The list of stars appearing at President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural special is long — From John Legend to Kerry Washington. The TV special will be hosted by Tom Hanks and will air on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on January 20.
Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest poet to recite a poem at an inauguration, wrote a poem about the insurrection that took place last week — “The Hill We Climb.”
Gorman, 22, was chosen to read at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
“That day gave me a second wave of energy to finish the poem,” Gorman said. “The poem isn’t blind. It isn’t turning your back to the evidence of discord and division.”
She shared her excitement on Instagram. “WHAT AN HONOR to be the Inaugural Poet of 2021. I am so excited to be joining our next President and Vice President @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris for #Inauguration2021! Tune in at bideninaugural.org See you there @jlo@ladygaga @bideninaugural 💃🏿✍🏿.”
Gorman says poetry is rewarding. “I have kind of stumbled upon this genre. It’s been something I find a lot of emotional reward in, writing something I can make people feel touched by, even if it’s just for a night,” Gorman said to TIME Magazine.
Gorman, a Harvard graduate, never thought that she would create a career in poetry.
“I started off writing short stories and fiction, and thought those were going to be the things that I did! in fact, I went to a showcase/open mic, and read a [non-poetry] piece that I wrote and the audience loved it! People walked up to me after the fact and told me that I wrote such a beautiful poem [laughs] and that I gave a great [spoken word] performance,” Gorman told The Harvard Advocate.
A bright path of creativity is being carved for Gorman. The poet has appeared on MTV, published a book — “The One For Whom Food Is Not Enough,” and is working on a two-book deal with Viking Children’s Books.
