Amanda Gorman - Graphic by Sunny Wei ‘23
By Edith Tierney ’24
Staff Writer
“Call Us What We Carry” is the debut poetry collection of Amanda Gorman, who, according to NPR, became the youngest ever inaugural poet in 2021 at 22 years old. Her website notes that she graduated from Harvard with a degree in sociology in 2020, a year before she performed at Joe Biden’s inauguration. Gorman was appointed as the first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017. Now, she is the youngest board member of 826 National, the largest youth writing network in the United States. Her first two books, a children’s book titled “Change Sings” and the published version of her inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb,” were released in September 2021. Readers can dive deeper into her work with “Call Us What We Carry,” originally “The Hill We Climb and Other Poems,” which was published on Dec. 7, 2021.
The poetry collection is a reflection on contemporary American society in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, modern police brutality and the Black Lives Matter protests. As Gorman reflects on our world, she also looks back to the 1918 influenza pandemic and America’s long history of racism. Her poems vary in both linguistic and visual stylization, as she often makes creative use of shape and color in the work’s presentation. For example, Gorman features several erasure poems that repurpose the text of historical diaries, letters and records to form new, original poetry. These are sometimes displayed with a unique font and a vintage-inspired background. In other sections, Gorman’s poems are arranged in shapes and images. An example of this is a poem written in the image of a face mask titled “Anonymous” that discusses the impact of the pandemic, and particularly the use of masks as a safety measure, on our identities. In another poem, titled “AmericaTM,” the text is written into an image of the American flag. It focuses on whiteness and colonization while employing the red, white and blue imagery of the flag.
No matter the format, the poems in this stunning collection are hard-hitting, brilliant and refreshingly modern. In her poetry, Gorman speaks as a representative of Gen Z and references topics relevant to the generation. In one especially powerful poem, “The Truth in One Nation,” Gorman writes frankly about the fear of school shootings while playing off of the structure of the pledge of allegiance. Later, in “Earth Eyes,” a poem about climate change activism and colonialism, she writes: “Our short lives now aimed at the oily-headed monsters that reared / their teeth before we even gave our first wet croak. … Oh, / how we want our parents red & restless, as / wild & dying for a difference as / we are.” The collection continues with blunt, bold and powerful commentary on the world we face as young adults.
Throughout the collection, Gorman’s creative use of language is potent. It includes frequent alliteration and many instances where she uses a play on words to strengthen her phrasing. Gorman often uses colloquial or traditional phrases and recontextualizes them. One example is her repurposing of the classic riddle: “Why did the chicken cross the road?” She responds with, “Because there was a white person coming down it.” A similar maneuver appears in “_ _ _ _ _ [Gated]” when she repurposes “R.I.P.” in her poem “The Truth in One Nation”: “R. I. P. / Ravaged In Pandemic. / Rifled Innocent People. / Razed Irreplaceable Persons. / Look alive everyone.”
Gorman’s poems look to the past to understand the present. They range in subjects from language to identity, illness, violence and optimism. This collection forces reflection, demands change and encourages hope. It might be just the thing to carry you through this time.