The youngest poet to read at a U.S. presidential inauguration had dreams of this day

In one of the inauguration's most talked about moments, poet Amanda Gorman summoned images dire and triumphant Wednesday as she called out to the world, "even as we grieved, we grew."

The 22-year-old Gorman referenced everything from Biblical scripture to the musicalHamilton, and at times echoed the oratory of John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. With urgency and assertion she began by asking "Where can we find light/In this never-ending shade?" and used her own poetry and life story as an answer.

The poem's very title, The Hill We Climb,suggested both labour and transcendence.

"We did not feel prepared to be the heirs

Of such a terrifying hour.

But within it we've found the power

To author a new chapter,

To offer hope and laughter to ourselves."

In revered company

It was an extraordinary task for Gorman, the youngest by far of the poets who have read at presidential inaugurations since Kennedy invited Robert Frost in 1961, with other predecessors including Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander. Mindful of the past, she wore gold hoop earrings and a ring in the shape of a caged bird a tribute to Angelou's classic memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings given to her by Oprah Winfrey, a close friend of the late writer.

"I have never been prouder to see another young woman rise! Brava Brava, @TheAmandaGorman! Maya Angelou is cheeringand so am I," Winfrey tweeted.

Gorman was also praised by Hamiltonplaywright Lin-Manuel Miranda, who tweeted "YES @TheAmandaGorman!!!" Gormansoon responded: "Thx@Lin_Manuel! Did you catch the 2 @HamiltonMusical references in the inaugural poem? I couldn't help myself!"

Among the Hamiltonnods in her poem: "History has its eyes on us," a variation of the Hamiltonsong History Has Its Eyes On You,sung by George Washington's character.

Gorman, a native and resident of Los Angeles, was namedthe country's first national youth poet laureate in 2017 and was invited to the inaugural late last month by Jill Biden, who had heard her recite her poetry.

She told The Associated Press last week that she planned to combine a message of hope for President Joseph Biden's inaugural without ignoring "the evidence of discord and division."

She had completed a little more than half of The Hill We Climbbefore Jan. 6 and the siege of the U.S. Capitol by supporters ofDonald Trump,

"That day gave me a second wave of energy to finish the poem," Gorman said. She had said that she would not mention Jan. 6 specifically, but her reference was unmistakable:

"We've seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.

And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy can be periodically delayed,

It can never be permanently defeated."

WATCH | Amanda Gorman reads the part of her poem that references the Capitol attack:

Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman references the attack on the Capitol

4 years ago

Duration 2:43

Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, in a reference to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, added lines to her poem, saying, 'While democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.'

Frost's appearance at the Kennedy inaugural was a kind of valedictory he was 86 and died two years later. Gorman's career is just beginning. Her first two books are scheduled to come out in September the picture story Change Singsand a bound edition of her inaugural poem, along with other works. Ceremonial odes often are quickly forgotten, but Angelou's On the Pulse Of the Morning,which she read at the 1993 inaugural of BillClinton, went on to sell more than onemillion copies as a book.

Gorman has read at official occasions before,including a July 4 celebration when she was backed by the Boston Pops Orchestra. She has also made clear her desire to appear at a future inaugural, in a much greater capacity, an ambition she stated firmly in her poem.

"We, the successors of a country and a time,

Where a skinny black girl,

Descended from slaves and raised by a single mother,

Can dream of becoming president,

Only to find herself reciting for one."