Amanda Gorman: The Youngest Inaugural Poet

Most presidents don’t incorporate poetry into their inaugurations, and only four presidents have requested readings by poets. Traditionally, these speakers were older, well-established poets who commanded a national presence, such as Maya Angelou and Robert Frost. But that pattern vanished this year when Amanda Gorman stepped into the picture. 

Gorman is a 22-year-old poet from Los Angeles, California. She was raised by her single mother Dr. Joan Wicks, a 6th-grade English teacher. She encouraged Gorman to explore her talent for reading and writing from an early age. One major obstacle Gorman faced was a speech impediment caused by an auditory processing disorder. At first, this challenge discouraged her. However, due to her mother’s encouragement for writing, speaking, and reading, Gorman overcame this challenge in one of the most inspiring ways possible: by pursuing spoken word poetry and being named the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles at age 16.  At 16, Gorman also founded her own nonprofit organization, One Pen One Page, and earned a spot at Harvard, where she studied sociology. While at Harvard, Gorman became the first-ever Youth Poet Laureate and opened the literary season for the Library of Congress. Her literary prowess also led her to become one of Glamour’s College Women of The Year in 2018. In 2020, she graduated from the prestigious university Summa Cum Laude, and from there, her success continued to grow. She wrote a book titled, Change Sings, which topped the New York Times bestseller list following her performance at President Biden’s inauguration. 

Of course, that performance was Gorman’s most remarkable achievement yet. She was selected by President Biden to recite a poem at the 2021 inauguration, making her by far the youngest poet to receive this honor. Gorman wrote a poem called, “The Hill We Climb” that swept the American public off its feet. Her words captivated millions of people, addressing the turmoil of the last four years and the deadly climax of Donald Trump’s presidency, the Capitol riot on January 6th. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Gorman explained that she didn’t have much time to practice reciting the speech and felt extremely nervous in the days leading to the inauguration. But, as we all know, she killed it. Her performance also inspired millions of people who struggle with auditory and speech challenges. Gorman’s accomplishments are astounding, especially for a young black woman who has faced countless barriers to success. I hope she’ll remain one of the most prominent, inspiring voices of our generation for decades to come.

By Sariah Robbins