• Amanda Gorman

     
  • Many of you recognize this name from our recent Presidential Inauguration. While Amanda Gorman has maybe not yet been canonized as an historical figure, by most accounts she has firmly positioned herself to one day be just that. Her perspective on race, on unity, on power & justice, on poetry & revolution, on looking to our history, and on her own place on the stage is suddenly everywhere.
     
    With the intention and ambition to one day be president ("Gorman for President" - 2036?), Gorman takes opportunities to speak publicly about her life and her work very seriously. As the youngest inaugural poet in US history, the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate, a cum laude graduate of Harvard University, and a many-times-over award winner, Gorman has been many years in the making! There are several things that have stood out to me as I have read about her and listened to many interviews with her. I'd like to highlight a couple of them here. She doesn't seem to take anything for granted, and is thoughtful and intentional about her decisions, her words, and her choices. This isn't only because she fully expects to be president in the future, but also because she is aware of a kind of responsibility she carries for her ancestors, those who've raised her, her community, women, youth, black Americans, warriors for social justice, and more. Another thing that stands out to me is her belief in poetry. It isn't just a creative outlet for her. It has a unique power. In multiple interviews, she speaks about poetry being the language of the people, the language of resistance & revolution.
     
    A few remarks from an interview she did with Michelle Obama for TIME Magazine...
    On having a mantra: borrowed / revised from Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Song of The Ancestors": “I’m the daughter of Black writers who are descended from Freedom Fighters who broke their chains and changed the world. They call me.”
     
    On advice she has for young Black girls: "I would say anyone who finds themselves suddenly visible and suddenly famous, think about the big picture. Especially for girls of color, we’re treated as lightning or gold in the pan—we’re not treated as things that are going to last. You really have to crown yourself with the belief that what I’m about and what I’m here for is way beyond this moment. I’m learning that I am not lightning that strikes once. I am the hurricane that comes every single year, and you can expect to see me again soon."
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