Amanda Gorman Wiki – Amanda Gorman Biography

Amanda Gorman is an American poet and activist from Los Angeles, California. Gorman is the poet making history at President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony. She is the youngest inaugural poet the United States has ever had.

Gorman attended New Roads School, a private school in Santa Monica, for grades K-12. She studied sociology and graduated with the class of 2020 at Harvard College.

Gorman is a published author. Her first book, The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough, was published by Penmanship Books in 2015, according to Poets.org. As Gorman notes on her website, she has two new books that she expects to release with Penguin Random House in 2021. One of those books is a collection of poetry that shares a title with her inauguration piece, The Hill We Climb.

Gorman has also written a children’s book called Change Sings. She explained on social media that she wants the book to serve as a “children’s anthem to remind young readers that they have the power to shape the world.”

Gorman has racked up a long list of accomplishments in her relatively short career thus far. At age 16, she was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles. Three years later, at age 19, she was honored as the first National Youth Poet Laureate. She accepted the honor in a ceremony at the Gracie Mansion in New York City.

Gorman has already performed her poetry on major stages. In 2016, she was invited to the Obama White House as part of a celebration with other Youth Poet Laureates from around the country.

Gorman later gushed to GirlBoss about what it was like to meet Michelle Obama. “I’m so surprised I didn’t faint because when I walked into the room and I saw her, my brain just stopped working,” Gorman recalled. “I just sputtered out, ‘I love you!’ I was just so overwhelmed. It’s like standing next to a goddess. I can’t even.”

In recent months, Gorman has also tried her hand at TV hosting. She served as the host for a PBS Kids special about racism in October 2020.

Amanda Gorman Age

Amanda Gorman is 22 years old.

Family

Gorman was raised by a single mother, Joan Wicks, who worked as a middle school teacher, the Los Angeles Times reported. She has a twin sister, Gabrielle, who is an activist, and an older brother named Spencer.

Amanda Gorman Biden-Harris Inauguration

According to the Associated Press, Dr. Jill Biden nominated Gorman for the role. The Biden inaugural team reached out to Gorman in late December about delivering an original poem at the inauguration ceremony. She told the Associated Press that she was largely granted free rein over the poem but was encouraged to highlight “unity and hope.”

Gorman said the Biden team also recommended that she stay away from anything that might sound like they were celebrating the end of President Donald Trump’s tenure.

But the events of January 6 gave Gorman a “second wave of energy to finish the poem,” she told the Associated Press. Gorman said the poem, which she titled “The Hill We Climb,” would take her about six minutes to read.

Gorman said the poem would reference what she described as “the Confederate insurrection” without explicitly calling out anyone. She shared a couple of verses with The New York Times.