Amanda Gorman made her mark as the youngest inaugural poet in the country's history, winning over new fans with a powerful reading of her poem, "The Hill We Climb," at President Biden's inauguration Wednesday.
The 22-year-old from California, who became the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, told the New York Times that she was working on the poem when the Jan. 6 insurrection happened, as rioters incited by former president Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building. She stayed up late into the night to write about the images of violence she saw that day.
Gorman closed out the ceremony at the Capitol's West Front with "The Hill We Climb" and stunned the nation.
That was more than a poem That was a sermon
This poem by Amanda Gorman is giving me LIFE.
....anyone else ready to run through a wall after that poem? gotdamn
YOU BETTA DO THAT POEM, BABY! I have chills. She’s amazing! The outfit! The poise! The genius writing! The Fenty highlight! I love her.
Well that was fucking amazing. Absolutely stunning poem by @TheAmandaGorman The poise. The power. 😭
me listening to this poem from Amanda Gorman
Also Amanda Gorman wins. And Maya Angelou smiles on her surely.
On a day for the history books, @TheAmandaGorman delivered a poem that more than met the moment. Young people like her are proof that "there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it; if only we're brave enough to be it."
Amanda Gorman! This is what poems can do. Yes yes yes.
This poem and performance by Amanda Gorman will be THE moment of this inauguration. Her beauty, her elegance, her words and movements, they capture this moment in amber
the timeline following Amanda Gorman into battle
She ate tf outta that poem omg 😭😭😭
People were moved to tears by her words.
Oh good Lord! Stop making me cry, Ms. Gorman. Shit.
I didn't think that I was going to cry during the inauguration but then Amanda Gorman happened.
"let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left" amanda gorman, fully making me cry now
ok this moment is making me cry 😭😭😭😭😭😭AMANDA GORMAN💖💖💖❣️❣️💞💞💞💓💕💕💕💞❣️💖 #InaugurationDay
They can’t stop talking about Amanda Gorman. And I’m beaming. Girl. YOU 👏🏾 DID 👏🏾 THAT👏🏾. Gaaah I could cry.
You see how Amanda Gorman just made you feel?? This is why art matters so much. It has the ability to cut through and gets right to the heart of the matter. I guarantee most will forget the majority of these speeches, but it will be hard to forget what she just did today.
Read her poem in full here.