Amanda Gorman, just 22 years old, declaimed verses celebrating a “United America” at Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. Her performance was greeted by many celebrities.
She was all over the social networks the day after the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Young African-American poet Amanda Gorman captivated audiences Wednesday, January 20, with her verses calling for the unity of the United States.
Black-American poet Amanda Gorman captivated the audience with her verses calling for the unity of the United States. The 22-year-old Los Angeles native recited a poem of her own composition, “The Hill We Climb”.
“The Hill We Climb”… A Hill We Climb, a reference to the Capitol Hill, where supporters of Donald Trump invaded the seat of Congress on January 6.
Gorman had started this text before that event and finished it in one piece after the murderous assault. It evokes “a forest that would break our Nation, rather than share it”. “This effort has almost succeeded / but if democracy can be delayed for a while, it cannot be definitively suppressed”.
In a calm voice, she chanted her rhymes, accompanying them with graceful movements, not letting the language problem that affected her as a child come to light. A problem of pronunciation, the speech prevented, as for Joe Biden who, as a child, suffered from a stutter. This difference pushed the young Californian girl to write, to compensate.
Wearing a yellow coat and a red headdress, the 22-year-old Los Angeles native recited a poem of her own composition, “The hill we climb,” a reference to Capitol Hill, where supporters of Donald Trump invaded the seat of Congress on January 6.
Her text, which she wrote in one piece after that murderous assault, evokes “a force that will break our Nation, rather than share it. “This effort has almost succeeded, but if democracy can be momentarily delayed, it cannot be permanently suppressed.
The poet described herself as “a skinny black girl, descended from slaves, raised by a single mother,” who finds herself “reciting” in front of a president.
The young woman’s performance was praised by personalities such as Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.
“I have never been so proud to see another young woman emerge! “she enthused on Twitter. “Maya Angelou rejoices – and so do I,” she added, referring to the African-American novelist and poetess (“I know why the bird sings in a cage,” Éd Poche).
A child prodigy, she won her first poetry prize at age 16, and was crowned the nation’s “best young poet” three years later while studying sociology at Harvard University.
Before her, five other poets, including Robert Frost and Maya Angelou, have participated in the inaugural ceremonies of American presidents, but none were as young.
According to the U.S. press, her name was passed on to the organizers of the ceremony by Jill Biden, the wife of the 46th president, who had attended one of her readings. Their order, placed in December: that she write an ode to “United America”, echoing the speech of the Democrat.
Her text folds to it, without denying the challenges of the present. “We are going to transform this wounded world into another, marvelous one. “There is always light if we are brave enough to see it. If only we were brave enough to be brave. »
