NEW YORK 鈥� The country has a new president and a new literary star. In one of the inauguration's most talked about moments, poet Amanda Gorman summoned images dire and triumphant Wednesday as she called out to the world 鈥渆ven as we grieved, we grew."
The 22-year-old Gorman referenced everything from Biblical scripture to 鈥淗amilton,鈥� and at times echoed the oratory of John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. With urgency and assertion she began by asking 鈥淲here can we find light/In this never-ending shade?鈥� and used her own poetry and life story as an answer. The poem's very title, 鈥淭he Hill We Climb,鈥� suggested both
"We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
Of such a terrifying hour.
But within it we鈥檝e found the power
To author a new chapter,
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves."
It was an extraordinary task for Gorman, who soon after finishing her poem helped inspire 鈥� along with
鈥淚 have never been prouder to see another young woman rise! Brava Brava, @TheAmandaGorman! Maya Angelou is cheering鈥攁nd so am I," Winfrey tweeted. Gorman was also praised by 鈥淗amilton鈥� playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, who tweeted 鈥淵ES @TheAmandaGorman!!!鈥� Gorman, soon responded: 鈥淭hx @Lin_Manuel! Did you catch the 2 @HamiltonMusical references in the inaugural poem? I couldn鈥檛 help myself!鈥�
Among the 鈥淗amilton鈥� inspirations in her poem: 鈥淗istory has its eyes on us," a variation of the 鈥淗amilton鈥� song 鈥淗istory Has Its Eyes On You.鈥�
Gorman, a native and resident of Los Angeles and the country's first National Youth Poet Laureate, told The Associated Press last week that she planned to combine a message of hope for President Joseph Biden's inaugural without ignoring "the evidence of discord and division.鈥� She had completed a little more than half of 鈥淭he Hill We Climb鈥� before Jan. 6 and the siege of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
鈥淭hat day gave me a second wave of energy to finish the poem,鈥� Gorman told the AP. She had said that she would not mention Jan. 6 specifically, but her reference was unmistakable:
"We鈥檝e 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."
Frost's appearance at the Kennedy inaugural was a kind of valedictory 鈥� he was 86 and died two years later. Gorman's career is just beginning. Penguin Young Readers announced Wednesday that 鈥淭he Hill We Climb鈥� will be published in a special edition this spring. Two other books come out in September 鈥� the illustrated 鈥淐hange Sings鈥� and a volume of her inaugural poem and other works. Ceremonial odes often are quickly forgotten, but Angelou's 鈥淥n the Pulse Of the Morning,鈥� which she read at the 1993 inaugural of President Clinton, went on to sell more than 1 million copies as a book.
By late Wednesday afternoon, 鈥淐hange Sings鈥� was No. 1 on Amazon.com's bestseller list, and her September poetry collection was No. 2. She had 206K Instagram followers and 121.3K Twitter followers at the end of the inauguration. Hours later, she had 1.3 million followers on Instagram and 738,000 on Twitter.
Invited to the inaugural late last month by first lady Jill Biden, Gorman has read at official occasions before 鈥� including a July 4 celebration when she was backed by the Boston Pops Orchestra 鈥� and has previously met Michelle Obama and former first lady Hillary Clinton among others. She has also made clear her desire to appear at a future inaugural, in a much greater capacity, an ambition she stated firmly in her poem.
"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."
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
