Amanda Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet in history after delivering a searing rendition of her poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’, at the 59th Inauguration Ceremony of Joe Biden.
Ms. Gorman has been carving out her legacy as a tour de force for years now. At just 16 she was named the Youth Poet Laureate of LA. And in 2017, she was honoured as the first US National Youth Poet Laureate.
‘The Hill We Climbed’ offered poignant musings on the violent riots and racial injustice that have come to the forefront of the United States over recent years, though instead of leaning into despair, Amanda Gorman offered a vision of hope, unity and the end of division.
“We, the successors of a country and 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,” Ms Gorman said.
“When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Ms. Gorman embellished her poem with a reference to beloved Liberal pop-culture touchstone, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton.
The first reference to the musical came with the line “For while we have our eyes on the future/ history has its eyes on us,” a reference to the musical number ‘History Has Its Eyes on You,’ performed, in the play by George Washington’s character.
Amanda Gorman also recited “Everyone shall sit under their own vine, and fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid,” a biblical verse from Micah 4:4 that George Washington was famously taken by, and which his character sings in the musical.
The poem was met with widespread praise, with those likening her oratorical prowess to greats like Maya Angelou and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
Thank you! I would be nowhere without the women whose footsteps I dance in. While reciting my poem, I wore a ring with a caged bird—a gift from @Oprah for the occasion , to symbolize Maya Angelou, a previous inaugural poet. Here’s to the women who have climbed my hills before. https://t.co/5Tegd20sko
— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) January 20, 2021
On a day for the history books, @TheAmandaGorman delivered a poem that more than met the moment. Young people like her are proof that “there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it; if only we’re brave enough to be it.” pic.twitter.com/mbywtvjtEH
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 20, 2021
YES @TheAmandaGorman. YES!!!!!! God bless you. “It’s the past we step into and how we repair it”.
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) January 20, 2021
Extraordinary. @TheAmandaGorman
— dan levy (@danjlevy) January 20, 2021
But perhaps the best bit about Amanda Gorman and her brilliant inauguration poem is how Lin Manuel Miranda reacted to it.
Taking to Twitter, Miranda had nothing but praise for Gorman’s words. And yes, he definitely caught those Hamilton references and he loved it.
You were perfect. Perfectly written, perfectly delivered. Every bit of it. Brava! -LMM
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) January 20, 2021
