The Hill We Climb

Amanda Gorman: Poet, Activist, Inauguration Performer

Amanda Gorman: Poet, Activist, Inauguration Performer

If you watched President Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, Jan. 20, there was one moment in particular that Skye Gorman ’24 believes “spoke to America”: Amanda Gorman’s reading of her poem “The Hill We Climb.”

“She was really the star of the inauguration,” Skye Gorman said. Past presidents and key politicians watched as Gorman, the youngest poet to speak at an inauguration, captivated Capitol Hill for over five minutes. She was met with a standing ovation and a nation wondering, “Who is Amanda Gorman?,” a curiosity reflected in media coverage following the event.