Amanda Gorman Wiki – Amanda Gorman Bio
Amanda Gorman is the poet making history at President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony. She is the youngest inaugural poet the United States has ever had.
According to the Associated Press, Dr Jill Biden nominated Gorman for the role. Despite her young age, Gorman is already a seasoned pro in this particular field. She has written poems for events such as the inauguration of Harvard President Larry Bacow and the Fourth of July celebration with the Boston Pops in 2019.
Age
She is 22 years old.
Amanda Gorman Poet Reading at the Biden Inauguration
The Biden inaugural team reached out to Gorman in late December about delivering an original poem at the inauguration ceremony.
She told the Associated Press that she was largely granted free rein over the poem but was encouraged to highlight “unity and hope.”
Gorman said the Biden team also recommended that she stay away from anything that might sound like they were celebrating the end of President Donald Trump’s tenure.
Gorman explained she initially struggled to write more than a few lines per day. She expressed her initial concern in an interview with The New York Times.
“I had this huge thing, probably one of the most important things I’ll ever do in my career,” Gorman said. “It was like, if I try to climb this mountain all at once, I’m just going to pass out.”
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Gorman also told The Times that she hoped to use her words to “envision a way in which our country can still come together and can still heal.
It’s doing that in a way that is not erasing or neglecting the harsh truths I think America needs to reconcile with.” You can watch her perform the inaugural poem here.
First National Youth Poet
Gorman has racked up a long list of accomplishments in her relatively short career thus far. At age 16, she was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles.
Three years later, at age 19, she was honoured as the first National Youth Poet Laureate. She accepted the honour in a ceremony at the Gracie Mansion in New York City.
Early Life
Gorman was born and raised in Los Angeles. She was raised by a single mother, Joan Wicks, who worked as a middle school teacher, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In an interview with Study Breaks magazine in 2017, Gorman discussed how her mother’s teaching career influenced her:
Career
Gorman is a published author. Her first book, The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough, was published by Penmanship Books in 2015, according to Poets.org.
As Gorman notes on her website, she has two new books that she expects to release with Penguin Random House in 2021.
One of those books is a collection of poetry that shares a title with her inauguration piece, The Hill We Climb.
Gorman has also written a children’s book called Change Sings. She explained on social media that she wants the book to serve as a “children’s anthem to remind young readers that they have the power to shape the world.”
In recent months, Gorman has also tried her hand at TV hosting. She served as the host for a PBS Kids special about racism in October 2020.