Mikhayla Robinson Smith is a poet, author, spoken word artist, and essayist, who has planted deep roots in Athens, Georgia. She studied English at the University of Georgia, which allowed her to explore and deepen her understanding of poetics. Her love for poetry and community has driven her desire to make poetic literature more accessible to the people of Athens. She hopes to share the freedom that she finds within words with others, and to prepare a table for those who may not have looked for liberation through them. She is an educator, and a restorative justice practitioner. As the first Black, woman, poet laureate of Athens, she stands on the shoulders, and in a deep rooted tradition, of Black women poets that come before her. She especially leans on Audre Lorde’s words: “Poetry is not a luxury.” She believes in the power of words, out of necessity, and has felt the beauty of what poetry can do.
