How The Word Is Passed is named as one of the “28 new books you need to add to your summer reading list ASAP” by Buzzfeed.
By Arianna Rebolini and Tomi Obaro
Buzzfeed, May 21, 2021
Clint shares a lesson about the role that slavery played in early American economy and how slavery became a legally accepted practice in the first place, and how it contributed to the colony’s early economic success.
By Clint Smith
Crash Course, May 15, 2021
Clint Smith’s gifts as both a poet and a scholar make How the Word Is Passed a richly provocative read about places where the story of American slavery lives on.
By Alden Mudge
BookPage, May 14, 2021
For some Americans, history isn’t the story of what actually happened; it’s the story they want to believe.
By Clint Smith
The Atlantic, May 10, 2021
Clint shares a lesson about the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which brought millions of captive Africans to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries, with the largest number of people trafficked between 1700 and 1808.
By Clint Smith
Crash Course, May 7, 2021
The writer and poet talks about novelistic nonfiction and why he thinks of his grandparents as monuments.
By Clint Smith and Ben Purkert
Guernica, May 3, 2021
For many of us, when we see the Floyds, we see our family.
By Clint Smith
The Atlantic, April 21, 2021
In a review by Kirkus, How the Word Is Passed is hailed as “a brilliant, vital work about “a crime that is still unfolding.”
By Kirkus
Kirkus, March 31, 2021
Classes inside prison give people a sense of community, a sense of purpose, a sense of identity, and a sense of hope.
By Clint Smith
The Atlantic, March 11, 2021
How the Word Is Passed receives a starred review from Publishers Weekly. 'Suffused with lyrical descriptions and incisive historical details...this is an essential consideration of how America’s past informs its present.’
By Publisher’s Weekly
Publisher’s Weekly, March 3, 2021
How The Word Is Passed is named as one of the “25 best books by Black authors you’ll want to know about” by Reader’s Digest.
By Lynnette Nicholas
Reader’s Digest, February 22, 2021
How the Word Is Passed is named as one of the “most anticipated books of Spring 2021” by Publisher’s Weekly.
By Publisher’s Weekly Staff
Publisher’s Weekly, February 17, 2021
The Federal Writers’ Project narratives provide an all-too-rare link to our past.
By Clint Smith
The Atlantic, February 9, 2021
Clint is featured in Publisher Weekly which calls How the Word Is Passed "a necessary, important, and totally engaging book.”
By Louisa Ermelino
Publishers Weekly, January 19, 2021
Smith’s reporting at The Atlantic and his poetry have already distinguished him as a writer to watch, and his debut nonfiction book will surely attract even more eyes.
By Christy Lynch
Bookpage, January 22, 2021
After 17 years without a federal execution in the United States, the Trump administration has gone on what can only be called a killing spree.
By Clint Smith
The Atlantic, January 15, 2021
How The Word Is Passed is named one of the anticipated books of 2021 by Buzzfeed.
By Arianna Rebolini and Tomi Obaro
Buzzfeed, January 13, 2021
How The Word Is Passed is named one of the anticipated books of the first-half of 2021 by The Millions.
By The Millions Editor
The Millions, January 11, 2021