Writers Who Run: An Interview with Evan Dalton Smith

Evan Dalton Smith. Courtesy of the Evan Dalton Smith.

By Malissa Rodenburg

When I was young, I loved watching family comedies like “Malcolm in the Middle” and “The Simpsons.” Two shows about lower income family dynamics, parents working blue collar jobs, and the way life keeps beating you down—all in the name of humor. I watched these shows because I could relate to the chaotic and messed up relationships and mishaps. They reminded me of my family (although even the parents in those shows were married). 

Seeing ourselves in television is not uncommon. Neither is idolizing characters or situations. To some degree, parasocial relationships form. 

That’s what led author Evan Dalton Smith to write “Looking for Andy Griffith: A Father’s Journey.” Smith grew up watching “The Andy Griffith Show,” seeing his own southern roots proudly on display, but also seeing a strong and kind male role model—something he needed after his own father died in a car accident when he was a kid. 

The book is unique. Part memoir. Part biography. Part cultural critique. Smith braids together Andy Griffith’s life with his own examination of fatherhood. From losing his dad to learning about his biological father too late to becoming a father and then, ultimately, a single father.

As a writer, Smith has had a lot of stops and starts. He honestly examines those moments throughout the narrative in the book. But crossing the finish line was worth the work.

As a runner, he knows all too well that satisfying feeling. In fact, running has taught him to be a more enthusiastic editor and peer. When he ran the 2011 New York City Marathon he recalls being propelled by the idea of his family on the sidelines rooting for him. (It was a different story after he learned they’d missed him). The energy from the crowd and the signs ultimately helped him finish.

“I was working for ‘Poets and Writers Magazine’ at the time and supporting writers. And from then on I was like, ‘I am never going to do anything to discourage anyone.’ Even just saying, ‘What you’re doing is awesome.’ That’s helpful,” he says. 

Keep reading to learn more about how running fuels Smith’s writing practice and why you should read “Looking for Andy Griffith” whether you’ve seen the titular show or not.  

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

When did you know you wanted to write this book and what thread did you start with? 

I started with Andy Griffith. When Andy Griffith died in 2012, I found myself grieving. It was someone I had never met. And it was because of his role on “The Andy Griffith Show,” the character of Andy Taylor, who I grew up watching in North Carolina. It was on three times a day. It’s still on television several times a day. So I started investigating why I was grieving for someone I’d not met. 

I really wanted to look at all the kind of machinations behind that show and behind his career, and where it intersected in the culture. But also I was investigating what made me choose him as a father figure on television. 

Also, my marriage exploded right before I sold the book. And so I was grieving the loss of my marriage and my family as I knew it. And New York City and leaving my career and all these things to build a new life in New England. So all of that became folded into the narrative. None of that was planned. It just happened in the process of writing. 

What was the writing process like?

I certainly wrote a lot more than what was in the book. But I was working. I was basically in survival mode, working several low paying jobs and just writing whenever I could. So I would write in my car. I would write on my lunch breaks. After I left New York, I worked in a restaurant and then a grocery store and another restaurant simultaneously. And then I got a night job editing obituaries for a local newspaper group. This all coincided with the pandemic. In that time, I was also doing odd jobs for my landlord and, at one point, I was working for the Census Bureau during the 2020 Census. So I would get up around 7:30 and get my son to school and then go to work. My night job was remote, so I could make my kid dinner and hang out with him a little bit if he wanted to while I was working. I had one free day where I tried to pile it all in. 

In 2022 I found a job as a writer for a software company. The time I have now is night and day different. 

How does running play into your writing process? Or do you keep them separate? 

I came up with the idea for a children’s book while running a couple of night’s ago. You work through ideas. Passages come to you. Lines come to you. I use running now as a way to transition between my day job and what I call my night job, which is my creative writing. My day job is pretty boring and tedious, but satisfying in its own way. It pays the bills.

What’s next?

I’m finishing a proposal for a book on the best hotel lobby bars on Earth. Initially, I wanted just to focus on New York City, because there's enough there. But my agent at the time was like, ‘No, you should make it broader.’ 

Rapid Round:

In one word, what is “Looking For Andy Griffith” about?

Grief or nostalgia. One of those two.

Favorite place to run in Ipswich? 

There's so many. I think the dune trails at Crane Beach. That's a harder one and I like flat runs better. Willowdale State Forest is actually really beautiful too. By the river. There's so many places. It's a great place for trail running. 

Where is your favorite place to run outside of your city?

“Along the East River in Manhattan, which I still think of as home. My youngest child is almost done with school here and I plan on moving back—as much as I love it here. My kids would love it to come back here. But I miss New York so much. I miss the people, and I miss the culture—everything about it.

If you could go on a run with any of the “characters” in your book, who would you choose?

Probably Don Knotts. I think Andy would be cursing too much. Or Everett Greenbaum. I have an idea for a script based on him and his writing partner, Jim Fritz. They were both war veterans and they had a very long career as partners accidentally thrown together. It really fascinates me, and so I might fictionalize it. But I think Greenbaum would be more fun to talk with. 

What are you reading right now? 

I'm rereading Donald Barthalme’s “Forty Stories.” I wanted to re-experience the odd structure. I also am reading a Tony Horowitz history. I like his writing a lot. A book called “Spying on the South.” And I keep a copy of James Agee’s “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” by my side at all times and I pick it up and read it like it’s the Bible. And I’m also reading Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen,” which is poetry, in a sense. I like writers that cross genres. 

Writers Who Run is a monthly column by Seattle-based reader, runner, writer, and bookseller Malissa Rodenburg.