Amanda Gorman gave an inspiring reading of her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gorman, 22, is the nation’s first National Youth Poet Laureate. Her deliverance of the poem was powerfully measured, and captured the moment as the country ushers in a new, historic presidential administration.
The poem reads in part:
"Somehow we’ve weathered and witness,
A nation that isn’t broken,
But simply unfinished.
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."
Gorman’s poem directly addressed the recent events at the Capitol, and the aftermath of the former presidential administration.
Many took note of her reading, posting their thoughts to social media.
Gorman is an alumna of Harvard University and is a native of Los Angeles, California. She joins the ranks of Robert Frost and Dr. Maya Angelou, being among the few poets to recite poetry at a presidential inauguration.
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