Amanda Gorman

Amanda S. C. Gorman (born March 7, 1998) is an American poet and activist.

Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora.

Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate.

She has said she was inspired to become a youth delegate for the United Nations in 2013 after watching a speech by Pakistani Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.

Gorman was chosen as the first youth poet laureate of Los Angeles in 2014.

In 2014 it was reported that Gorman was "editing the first draft of a novel the 16‑year‑old has been writing over the last two years."

She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015.

She rose to fame in 2021 for writing and delivering her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of Joe Biden.

Gorman's inauguration poem generated international acclaim and shortly thereafter, two of her books achieved best-seller status, and she obtained a professional management contract.

Gorman was highlighted in Time magazine's 100 Next list under the category of "Phenoms", with a profile written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

That same month, Gorman became the first poet to perform at the Super Bowl, when she delivered her poem "Chorus of the Captains" at Super Bowl LV.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Gorman was raised by her single mother, Joan Wicks, a 6th-grade English teacher in Watts, with her two siblings.

Her twin sister, Gabrielle, is an activist and filmmaker.

Gorman has said she grew up in an environment with limited television access.

She has described her young self as a "weird child" who enjoyed reading and writing and was encouraged by her mother.

Gorman has an auditory processing disorder and is hypersensitive to sound.

She also had a speech impediment during childhood.

She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015.

In 2016, Gorman founded the nonprofit organization One Pen One Page, a youth writing and leadership program.

In 2017, she became the first author to be featured on XQ Institute's Book of the Month, a monthly giveaway to share inspiring Gen Z's favorite books.

She wrote a tribute for black athletes for Nike and has a book deal with Viking Children's Books to write two children's picture books.

In 2017, Gorman became the first youth poet to open the literary season for the Library of Congress, and she has read her poetry on MTV.

She wrote "In This Place: An American Lyric" for her September 2017 performance at the Library of Congress, which commemorated the inauguration of Tracy K. Smith as Poet Laureate of the United States.

While at Harvard, Gorman became the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate in April 2017.

She was chosen from five finalists.

In 2017, Gorman won a $10,000 grant from media company OZY in the annual OZY Genius Awards through which 10 college students are given "the opportunity to pursue their outstanding ideas and envisioned innovations".

In 2017, Gorman said she intends to run for president in 2036, and she has subsequently often repeated this hope.

Gorman participated in speech therapy during her childhood and Elida Kocharian of The Harvard Crimson wrote in 2018, "Gorman doesn't view her speech impediment as a crutch—rather, she sees it as a gift and a strength."

Gorman told The Harvard Gazette in 2018, "I always saw it as a strength because since I was experiencing these obstacles in terms of my auditory and vocal skills, I became really good at reading and writing. I realised that at a young age when I was reciting the Marianne Deborah Williamson quote that 'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure' to my mom."

In 2021, Gorman told CBS This Morning co-host Anthony Mason that she used songs as a form of speech therapy, and explained, "My favorite thing to practice was the song 'Aaron Burr, Sir,' from Hamilton because it is jam-packed with R's. And I said, 'if I can keep up with Leslie in this track, then I am on my way to being able to say this R in a poem."

Gorman attended New Roads, a private school in Santa Monica, for grades K–12.

As a senior, she received a Milken Family Foundation college scholarship.

The Morgan Library and Museum acquired her poem "In This Place (An American Lyric)" and displayed it in 2018 near works by Elizabeth Bishop.

On being selected as one of Glamour magazine's 2018 "College Women of the Year", she said: "Seeing the ways that I as a young black woman can inspire people is something I want to continue in politics. I don't want to just speak works; I want to turn them into realities and actions."

After she read her poem "The Hill We Climb" at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021, Hillary Clinton tweeted her support for Gorman's 2036 aspiration.

In 2019, Gorman spent a semester studying in Madrid, Spain, supported by IES Abroad.

Gorman's art and activism focus on issues of oppression, feminism, race and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora.

In 2019, Gorman was chosen as one of The Root magazine's "Young Futurists", an annual list of "the 25 best and brightest young African-Americans who excel in the fields of social justice and activism, arts and culture, enterprise and corporate innovation, science and technology and green innovation".

She expressed support for abortion rights and Roe v. Wade in a 2019 NowThis News video which included a pro-choice poem.

She studied sociology at Harvard College, graduating cum laude in 2020 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.