The Inauguration Poet

BY TALIA BERMAN-CUTLER, GIGI GABLE, AND REGAN GOULD

Who was she? What was so influential about her poetry?

Amanda Gorman was the 22 year old poet who spoke at Joe Biden's Inauguration. Her poem “The Hill We Climb” blew everyone away as she is the first, and youngest Inaugural poet. Her 5 minute poem resonated with people across the country, and had many inspiring lines, like the ones discussed here. 

“To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.”
This line talks about stepping forward and giving equal treatment and rights to everyone no matter who they are. 

“In this truth, in this faith we trust, for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.”
This line is a direct reference to the musical Hamilton, where one of the songs is called “History Has Its Eyes On You.” It means that if we don’t fix things up today, it will be bad for our future.

“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.” 
One of the lines that sticks in people’s head the most is this one. It means that even though we have made great strides, there is still more work to do toward equality. 

These lines connect to the overall theme of the poem, talking about moving forward and spreading light. It relates to the place our country is in, with important figures in society raising awareness to the racial injustices. 

Along with performing at the Inauguration, she also had an important poetic message to share at the 55th Super Bowl. It is cleverly titled “Chorus of the Captains” and it honors Trimaine Davis, an educator from LA, Suzie Dorner, a Florida nurse manager, and James Martin who has served as a Marine and now a volunteer for the Wounded Warrior Project. She chose these people because they are all heroes to the community, and they all have relatability with current events. She chose this specific name because it talks about the leaders of their community, and there are different people’s stories. 

Source: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/amanda-gorman-biden-inauguration-poem

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