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Poetry has never been the language of barriers, it’s always been the language of bridges.

Amanda Gorman

Truth is to act out of the best of ourselves.
AMANDA GORMAN

Act Best Ourselves Truth
I was writing since I can remember – I just didn’t know it was poetry yet, or that writing could be a career.
AMANDA GORMAN

Career Myself Poetry Remember Writing
I have to interweave my poetry with purpose. For me, that purpose is to help people, and to shed a light on issues that have far too long been in the darkness.
AMANDA GORMAN

Darkness Help Issues Light Myself People Poetry Purpose
I grew up at this incredibly odd intersection in Los Angeles, where it felt like the black ‘hood met black elegance met white gentrification met Latin culture met wetlands.
AMANDA GORMAN

Feeling Growth Myself Place
Give us the ballot, and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights.
AMANDA GORMAN

Control Government Ourselves Politics Right Worry
What contributed to my writing early on is how my mom encouraged it. She kept the TV off because she wanted my siblings and I to be engaged and active. So we made forts, put on plays, musicals, and I wrote like crazy.
AMANDA GORMAN

Activity Crazy Encouragement Family Mom Myself Writing
Poetry and language are often at the heartbeat of movements for change.
AMANDA GORMAN

Change Language Poetry
To hone my voice, I read everything, from books to cereal boxes, three times: once for fun, the second time to learn something new about the writing craft, and the third time was to improve that piece.
AMANDA GORMAN

Books Improvement Learning Myself Pieces Reading Time Voice Writing
What’s really funny about being National Youth Poet Laureate is that not everyone even knows it exists.
AMANDA GORMAN

Existence Funny Poet Youth
As a young black woman, I notice at times in the mainstream media framing of the ‘me too’ movement you see a white female face or a white male face, and that type of questioning and interrogation needs to happen.
AMANDA GORMAN

Black Face Man Need White Woman Young
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace and the norms and notions of what just is, isn’t always justice.
AMANDA GORMAN

Justice Learning Peace Quiet
See the line where the sky meets the sea.
AMANDA GORMAN

Nature Sea See Sky
I love Black poets. I love that as a Black girl, I get to participate in that legacy. So that’s Yusef Komunyakaa, Sonia Sanchez, Tracy K. Smith, Phillis Wheatley.
AMANDA GORMAN

Black Love Myself Poet
I try to approach reading in front of millions of people as I would reading in somebody’s living room.
AMANDA GORMAN

Myself People Performance Reading
I think it made me all that much stronger of a writer when you have to teach yourself how to say words from scratch.
AMANDA GORMAN

Myself Strong Teaching Thinking Word Writing Yourself
If a woman doesn’t give herself permission, who will?
AMANDA GORMAN

Herself Willing Woman

Poetry has never been the language of barriers, it’s always been the language of bridges.

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Poetry has never been the language of barriers, it’s always been the language of bridges.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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