Dressed in yellow and with a large red diadem crowning her head, young African American poet Amanda Gorman stunned audiences at Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony last Wednesday, her verses calling for the unity of America.
At just 22 years old, the young woman from Los Angeles (West Coast) recited a poem of her own creation, ‘The Hill We Climb’, a reference to the Capitol, the seat of Congress invaded by a crowd of supporters of the departing president. , Republican Donald Trump, on January 6.
His text, written once after that invasion that killed five, evokes “a force that will destroy our nation instead of dividing it.” “This effort was almost successful, but while democracy can sometimes be delayed, it cannot be permanently suppressed.”
In a calm voice, she voiced her rhymes and accompanied them with graceful movements, without any stuttering that, like Joe Biden, affected her in her youth. And it also prompted her to start writing, to make up for that difficulty.
The poet described herself as “a skinny black girl, descendant of slaves, raised by a single mother,” who “recites” herself in the presence of a president.
A child prodigy, Gorman won her first poetry award at the age of 16 and was crowned ‘best young poet’ in the country three years later while studying sociology at the prestigious Harvard University.
Before her, five other poets, including Robert Frost and Maya Angelou, attended the inauguration ceremonies of US Presidents, but none were so young.
According to the American press, his name was presented to the organizers of the ceremony by Jill Biden, the wife of the now 46th president, who attended one of his lectures.