"We've
seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share
it,
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And
this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be
periodically delayed,
It can never be permanently defeated.
In
this truth, in this faith we trust.
For while we have our eyes on
the future,
History has its eyes on us."
– From the Inaugural Poem “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman
After Joe Biden was sworn in as the nation’s 46th president, Amanda Gorman read “The Hill We Climb.” So many celebrated poets have preceded her in this tradition including Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Alexander and Richard Blanco. But, today, Gorman made history as youngest of these inaugural poets to offer her verse.
Gorman, just 22, overcame a speech impediment to become America's National Youth Poet Laureate. She already has an impressive resume as a poet. Liam Hess of Vogue said, “While still a teenage student in Los Angeles, Gorman spent her days devouring the works of Toni Morrison and furiously scribbling in her journals with the dream of one day becoming a writer.”
(Liam Hess. “Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman on Her Career-Defining Address and Paying Homage to Maya Angelou. Vogue. January 20, 2021.)
In 2014, Gorman became the first Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles, and three years later she was named the country’s first National Youth Poet Laureate.
A Harvard University graduate, Gorman was previously invited to the Obama White House and has been asked to perform for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Malala Yousafzai, according to her website.
(Staff. “Inauguration Poet Amanda Gorman Shares Powerful Message.” Black Entertainment Television. January 20, 2021)
Joshua Barajas of PBS News said: “She did it again (climbed a hill) by performing at the swearing in of Joe Biden. Gorman followed an excellent speech from the 46th president with a what may live on forever as the lasting highlight of the day.”
Gorman has previously said that she wants to run for president in 2036. She told PBS News Hour that she started writing the new poem – “The Hill We Climb” – in early January, shortly after being invited to present an inauguration poem. And, when pro-Trump insurrectionists attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, she was about halfway through her poem. Gorman said she knew that violence to be addressed, "I was like, 'Well, this is something we need to talk about."
Gorman confessed …
“I don’t want to say that my poem took a drastic left turn because it was already going towards a location, but those events just solidified for me how important it was to have a poem about unity and the new chapter of America in this inauguration.”
(Joshua Barajas. “Amanda Gorman reads inauguration poem, ‘The Hill We Climb.'” PBS News Hour. January 20, 2021.)
Of writing the Inaugural Poem, Gorman said …
“The difficult thing about writing a poem like this is that you want to write it for a country, but you also want it to be accessible. You want it to be representative of all the colors and characters of people who might be watching it. Preparing for that [involved] reading the previous inaugural poems and trying to focus on what they do well.
“I’ve also looked to Abraham Lincoln or Frederick Douglass, who I love as a writer, or Martin Luther King, and the ways in which they used words to communicate the ideals of the nation in elegant rhetoric that [never] felt as if it was locked away in an ivory tower …
“2020—what a year. It was rough for all of us. As a public poet, people often don’t see the reality of my life. They see maybe a poem or a reciting and it’s great to hear that I can serve as a ray of light in [other people’s] lives.
“Sometimes it grabs the attention away from the fact that I, too am going through the same things and navigating darkness, as well. It was a really hard time when my school was shut down when the COVID wave in March crested. I wasn’t going to have a graduation and I wasn’t going to be able to say goodbye to my friends. But I was able to funnel that into a poem. It has been hard on all counts, but I’ve been writing my way through it.”
(Liam Hess. “Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman on Her Career-Defining Address and Paying Homage to Maya Angelou. Vogue. January 20, 2021.)
Democratic presidents have traditionally celebrated poets by having them read an original piece at inauguration ceremonies. A powerful reading of her poem “In This Place: An American Lyric,” delivered at the Library of Congress in 2017, caught the eye of Dr. Jill Biden
The Associated Press reports that Gorman was contacted in late December by the Biden inaugural committee officials informing her that she’d been recommended by the incoming first lady.
An interesting aside: On Inauguration Day, Amanda Gorman wore a look by Miuccia Prada, a designer she admires for her intellect and long-standing feminist leanings. A story about an accessory was even more revealing.
Oprah Winfrey, a fan of Gorman’s, got in touch. When Angelou spoke in 1993, Winfrey had sent Angelou a Chanel coat and a pair of gloves to wear for the event. To continue the tradition, she sent Gorman a pair of gold hoop earrings by Nikos Koulis and an Of Rare Origin ring to wear for her own big day.
“Every single time I get a text from [Oprah] I fall on the floor,” Gorman says, laughing. It’s the perfect finishing touch to a look that came together with immense care and thought. “[Fashion] has so much meaning to me, and it’s my way to lean into the history that came before me and all the people supporting me.”
(Liam Hess. “Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman on Her Career-Defining Address and Paying Homage to Maya Angelou. Vogue. January 20, 2021.)
Gorman said “The Hill We Climb was an “incredibly daunting poem to write.” While composing it, she considered the different layers of stress on Americans now. She also said she trusted “in the knowledge and the faith” that she was made for the moment.
“It (the poem) was a hill I had to climb in itself. I wrote it with the idea that this isn’t the moment to say, 'Ding-dong the witch is dead,' and dance on the grave of Trump. It’s a real opportunity to unite the people of the United States and focus our gaze on the future, and the ways in which we can collaborate and move forward together.”
(Liam Hess. “Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman on Her Career-Defining Address and Paying Homage to Maya Angelou. Vogue. January 20, 2021.)
There will be no relaxing in Amanda Gorman's near future. She says she feels as if she is “in the front seat of a Ferrari right now.” She is definitely journaling about writing more poetry about her experiences. In addition, Gorman is coming out with a poetry collection later this year and a children’s book in September called Change Sings. All of this at age22. You better look for this young lady's Presidential Campaign in 2036. The sky is the limit for the poet laureate.
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