1998-present
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States
Poet
Activist
Author
Model.
Amanda Gorman was raised by a single school teacher mother, along with a twin sister and older brother. She was diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder and a speech impediment in kindergarten. She struggled with pronouncing “R” sounds which caused problems into her early adult years. Poetry recitals helped her overcome her impediment. Gorman used writing as a way to experiment with self-expression. By age nine Gorman became interested in civil rights. Inspired by Malala Yousafzai, the 15 year old Pakistani student shot by Taliban gunmen while riding on the school bus, Gorman became a youth delegate for the United Nations in 2013.
Seven years later, she graduated cum laude from Harvard. She accomplished her degree remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Jill Biden saw Gorman recite a poem at the Library of Congress and invited her to write a poem for the upcoming 2021 United States presidential inauguration. She was formally invited by the Biden Inaugural Committee December 2020.
Gorman was not told what to write for the inauguration, just that the theme was “America United”. She was halfway finished with her piece “The Hill We Climb” when pro Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. She stayed up late the following night in the wake of the attack and finished writing. Some of her inspirations came from other historic times of division. Gorman’s body of work examines themes of race and racial justice, feminism, marginalization and climate change.
On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the youngest poet to deliver the time honored Presidential Inaugural poem. She was 22 years old.
During her reading of the inaugural poem, Gorman wore a ring with a caged bird, a nod to “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” author, Maya Angelou. The ring was a gift from Oprah Winfrey. Angelou was an inaugural poet for William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States. I include this ring on my figure of Amanda Gorman. This ring was a challenge to recreate because it was so tiny, slightly larger than the size of a pea. (Did I mention I had to start wearing readers? This ring effort may have been why!) Her earrings represented a modern bird in a cage.
Gorman’s beautiful, yellow outfit was fun to recreate. I was so pleased with the yarn I found to create her hair along with the perfect little beads to paint gold and adorn her braids. Bringing everything together was an artistic thrill.
Amanda Gordon is the founder and executive director of One Pen One Page, an organization providing free creative writing programs for underserved youth.
“There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
— Amanda Gorman, inauguration poem, The Hill We Climb.
Source:
Poet.com
Theamandagorman.com
Harvard Gazette
Encyclopedia Britannica
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