Former National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman left the nation speechless with her poem at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday (Jan. 20).
First lady Jill Biden hand-picked the 22-year-old L.A.-based poet and Harvard graduate to recite her original poem "The Hill We Climb," about the nation returning to healing, hope, and harmony. With the reading, Gorman became the youngest poet to write and recite a piece at a presidential inauguration. She paid homage to the Black female poets who came before her by wearing a birdcage ring to symbolize I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, who spoke at former President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. But she also gave a couple of shout-outs to Hamilton, much to Lin-Manuel Miranda's delight.
"Did you catch the 2 @HamiltonMusical references in the inaugural poem? I couldn't help myself!" Gorman asked the Hamilton star on Twitter by replying to his enthusiastic "YES" message. For any Hamilfans paying close attention, she nodded to the Broadway musical by recalling Hamilton's own recitation of Hebrew scripture -- "everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid" -- and again when she said, "history has its eyes on us."