could sense both the finite fragility of life and a luminous possibility in the spaces between moments. I liked the collection for its grace, clarity, and emotional breadth, with voices like Roxane Gay and Diane Seuss highlighting the precision and confidence in Smith’s poetry that makes each line feel purposeful and alive.
Rating: 4 out of 5. I’m giving A Suit or a Suitcase this score because it quietly lingers in the mind long after reading, offering poems that feel like wise companions on questions of self and existence, beautifully balancing intimacy, wonder, and gracious reflection. If you love poetry that feels both personal and philosophical, this collection will likely stay with you like a soft, persistent echo.
April 3, 2026
Maggie Smith’s upcoming collection of poems serves as both a continuation of her fine work for those who are already fans, and an excellent starting point for new readers who want to delve into her work.
This collection revolves around the mind and body - how they influence one another, and how one’s sense of self can change over a lifetime. How does the passage of time shape our memories and how we create meaning? How do we experience others and how do others experience who we are? Smith’s poems focus on those questions in beautifully rendered vignettes of ordinary actions. But there was a bold rawness to these poems that I feel is missing from her earlier work. These poems feel braver, more willing to make a statement.
I didn’t like this collection as much as Goldenrod but it’s still a solid 4.5 stars. “Beside Myself,” “The Before Picture,” and the title poem were my favorites in this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
This collection revolves around the mind and body - how they influence one another, and how one’s sense of self can change over a lifetime. How does the passage of time shape our memories and how we create meaning? How do we experience others and how do others experience who we are? Smith’s poems focus on those questions in beautifully rendered vignettes of ordinary actions. But there was a bold rawness to these poems that I feel is missing from her earlier work. These poems feel braver, more willing to make a statement.
I didn’t like this collection as much as Goldenrod but it’s still a solid 4.5 stars. “Beside Myself,” “The Before Picture,” and the title poem were my favorites in this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 10, 2025
A sincere and beautiful collection of thought-provoking poetry that encourages reflection and exploration of one’s own mind, body and identity. Much of the themes and tropes were great. It’s a great introductory of poetry for anyone who’d like to get into the genre.
Much thanks to NetGalley, Maggie Smith, and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion of 4 stars.
Much thanks to NetGalley, Maggie Smith, and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion of 4 stars.
December 29, 2025
I’m sad to say I didn’t really enjoy this one. It’s the first I’ve read from what I have heard was a great poet. My expectations for it were high and they fell flat. The prose felt very pretentious and while I really to much of the themes contained, I felt myself rolling my eyes often.
February 17, 2026
I think this book was just a little too profound/over my head. Not my cup of tea, but I could certainly see where other people would be moved by its pages.
Read
May 1, 2026A Suit or a Suitcase was my first introduction to Maggie Smith's work, and it will not be my last. Her poems look deceptively sparse, but each line is packed with meaning. These poems ask the reader to reflect on multiple topics, including what is life, the future, the decisions we make, what truly matters, and how memory shapes us. She delicately toed the line of obsession with self and reflection. Her poems are expansive yet intimate. My two favorites from this collection are the titular poem, A Suit or a Suitcase, and You Ask If I Believe in the Afterlife. This is truly a wonderfully thought-provoking collection, and I look forward to reading more of Maggie Smith's work in the future!
"You ask me what I'll miss about this life. Everything but cruelty, I think, with me, never leaving me-& by me, I mean my mind."
"This is what life is: water. / The work is letting it fill / the spaces it runs to; letting it / flow around or through the rest. / Yes, it glistens as silver / as a blade, and yes, it can drill / through stone, but it's soft / to the touch. A life does / what water does: it goes."
"If I'm wrong / about the afterlife, I say, I'd want to be / a sun-dappled stereo. My own mind / playing song after song, a hell of a score."
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
"You ask me what I'll miss about this life. Everything but cruelty, I think, with me, never leaving me-& by me, I mean my mind."
"This is what life is: water. / The work is letting it fill / the spaces it runs to; letting it / flow around or through the rest. / Yes, it glistens as silver / as a blade, and yes, it can drill / through stone, but it's soft / to the touch. A life does / what water does: it goes."
"If I'm wrong / about the afterlife, I say, I'd want to be / a sun-dappled stereo. My own mind / playing song after song, a hell of a score."
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 4, 2026
My favorite poems from this collection:
A Suit or a Suitcase
The Score ("Is this what they call plot? This daily picking up of the same things — glasses, coffee cup, pen, book, keys — and setting them back down again? Narrative has always troubled me, so I’ll leave that to someone else and write the mood instead“)
Beside Myself
Study
Foal ("Now that I have no other mind to which I might apply my own, I polish it to near-shining. Thoughts come away cleaner and cleaner. If I lean in close enough, I can see my reflection.")
Time-Stamped
Self-Portrait as an Incomplete List of Mysteries ("Who to hand these things to—these thoughts that accumulate each day like stones in my pockets. Whose palm to drop them into.")
"Ideas are whispering in my wrists
& all along the slopes of my calves."
April 9, 2026
Maggie Smith is a poet for everyone. Her work is deceptively accessible, but cuts to the bone with its precision and emotional reckoning. I love that both seasoned poets and readers who are new to the world of poetry can approach Smith's collections and find depth and resonance in her words.
Borrowed this from the library, but definitely getting a personal copy so I can dogear and underline to my heart's content.
Favorites:
Beside Myself
Poem Beginning with a Line from An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination
Poem Beginning with a Line from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
For years I lived
Borrowed this from the library, but definitely getting a personal copy so I can dogear and underline to my heart's content.
Favorites:
Beside Myself
Poem Beginning with a Line from An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination
Poem Beginning with a Line from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
For years I lived
March 12, 2026
Maggie Smith tells the truth of living in such a way that cuts through the thick. The way in which she captures beauty and also grief brought tears to my eyes more than once. What a gift to write about the life, light, and depth of the human spirit in such a beautiful and necessary way.
Like any collection of poetry, some poems will resonate more than others, but I’m looking forward to revisiting this collection again and again.
Thank you, Maggie Smith, for your work, and thank you, Atria Books and Net Galley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Like any collection of poetry, some poems will resonate more than others, but I’m looking forward to revisiting this collection again and again.
Thank you, Maggie Smith, for your work, and thank you, Atria Books and Net Galley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
December 29, 2025
Poetry is quickly becoming my go-to for breaks in between my reads and this one from Maggie Smith was perfect for me. I read her collection on People Project this year and was really looking forward to this. She did an amazing job translating the strangeness of the body and mind and the self and the world. I love that that it explores the limits and stretches the limitless of the mind.
Thank you to Atria/Washington Square Press for an early copy of this book.
Thank you to Atria/Washington Square Press for an early copy of this book.
February 17, 2026
I’ve had this book of poems for a while waiting to be read, and today I just picked it up for some reason and couldn’t put it down. I really loved these poems. One of my favorite things about reading is when a writer can encapsulate a feeling or thought I’ve had many times before but maybe couldn’t articulate, or didn’t even try to, and so satisfyingly put them into words. Maggie finds a way to do this over and over. I’ll definitely be re-reading these. Thank you so much to the author for a copy of this beautiful book, I’m really happy to have it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 254 reviews