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Saga of Amanda Gorman

A young poet wowed the crowd during Joe Biden\'s swearing-in

Published : Sunday, 7 February, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 853
Chinmay Prasun Biswas
A young poet wowed the crowd during Joe Biden's swearing-in
An unprecedented scene was noticed on Wednesday, 20th January, 2021 in Washington DC at coronation of newly elected American president Joe Biden. As youngest poet in the history of America, Amanda S. C. Gorman read out the coronation poem - The Hill We Climb. Similar to Nicole Kidman or Natalie Portman, Amanda Gorman is not a man but a woman of just 22. Before her Richard Blanco, 44, was the youngest coronation poet at Barack Obama's 2nd coronation in January, 2013.

In personal life Amanda Gorman is a Black Catholic, a member of St. Brigid Church in her hometown of Los Angeles. She was brought up by her single mother Joan Wicks, a middle-school English teacher. She always encouraged her twin daughters Amanda and Gabrielle to read and write.At childhood Amanda had auditory disorder and pronunciation problem but through therapy and other process she overcame it. She was admitted into a private school in Santa Monica. When grown up she received a Milken Family Foundation College Scholarship and graduated in Sociology from Harvard College.
   At the coronation ceremony she was surrounded by top ranking American leaders. On that very occasion,  Amanda spoke freely and forcefully. She radiated joy, reason and aim in her to mark the coronation of Joe Biden as 46th president of the US. Listening to the poem tears rolled down from the eyes of many listeners who were weary and wary at the domestic discord of four earlier years. Her words made them optimistic about future.
 
At the coronation ceremony Gorman wore a ring depicting a caged bird, a gift from Oprah Winfrey that symbolises the link between past and future. It not only summoned her first inspiration that she received from Angelou who composed the coronation poem of Bill Clinton, in 1993. Across the United States op-eds have called for poetry education programmes in schools and television channels have highlighted her performance. She has participated in many such programmes like CBS This Morning and Good Morning America on ABC.

Amanda was selected as the youth poet laureate of Los Angeles in 2014 and while at Harvard, out of five finalists she was chosen as the National Youth Poet Laureate in April 2017. Her poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough was published in 2015. In 2020 Amanda presented Earthrise, a poem focused on the climate crisis. Her poems and activities focus on burning issues like oppression, feminism, racism, marginalisation and social injustice.
 
About power of poetry Amanda explained, "The fight against social injustice not only inspires my writing but my life's work. Through poetry I can speak to the world's problems and its solutions as well as the microcosms of conflict inside myself. I love writing poetry because it is innately cutting-edge. Every time I take the stage as a black female poet I have a new opportunity to defy limitations placed on the art, contributions and leadership of creative women of colour."

She was inspired to become a youth delegate for the United Nations in 2013 after watching a speech by Pakistani Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. In 2017 she became the first youth poet to open the literary season for the Library of Congress and read her poetry on MTV. She wrote In This Place: An American Lyric for her September 2017 performance at the Library of Congress. As part of the OZY Genius Awards she won a $10,000 grant from media company OZY.

Amanda told The New York Times she wasn't given any direction about what to write but she intended to emphasise theme America United. She was about halfway finished of the poem when on 6th January pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol Building. Noticing this unprecedented attack she finished her poem that night. She said, "We have to confront these realities if we're going to move forward, so that's also an important touchstone of the poem. There is space for grief and horror, hope and unity and I also hope that there is a breath for joy in the poem because I think that we have a lot to celebrate at this inauguration."In an interview she told that she foundrenowned black female poet and civil right activist Dr. Maya Angelou, coronation poet of Barack Obama in 2009, as role model for her love of poetry. Angelou's autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings reminded her of her own life.

Ahead of the coronation ceremony Amanda told the book critic of Washington Post Ron Charles, "I hope that my poem will represent a moment of unity for our country and with my words I'll be able to speak to a new chapter and era for our nation."  Soon after Gorman's performance at the inauguration, her two upcoming books, the poetry collection The Hill We Climb andChange Sings: A Children's Anthem, a project for youth, topped Amazon's bestseller list. These two are expected to be released in September 2021.

The Hill We Climb is a powerful call on themes of hope and healing, unity and unification.  Last lines of The Hill We Climb--

When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid,
the new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it.

This poem contains the expectation of a blooming new dawn and will to rebuild, reconcile and recover the nation in every corner.

Apart from writing poems Amanda has repeatedly expressed her intention to run for president in 2036. After she read her poem The Hill We Climb, Hillary Clinton tweeted her support for this 2036 aspiration. One day Amanda may stay at the centre of audience, not the author of another such poem: "I am working on hashtags," she told the Harvard Gazette. "Save the 2036 date on your iPhone calendar." Nothing appears impossible as Napoleon said that impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools. Let us be hopeful that climbing many more hills today's composer Amanda will be the oath taker as a black female president of America in 2037.  
The writer is a former Commissioner of Taxes






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