Have you watched Amanda Gorman’s performance of her poem, “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration? Did you notice how she used pacing, rhyme, wordplay, and even gestures to make the poem engaging?
Poetry read silently from the pages of a book can sometimes feel dry or distant, but Gorman’s poetry is anything but! Gorman, like other poets in the spoken word and slam poetry traditions, connects with her audience and breathes life and energy into her poems.
You can learn more about Amanda Gorman, her work, and her many accomplishments on her official website. If you’re also curious about what other talented young performance poets are up to, check out the YouTube channel of YouthSpeaks, an organization dedicated to educating and empowering young poets, including performance clips from their yearly Brave New Voices international poetry festival.
You can also check out these books from the Pima County Library to learn about writing your own poetry and to explore the words, thoughts, and experiences of other contemporary poets:
My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice
Somebody Give This Heart A Pen
