Dressed in a bright yellow coat and her braids twisted atop her head like a crown, all eyes were on Amanda Gorman last week as she captivated the nation with an awe-inspiring performance of her poem, “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Bertha Gorman is proud of all four of her grandchildren. Amanda, right, the first National Youth Poet Laureate, graduated from Harvard and her twin sister, Gabrielle, left, graduated from UCLA. (Courtesy photo)
In reciting the poem she wrote in the wake of the seizing of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, Ms. Gorman, 22, became the youngest person to read a poem at the presidential inauguration. She follows in the footsteps of the late Maya Angelou, whom she admires. She shared the stage with singers Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez and bumped fists with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.