Amanda Gorman made her mark as the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. An award-winning writer, and cum laude graduate of Harvard University where she studied sociology, Gorman reportedly has written for The New York Times and has three forthcoming books with Penguin Random House—all at the age of 22. On January 20, 2021, Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet to deliver a poem at a presidential inauguration, reading her piece, “The Hill We Climb.” And Gorman is breaking the internet as a trailblazer again.
Vogue tweeted : ‘@TheAmandaGorman is our May cover star! Poet, activist, optimist
, style icon—Gorman has become so much more than a literary star. Meet the phenomenon in the making.’Gorman responded to the announcement, while tagging Vogue Magazine.
“Honored to be the first poet EVER on the cover of
@voguemagazine , & what a joy to do so while wearing a Black designer, @virgilabloh . This is called the Rise of Amanda Gorman, but it’s truly for all of you, both named & unseen, who lift me up 🕊🦋
Love,
Amanda”
Gorman is on a roll, racking up accolades and prestigious opportunities as a celebrated wordsmith. NBC Los Angeles provided insight into Gorman’s roots. The news station reported
that Gorman’s mother is a middle-school English teacher in Watts. Her daughter supposedly turned to writing at an early age, in an attempt to cope with a speech impediment. By the age of 14, Gorman joined WriteGirl, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization helping teen girls discover the power of their voice through creative writing.“Throughout her high school years at New Roads School in Santa Monica, Gorman attended WriteGirl’s monthly creative writing workshops and was matched with writing mentors for one-on-one mentoring. Gorman was selected in 2014 as the first Los Angeles youth poet laureate and in 2017 as the first national youth poet laureate. She graduated last May from Harvard University with a degree in sociology,” NBC Los Angeles also reported.
And now, Gorman is spreading her poetic wings one milestone at a time.