A long-running tradition during the presidential inaugurations is to have a poet read a piece of their work. This year, that poet is Los Angeles' own Amanda Gorman.
Not only is Amanda from right here in Los Angeles, but at 22 years old, she will also make history as the youngest poet in recent history to read a poem at a presidential inauguration. Later this morning, she will be reading her own poem at the already historical inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Amanda actually told NPR that she finished writing the poem she will read - titled "The Hill We Climb" - on the evening of January 6th, finishing it hours after the riots at the Capitol building.
Amanda spoke with NPR about writing the poem after the riots on January 6th, saying: "while democracy can be periodically delayed, It can never be permanently defeated. In this truth, in this faith, we trust. For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us."
Amanda follows in the footsteps of incredibly famous poets like Maya Angelou and Robert Frost, and of course is reading a poem at a history-making inauguration due to this being the first time in the history of the United States that a woman will be sworn in as Vice President. So, I can only imagine the amount of pressure she felt in writing the poem!
If you are familiar with Amanda, you know she also was named the first Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles in 2014, and in 2017 was named the country's first National Youth Poet Laureate.
Amanda, we're all cheering you on from LA! Thank you for representing Southern California on such a massive stage.
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