Who is Amanda Gorman? The Young Poet and her Fresh Poetry

Amanda Gorman is a renowned activist and poet. She achieved great international fame with the reading of her poem, "The Hill We Cimb". She read the poem at the 2021 inauguartion of the United States President Joe Biden. She is popular for her works that talk unabashedly about feminism, climate change, marginalization, and Black identity.

Why in News?

Amanda Gorman is the vert first U.S. National Youth Poet laureate. Recently she recited her new poem at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. The poem talked about themes like democracy and unity. The 26 year old's work is titled as "This Sacred Scene".

Family Life and Career

Gorman and her siblings were raised by a single mother. Her mother, Joan Wicks, was a middle-school teacher. Gorman and her twin sister, Gabrielle faced some problems with their speech. Amanda Gorman suffered from an auditory-processing disorder. The disorder made it difficult for her to prononce the letter "r". She considered poetry as an inexpensive and elaborate method of expressing herself.

Gorman was inspired by Pakistanin activist Malala Yousafzai. She turned into a yoth delegate for the UN in the year 2013. She was also named the inaugural Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate. She worked with the County of Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations. At this position she developed youth programs.

Her very first collection of poetry, titled The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough, was published in the year 2015. In 2016, she got admission in the Harvard University, while on the other hand, her twin sister enrolled in University of California to pursue film studies. 

The sisters worked together on projects like the Rise Up As One. In the year 2017, Amanda Gorman became the inaugural National Youth Poet Laureate. She graduated in the year 2020.

There are very few poets who get the opportunity to recite a poem at a United States presidential inauguartion, and Gorman was one of them when she recited one in 2021. Her work was enough to captivate the audience with her stirring message and great poise. She employed wordplay to a significant effect. She addressed issues like the losses caused by COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and the Capitol insureection.

In her poetry, Gorman talked about the consequences of doing nothing. She talked about her own presence at an inauguration as an epitome of the ability of the country to welcome change. 

Her poetry became popular, and she got the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl. The lady also signed a modeling contract. She then published a special edition of her poem.

In the year 2021, Gorman got the chance to cohost the Met Gala with Tomothee Chalamet.

Moreover, she also debuted a book for children, named Change Sings: A Children's Anthem. She then published a collection of poetry, titled, Call Us What We Carry. In the year 2023, Gorman published Something, Someday, her second children's book.

Book bans and reshelving

Last year, i.e. in 2023, Gorman's work became a topic of discussion regarding book bans in libraries and schools. Everything started when a parent at an elementary school filed a complaint against her book titled The Hill We Climb. The complaint said that the book carried hate speech and was not educational in nature. The school administration, as a response, reviewed the book and then reshelved it to the middle-school shelf from the elementary-reading-level shelf. They were of the view that the vocabulary in the book was meant for middle school students

The act of reshelving the book by the school administration was condemned by the organization PEN America. The organization was of the view that reshelving the book restricted its access to young readers.

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