L’intermission

Voice of a Nation

Amanda Gorman recites her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the January 2021 inauguration ceremony for President Joseph Biden. Learn more about her at TheAmandaGorman.com.

Photo by MCCV/Shutterstock

Twenty-two-year-old poet and activist Amanda Gorman wowed millions when she became the youngest person to read an original poem at a US presidential inauguration. But the Harvard alumna was already a powerful voice, becoming the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate and publishing her first book in 2017, among many other honors and accomplishments.