Neil J. Smith was invited to speak for a virtual event at The Cuyahoga Public Library located in Ohio on February 16, 2022. The talk featured the author’s latest novel, On the Ropes, The conversation included a discussion on Smith’s background as a boxer and civil rights organizer. Prior registration for the event was required before participants could join the virtual discussion. On the Ropes is a historical fiction novel that centers on a young boxer named Percival Jones in the late 60s. He wanted to compete for an Olympic Gold medal but lost sight due to the death of Martin Luther King Jr. and then Robert Kennedy. After joining the Black Panthers, he finds himself struggling to fit in and conform. He eventually decides to start boxing again but finds himself at the center of tragedy in the death of his brother. Neil J. Smith is a civil rights organizer and activist, and boxer. When he was 12, he started boxing, growing up in the different boroughs of New York. He did not adjust well to the formal school system and got most of his early education from public libraries. He studied creative writing, literature, and poetry at NYU with William Packard, who was the founder of the New York Quarterly. Smith served Quarterly for 15 years as the Vice President. He currently resides in upstate New York with his spouse.