Clint Smith

Clint Smith is an American poet, writer, and staff writer at The Atlantic whose work focuses on the intersections of race, history, and American memory. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he earned his BA from Davidson College and his PhD in Education from Harvard University, where his dissertation examined the ways teachers discuss race and racism in the classroom. His debut nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (2021), won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Stowe Prize, and the Heartland Prize, among many others. The book, which examines how American historical sites reckon (or fail to reckon) with the legacy of slavery, debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. Smith is also a poet. His debut collection, Counting Descent (2016), won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. His second collection, Above Ground (2023), received widespread critical acclaim. Smith has received fellowships from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Art for Justice Fund, and Cave Canem, among others. His TED Talk, 'How to raise a black son in America,' has been viewed more than four million times. He lives in the Washington, DC area with his family.