I am the daughter of Black writers who are descended from Freedom Fighters who broke their chains and changed the world. They… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
“At the end of their journey, a hero may stand in the same place where their story started, but nevertheless they have… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
I think it made me all that much stronger of a writer when you have to teach yourself how to say words… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
It wasn't until I was named Youth Poet Laureate of L.A. in high school though that I officially began calling myself a… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
I was writing since I can remember - I just didn't know it was poetry yet, or that writing could be a… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
I did a lot of sitting back and thinking about what I wanted for myself and what I wanted for my country:… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
Writing wasn't just a form of expression. It was a form of pathology by embarking on spoken word over and over and… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
What contributed to my writing early on is how my mom encouraged it. She kept the TV off because she wanted my… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
One of the most rewarding moments of my career is when I'm speaking to a child who tells me they have the… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
Most of my life I was particularly terrified of speaking up, because I had a speech impediment, which made it difficult to… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
That's kind of the challenging thing about writing an inaugural poem. You're speaking to everyone, but you don't also want to speak… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
To hone my voice, I read everything, from books to cereal boxes, three times: once for fun, the second time to learn… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share Image
As a young black woman, I notice at times in the mainstream media framing of the 'me too' movement you see a white female… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
I think we run into issues when our online brands are not rooted in who we are, and I think we need to have… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
My speech impediment wasn't a stutter but it was dropping several letters that I just could not say for several years, most specifically the… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
Poetry has never been the language of barriers, it's always been the language of bridges. — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
Poetry is the lens we use to interrogate the history we stand on and the future we stand for. — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
It's this weird binary where I'm getting media images and narratives thrown at me all the time through something I hold in my hand,… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
I'm a student at Harvard University, and currently work as the United States Youth Poet Laureate, a community organizer, and an activist. — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
I grew up at this incredibly odd intersection in Los Angeles, where it felt like the black 'hood met black elegance met white gentrification… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
I think it made me all that much stronger of a writer when you have to teach yourself how to say words from scratch. — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
It wasn't until I was named Youth Poet Laureate of L.A. in high school though that I officially began calling myself a poet. I… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
I have to interweave my poetry with purpose. For me, that purpose is to help people, and to shed a light on issues that… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
But as for the future, I foresee a world which is more creative, more open, more loving, more ecologically friendly, more honest about its… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
One: whose shoulders do you stand on? And two: what do you stand for? These are two questions that I always begin my poetry… — Amanda Gorman Copy Share
