SU’s Hidden Talent: Professor turned Poet

Southern University is home to various facets of talent and special abilities. This environment is host to an artistic spirit, so it comes as no surprise that one of our very own professors is a world-renowned poet.
African-American Literature professor, John Smith, was introduced to poetry during his professional career as a public administrator and banker, but he was sure to express that this was not his defining moment.
“I cannot pinpoint with certainty the moment in time when I discovered my passion for poetry or when poetry found me. Since the journey began, poetry has been my one true constant. My driving measure of success and self-worth is simply how good a poet I can be. Any other achievement is merely incidental,” Smith said.
Since his mid-career discovery, he has published a variety of widely recognized collections of poetry from his debut poetry collection, A Mandala of Hands, published in late 2014 to his second collection, Soul Be A Witness: Songs to Boys of Color, published in 2016.
Smith’s poems have appeared in various literary journals such as, Ploughshares, Callaloo, Antioch Review, North American Review, Quiddity, The Worcester Review, Kestrel, Bloodroot Literary Magazine, American Athenaeum, Transition, and others according to his website, johnwarnersmith.com.
With so many works circulating, it is a mystery how Smith manages to find the time to teach and craft his writing. He finds this to be a bittersweet balance of tasks.
“Actually, it is difficult for me to write creatively when I’m teaching. . . But I will say that teaching African-American literature – – the socio-political perspective and sense of history that it gives — is a great source of inspiration for much of my poetry,” Smith said.
Spirits of the Gods, Smith’s latest collection, was published just this year by UL Press.
Smith collaborated with visual artist, Dennis Paul Williams, to create a collection of poetry inspired by Williams’ art. Williams would send pictures of his art to Smith, and the writing process began there.
“The creation of each poem was always spontaneous, made in the moment of my contact with the painting itself. I would scribble notes on the back of each printed image . . thoughts, feelings, symbols, metaphors . . . whatever the image conjured or inspired. Eventually, a poem was found and created. I wrote one poem at a time, and did not move on to another one until I felt that the poem was finished,” Smith recalled.
Smith is currently working on publishing a manuscript of 44 poems written about the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali. It will be the first book-length collection of poetry to pay homage to Ali.
“I think it’s my best work, and I’m praying that it will find a publishing home soon,” Smith finished.