Poet Amanda Gorman, 22, captures ‘bruised, but whole’ US at inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
- ‘The Hill We Climb’, by the youngest inaugural poet in US history, offers a hopeful vision for a deeply divided country
- Gorman joins the likes of Robert Frost, Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander with a powerful reading at the swearing-in of the new president and vice-president
Amanda Gorman, the youngest poet in US history to mark the transition of presidential power, offered a hopeful vision for a deeply divided country on Wednesday with her poem The Hill We Climb.
Gorman, 22, a Los Angeles resident, joined the ranks of previous inaugural poets Robert Frost, Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander, with a powerful performance at the swearing-in of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.
“Being American is more than a pride we inherit. It’s the past we step into and how we repair it,” Gorman said, in a short poem that was greeted with a hail of critical acclaim on social media.
“We will not march back to what was. We move to what shall be, a country that is bruised, but whole. Benevolent, but bold. Fierce and free.”
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Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman recites poem at Joe Biden's US presidential inauguration ceremony
Speaking on the steps of the US Capitol just two weeks after a violent group of Trump supporters laid siege to the seat of American government with Confederate flags, pipe bombs and a noose, Gorman said that Americans could rise above the hatred.