Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman Becomes the Breakout Star of Biden Inauguration: ‘Such Powerful and Inspiring Words’

Joe DePaoloJan 20th, 2021, 1:57 pm
 

The inauguration’s breakout star, unquestionably, was youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman.

The 22-year-old became the youngest poet to perform at a presidential inauguration, and judging by social media reaction, she absolutely stole the show.

“We close the divide because we know to put our future first we must first put our differences aside,” Gorman said, in her poem. “We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.”

Gorman also took a thinly veiled shot at President Donald Trump, while ultimately sounding a note of hope.

Being American is more than a pride we inherit.

It’s the past we step into, and how we repair it.

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.

And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy can be periodically delayed,

It can never be permanently defeated.

Prior to her performance, Gorman told The New York Times she would not shy away from commenting on the Trump era, but planned to strike a note of unity.

“I’m not going to in any way gloss over what we’ve seen over the past few weeks and, dare I say, the past few years,” Gorman said. “But what I really aspire to do in the poem is to be able to use my words to envision a way in which our country can still come together and can still heal,”

Her performance seemed to accomplish this goal — as she drew raves on Twitter, and became the dominant storyline coming out of the ceremony:

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Joe DePaolo - Senior Editor

Joe DePaolo is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Email him here: joed@mediaite.com Follow him on Twitter: @joe_depaolo