Clint Smith

Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the new poetry collection Above Ground. He is also the author of the poetry collection Counting Descent, which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book How the Word Is Passed. He is the host of the Crash Course Black American History YouTube series.

Latest

  1. The Magic of Old-Growth Forests

    Photographing some of the oldest—and largest—living organisms on the planet

    photo of dense stand of aspen trees with blue sky
    Photograph by Mitch Epstein. Courtesy of Steidl Publishers / Yancey Richardson Gallery
  2. The Man Who Became Uncle Tom

    Harriet Beecher Stowe said that Josiah Henson’s life had inspired her most famous character. But Henson longed to be recognized by his own name, and for his own achievements.

    A portrait illustration of Josiah Henson with a coast behind
    Illustration by Matt Williams
  3. The Gun

    A black-and-white, grainy image of a child's legs in motion, on a background that's half beige and half red
    Photo-Illustration by Joanne Imperio / The Atlantic. Source: Steve Lewis / Getty.