Poet Amanda Gorman ignites social media with her inaugural speech | Voice of America

22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman made headlines and dominated social media conversations on Wednesday after she was cast at President Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Part of his poem:

We are the caliphs of Balad and Zaman

Where is a slim black girl

Who went out of slaves and raised by a single mother

You can dream of becoming a president,

Only to find yourself reciting one. “

Gorman, who earned the title of Young Poet in Los Angeles at only 16 years old, is the youngest to read an opening poem in modern American history.

In a nod to the late poet Maya Angelou, who read a poem at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993, Gorman wore a caged bird ring presented to him by media mogul Oprah Winfrey.

“I’ve never been so proud to see a young woman get up,” she wrote. Winfrey en Twitter.

Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” also contains a nod to the popular musical “Hamilton,” which has garnered public praise from its composer, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“I was perfect. Wrote so well, perfect orator.” Composer on Twitter.

In an interview with New York timesGorman said he only wrote a few lines from the poem when supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the Capitol Building on January 6. Gorman said that after the violent incident he finished the poem in one night.

Shortly before the concert, pop music icon Lady Gaga gave a stage performance for the national anthem. Country singer Garth Brooks sang “Amazing Grace” and Jennifer Lopez sang a mixture of “This Land is Your Land” and “Beautiful America”, interspersed with loyalty verses in Spanish.