Clint Smith is a staff writer at┬аThe Atlantic. He is the author of the narrative nonfiction book,┬аHow the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, which was a #1┬аNew York Times┬аbestseller, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism, and selected by the┬аNew York Times┬аas one of the 10 best books of 2021. He is also the author of the poetry collection┬аCounting Descent, which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. His writing has been published in┬аThe New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Poetry Magazine, The Paris Review.┬аand elsewhere. Clint received his B.A. in English from Davidson College and a Ph.D. in Education from Harvard University.