From Student at Harvard to Poet at Biden-Harris Inauguration: How Amanda Gorman Shot to Fame

If you watched the Biden-Harris inauguration to the US Presidential cabinet, one thing you wouldn’t have missed would be the young poet in a yellow coat: Amanda Gorman. Amanda Gorman, the young Black poet who performed at President Joe Biden’s inaugural, has become an overnight star with her works shooting to the top of Amazon bestseller lists ahead of their publication. Gorman, 22, recited “The Hill We Climb” at the inaugural, a poem inspired by the US Capitol attack touching on how democracy “can never be permanently defeated.” She is the youngest poet ever to recite at a presidential inauguration, a role first given to Robert Frost by John F. Kennedy in 1961. Gorman’s works knocked former president Barack Obama’s autobiography, “A Promised Land,” down to the number five position.