Amanda Gorman, The 22-year-old Poet and Star of Inauguration Day
If you’re wondering who Amanda Gorman is, here goes; She is a 22-year-old American poet and writer. She is also the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate and just recently, the youngest known inaugural poet in America’s history. Her inaugural poem about hope and unity – ‘The Hill We Climb’ – has been trending since she read it on Wednesday, the 20th of January, 2021 at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
It was during the final moments of the historic and much-anticipated inauguration that she rendered the breathtaking poem.
Before her performance, she spoke with CBS about what she hopes to achieve with the platform she had been given. In the interview, she noted how her poem had been shaped by the attack on Capitol and also said, ‘I wanted it to be a message of hope and unity. And I think that Wednesday for me really just underscored how much that was needed. But to not turn a blind eye to the cracks that really need to be filled.”
This is a transcript of the poem that held the world at a standstill yesterday.
When day comes we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade,
The loss we carry a sea we must wade.
We have braved the belly of the beast.
We have learned that quiet isn’t always peace,
And the norms and notions of what just is isn’t always justice.
And yet, the dawn is hours before we knew it.
Somehow we do it.
Somehow we have weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country in a time where a skinny black girl descended from slaves
And raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president,
Only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine
But that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge our union with purpose,
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes, not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know to put our future first
We must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true,
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried that we will forever be tied together.
Victorious!
Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree,
And no one shall make them afraid.
If we are to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lighten in the blade,
But in all of the bridges we have made.
That is the promise to glade, the hill be climbed.
If only we dare it because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It is the past we step into and how we repair it.
We have 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 had our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption. We feared it at its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour,
But within it, we found the power to author a new chapter.
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So, while once we asked how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe,
Now we assert, how could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be.
A country that is bruised, but whole. Benevolent, but bold. Fierce and free.
We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation,
Because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blunders become their burdens.
But one thing is certain, if we merge mercy with might and might with the right,
Then love becomes our legacy and change our children’s birthright.
So let us leave behind the country better than the one we were left,
With every breath in my bronze-pounded chest,
We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the gold limbed hills of the west.
We will rise from the windswept northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution.
We will rise from the lake rimmed cities of midwestern states.
We will rise from the sunbaked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover in every known nook of our nation
And every corner called our country.
Our people diverse and beautiful will emerge battered and beautiful.
When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid.
A new dawn looms as we free it,
For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it,
If only we are brave enough to be it.
Image Source: Instagram/blacklove
A Few Things You Need to Know About Amanda Gorman
This young talented poet has broken a few records throughout her lifetime and is still hoping to break some more. Here are a few spectacular things you need to know about the poet.
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She Was Raised By a Single Mother
Joan Wicks is a single mother of three and a teacher. According to Amanda, she had always loved to read and write as a child and her mother encouraged her. In an interview with Study Breaks, she said, ‘Having a mother as a sixth-grade English teacher in an inner-city public school gave me an up-close and personal view of how literacy influences young students. I realized that education can really be a life-or-death resource… School and college is a pathway to get off the streets, to break a cycle.”
She also added, “She inspires me every day to seek higher education not only for myself, but for the other students around me.”
Her mother was also fully present at the inauguration ceremony where her daughter performed.
2. She Has a Twin
Yes, Amanda Gorman does have a twin. Her name is Gabrielle Gorman and she is an activist too!
3. She Used Poetry to Cope With a Speech Impediment
She didn’t sound like she had a speech impediment at the inauguration, did she? Well, growing up, she had difficulty pronouncing certain sounds. “I don’t look at my disability as a weakness,” Amanda told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s made me the performer that I am and the storyteller that I strive to be. When you have to teach yourself how to say sounds, when you have to be highly concerned about pronunciation, it gives you a certain awareness of sonics, of the auditory experience.”
4. At 14, She Was Part of a Popular Mentoring Program in L.A.
WriteGirl is a nonprofit in L.A. that focuses on empowering girls to be more creative and expressive. As a participant, you get to attend creative writing workshops monthly and also work closely with mentors. In an interview with NBC, Amanda talked about the organization’s impact in her life, “WriteGirl has been pivotal in my life. It’s been thanks to their support that I’ve been able to chase my dreams as a writer. Special shout-out to my former mentors Michelle and Dinah. Couldn’t have gotten here without you!”
5. At 16, She Was Named the first Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate
For the first time ever, Los Angeles had a Youth Poet Laureate and she also became a youth delegate for the United Nations. “It really opened my eyes to the possibilities of what I could accomplish,” she said.
6. At 17, She Published Her First Poetry Collection
The year after she was declared the first Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate, she published her first poetry collection titled, “The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough.”
7. At 19, She Became the First-Ever National Youth Poet Laureate
In 2017, she also became another one of the firsts. She became the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate. When it was announced, the New York Times noted that “her poetry is a cleareyed mix of autobiography, social issues like Islamophobia, and historical motifs picked up from her college’s library.” When interviewed, she said, “I want to create poems that stand the test of time and counter the fragmented news culture of today.”
8. She Recently Graduated Cum Laude From Harvard University
In 2020, Amanda graduated from Harvard College after studying Sociology.
9. She Has a NonProfit Organisation
The nonprofit is called One Pen One Page and its objective is to encourage youth creativity through writing and leadership programs.
10. She Has Two Books Forthcoming
Two books from the poet will soon be published by Penguin Random House. One of the books is a children’s book called ‘Change Sings’ while the other is a poetry collection like her first book.
11. She Has Declared Her Intention to Run For President in 2036
By 2036, Amanda would be 38 and eligible to run for President which she plans to do. She is the first person to announce her intention to contest during that election cycle and she has confessed that indeed, the victory of VP Kamala Harris gave her plans new life and energy. Like she said, “There’s no denying that a victory for her is a victory for all of us who would like to see ourselves represented as women of color in office. It makes it more imaginable. Once little girls can see it, little girls can be it. Because they can be anything that they want, but that representation to make the dream exist in the first place is huge—even for me.”
Amanda Gorman is just proof that factors like your background, age, or skin colour have nothing to do with how great you can be. You can break all the records, all you need to do is just believe and work hard at growing. It really is the era for rising black female voices and here at Afrolady, we love to see it!
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