January 20th was an exciting day for the United States.
Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president and Kamala Harris became the first Black,
first South-Asian, and first female Vice President.
There were many familiar faces at the event, including past presidents, current Senate
members, and beloved former first ladies.
Social media has been abuzz about the many moving performances and speeches from the
likes of Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Garth Brooks, and more.
But perhaps one of the most well-received guest speakers at the inauguration came from
an unfamiliar face to most viewers: the young poet Amanda Gorman.
The 22-year-old Gorman can boast being the youngest poet to give an inaugural address
in American history.
In addition, she is the nation's first ever National Youth Poet Laureate, an honor from
a program that was founded in 2016 and is sponsored by the Library of Congress.
The title is awarded to young poets that, according to the organization, "are committed
to artistic excellence, civic engagement, and social justice."
Gorman delivered her original composition, "The Hill We Climb," with incredible pride
and confidence as she addressed the entire nation — and the world.
The self-proclaimed "wordsmith" and "changemaker" is a Harvard graduate with a degree in sociology.
She was born and raised in L.A. and discovered her love for spoken word at a young age, ultimately
leading her to becoming an author of three books and a recipient of countless poetry
awards.
She has also been invited to share her words with the likes of the Obamas, Lin-Manuel Miranda,
Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai, and more.
While her poetry on Inauguration Day certainly spoke for itself, people can't help but gush
over Gorman's fashion choice.
Clad in a yellow, double breasted Prada suit, Gorman's outfit was not only chosen for its
gorgeous aesthetic, but, as the poet revealed to Vogue, it was also a nod to first lady
Jill Biden as a sign of appreciation for recommending her to participate in the inauguration.
Gorman says she was wearing yellow in the video that Biden initially saw of her.
As for other accessories of importance, Gorman can be seen wearing a caged bird ring, which
she told Vogue was a gift from Oprah Winfrey — but it's significant for another reason,
too.
She wanted to symbolize "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," a famous book by Maya Angelou,
a woman whom both Gorman and Oprah admire greatly.
Jill Biden came across Gorman's poetry after watching a video of her performing at the
Library of Congress and subsequently recommended her to be the one to deliver a poem at the
Inauguration.
Gorman developed a processing disorder at a young age that left her with a speech impediment,
and she went under extensive therapy in order to correct it.
She and President Biden have this in common, as he also underwent therapy in order to correct
his stutter, a fact that he has been famously open about.
There is truly nothing that Gorman loves more than poetry, and she says that performing
her spoken word makes her feel alive.
"When I am on stage, I feel electric.
I feel like I could breathe fire."
In her interview with CBS This Morning, she went on to explain how powerful poetry is.
She also believes that it can be used to push against the status quo.
"Poetry is a weapon.
It is an instrument of social change and poetry is one of the most political arts out there."
We predict she's going to be a household name very soon — and not just because her Twitter
following more than quadrupled just in the short time since her reading at the inauguration.
Gorman's moving and powerful address was a call for Americans to unify and, quote, "leave
behind a country better than the one we were left."
But despite the ease at which she delivered her poem, the writing process wasn't a walk
in the park.
Gorman worried she would struggle when writing a poem for such a monumental occasion.
She told The New York Times in an interview that she believes it was the biggest thing
she'll ever do in her career.
On January 6, 2021, Gorman found herself about halfway through her poem when inspiration
struck her — but not in a way she could have ever imagined or hoped for.
She told The Times that she stayed up all night in order to find the right way to incorporate
the riots at the U.S. Capitol into her writing.
Among many other very powerful lines in her poem, she said…
"But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated."
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