February 11th, 2021

Amanda Gorman is the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate, she is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, she is an award-winning writer and cum laude graduate of Harvard University. She has been described by Michael Cirelli, executive director of Urban Word NYC, as a powerhouse and has joked that "Her bio goes out of date every two weeks”. She is a force to be reckoned with.

Amanda was born with an auditory processing disorder and a speech impediment. She does not see these as crutches but as strengths that have helped her excel in writing. She also regularly has national level speaking engagements. She has said this about how she prepares:

"One of the preparations that I do always whenever I perform is I say a mantra to myself, which is 'I'm the daughter of black writers. We're descended from freedom fighters who broke through chains and changed the world. They call me.' And that is the way in which I prepare myself for the duty that needs to get done."

Here are a portion of her words from the ‘The Hill We Climb’ performed at the most recent Presidential Inauguration:

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried.

Amanda plans on running for President of the United States in 2036.