Amanda Gorman on Poetry’s Role in Social Change
Most second graders like to spend as much time playing outside the classroom and as little time at school as possible. While lunch might have been your favorite class, Amanda Gorman preferred to spend her time writing. As a child, Gorman’s mother used to have to pay her a quarter for her to go to bed instead of staying up late to write. Discovering her natural draw to writing so early in her life is what allowed Gorman to develop her craft and become the amazing poet and writer that she is now. Today, Gorman is the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate for the United States. Her title, and exemplary poetry, have allowed her to meet her idols, inspire others, and launch her own nonprofit organization. At just 21 years old, Gorman’s achievements and potential are impressive to say the least.
With a mother who is an English teacher, Gorman has been surrounded by the beauty of language from a young age. For as long as she can remember, she has been interested in writing, specifically in writing poems. As a five-year-old, Gorman would stay up in the early hours of the morning, coming up with new ways to experiment with metaphors, similes, and words to create beautiful poems. Looking back at it today, through the lens of a college student at Harvard University, Gorman has no idea how she had that much motivation, with the only explanation being that “writing was a natural caffeine for [her].” While at first poetry was just an experiment, Gorman quickly realized the power that her words could have. Through writing poems about slavery and social issues, Gorman found a new type of agency that allowed her to speak her mind freely. From then on she realized that she “never wanted anything more or less for [her] life than just to write. Discovering [this] at such a young age was addicting.”
While Gorman’s poems were powerful, she had a hard time performing them. Growing up with speech and auditory processing issues, Gorman had to work twice as hard to make sure that when she was performing her poems people could understand her and feel the power behind her words. Gorman recalls a specific time when she performed a poem about slavery that both her and her mother were very proud of. Gorman shares, “I stepped down, and I remember the look on my mom’s face. She was so sad because she was proud of my poem. What I had written was so great, but it was so difficult for people to understand what I was saying when I performed it. For me, that exposed me to the disparity between what I want to say and how that may be perceived purely by the way I talk.” This incident lit the fire in Gorman and pushed her to correct her speech impediment as much as she could. This was not an easy journey, but through studying the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the performances of spoken word poets such as Maya Angelou, she was able to slowly gain the confidence that she needed to perform her poetry. Gorman calls this “one of the most reaffirming journeys of [her] life.” Gorman continues, “Developing those skills I emerged on the other side with a huge appreciation for sound and delivery. That has been integral in my poems.” Now, Gorman performs all around the world, sharing the stage with poets like Lin Manuel Miranda and politicians like Hillary Clinton.
Today, Gorman is the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate. Usually, the United States has a National Poet Laureate who acts as a literary ambassador for the whole country. This honor is typically bestowed to writers who are older and more established in their careers. By giving the title to Gorman, young people can also feel inspired to continue to write. As the first National Youth Poet Laureate, Gorman has taken it upon herself to shape the role. Her priority has been to educate people on the importance of literacy and writing. “I, as Youth Poet Laureate, took it as my path to speak at as many schools as possible, with as many administrators and teachers. I taught lessons and gave workshops, really trying to make poetry as accessible as possible in the American context.” While the prestige of the title has been a great honor, Gorman says that the most rewarding aspect of having it has been getting to inspire other young people to become writers themselves. She shares, “I met a poet the other day who told me she had Tourette’s and started following my Instagram years ago and was inspired to keep writing and going after her dreams. It means that whatever struggle I had can help open the doors for others.” Beyond inspiring other young writers, Gorman has been able to use her platform to speak out about social issues and ignite change.
“I believe that poetry is the language of the people. Poetry is not like prose because it inherently challenges you to break from the norms of convention. You are supposed to play with grammar, you are supposed to play with language and metaphors and similes. It is automatically a type of rebellion against the literary status quo.”
Poetry has been used throughout history as a way for movements to express their ideals. As a poet and activist, Gorman is constantly pushing herself to write poems about the issues in society that she thinks are most important. “I believe that poetry is the language of the people,” Gorman says. “Poetry is not like prose because it inherently challenges you to break from the norms of convention. You are supposed to play with grammar, you are supposed to play with language and metaphors and similes. It is automatically a type of rebellion against the literary status quo.” To her, activism is everything. “Across the continuum of time, activism has really been that needle that has been threading the tapestry of progress,” Gorman stresses. Although it can be hard to imagine how one person can make profound change, it is also important to remember that change does not always happen from the top down. Gorman emphasizes, “Whoever and wherever you are, taking it upon yourself to be active both in thought and action always speaks change.” As a young person, becoming more politically involved can seem like a daunting task. The truth is that it is not, and today it is more important than ever that we stay informed. Gorman suggests that young people begin by reading as much as you can, to “start with the curiosity for knowledge.” Then, it is important to remember that activism should not end on our social media platforms. A great example comes after the recent political instability in Sudan. As a sign of solidarity, many chose to change their profile pictures to blue on Instagram and Twitter. However, it seems that after changing that photo, no other change was made by many. Gorman urges young people to ask themselves, “I post, and what now?” That is to say, activism should not begin and end with a post on Instagram. Moreover, go vote! In Gorman’s words, “You don’t have to vote for the party I stand for, you don’t have to vote for the candidate that I personally support. The only thing I really care about is that young people get out there and vote. We have too much at stake.”
Gorman was able to find one of her next steps by founding her nonprofit organization One Pen, One Page. At only 16 years old when she founded One Pen, One Page, Gorman recognized ways in which she had been privileged when it came to education and literacy. The organization was inspired by her mother, who began to teach writing workshops to her English students. Gorman decided to do the same. “After teaching a few writing workshops to her students and seeing their eyes really light up, I decided to take that kind of model and run with it. So that year I founded One Pen, One Page.” The organization has a core idea that teaching poetry is a form of social justice. By providing creative writing workshops and programming to underserved youth, Gorman and her mother were able to provide these kids with the perfect gateway to activism.
As a young person, Gorman has achieved so much. How has she been able to balance all of her responsibilities? Well, “you have to ask the other Amanda.” Gorman has truly found what she is passionate about and has been able to find ways to make all of her roles intersect as much as possible. She explains, “Any ways that I can draw a linkage between the work I am doing as a poet and student, I make them.” This is not the last time you will hear the name Amanda Gorman. With the upcoming 2020 United States presidential election, Gorman is here to remind you to go vote. Keep an eye out for 2036, when Gorman herself plans to run for president.
STORY ANA SANDOVAL
PHOTOS ANNA ZHANG