The Hill We Climb

This lesson written by Justin Parmenter

One of people asked to present at the recent presidential inauguration was 22 year-old youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman.  (A poet laureate is a poet who is appointed to represent a particular country).  Today we'll be learning a little about her life, reading and analyzing her poem, and watching her performance.

Amanda Gorman is from Los Angeles and was raised by a teacher before going to study sociology at Harvard in Massachusetts.  Until recently she had a speech impediment and struggled to pronounce the letter R, but she practiced by singing the song "Aaron Burr, Sir" from the musical "Hamilton" over and over until she trained herself to say it the right way.  Gorman's poems generally deal with oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization. 

It's traditional to have a poet recite a poem at the presidential inauguration, but Amanda Gorman is the youngest person ever to do so.  Gorman was asked to write a poem for the occasion back in December and told that it needed to fit with the theme "America United."  She was somewhat stuck about halfway through it when rioters stormed the US Capitol on January 6.  She stayed up late and finished it that night.

During her reading, Gorman wore a ring with a caged bird, a gift from Oprah for the occasion and tribute to symbolize Maya Angelou, a previous inaugural poet.

We will do popcorn reading of the poem, so be ready if you are called on.  After we read we will watch her performance and then do some questions about the meaning of the poem.

_The Hill We Climb_ by Amanda Gorman_.pdf Download _The Hill We Climb_ by Amanda Gorman_.pdf

video of Gorman's performance Links to an external site.

In the text box below copy/paste and then answer the following questions.  Feel free to message me for help if you need it.

1)  What is important about the poem's title?  What do you think "the hill" might refer to in the United States?

2)  Where does Gorman describe herself in the poem?  Why do you think she describes herself this way?

3)  Explain the ending of the poem: "there is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it."

4)  What part of the poem especially speaks to you and why did those lines stand out?

When you're finished, click "submit" and send me a message in the chat to let me know.

*If you're interested in learning more about Amanda Gorman and her poem, check out the following links:

Amanda Gorman CNN interview Links to an external site.

Meet Amanda Gorman Links to an external site.

Poet Amanda Gorman on how she prepared for Inauguration Day Links to an external site.

Amanda Gorman, Youngest Poet Laureate in History Links to an external site.