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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

My mom wanted to make sure I was prepared to grow up with Black skin in America.
AMANDA GORMAN

Black Grow Up Mom Myself Preparation Skin
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
As a public poet, people often don’t see the reality of my life.
AMANDA GORMAN

Life People Poet Reality See
It wasn’t until I was named Youth Poet Laureate of L.A. in high school though that I officially began calling myself a poet. I just always loved writing, period.
AMANDA GORMAN

Beginning Love Myself Name Poet Writing Youth
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
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
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
Writing wasn’t just a form of expression. It was a form of pathology by embarking on spoken word over and over and over again and reciting my poems.
AMANDA GORMAN

Expression Myself Poem Word Writing
When you’re someone who’s lived a life where certain resources were scarce, you always feel like abundance is forbidden fruit.
AMANDA GORMAN

Life Live Yourself
You don’t have to be a poet, you don’t have to be a politician or be in the White House to make an impact with your words. We all have this capacity to find solutions for the future.
AMANDA GORMAN

Ability Future Impact Poet Politics Word Yourself
I am the daughter of Black writers who are descended from Freedom Fighters who broke their chains and changed the world. They call me.
AMANDA GORMAN

Black Break Change Fight Freedom Myself World Writing
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
We know. We believe. And we act, because it is our civic duty.
AMANDA GORMAN

Act Believe Ourselves
I close my eyes and I am with this army of young women standing in a line and I imagine us walking forward together.
AMANDA GORMAN

Eyes Imagination Myself Togetherness Walk Women Young
Poetry is interesting because not everyone is going to become a great poet, but anyone can be, and anyone can enjoy poetry, and it’s this openness, this accessibility of poetry that makes it the language of people.
AMANDA GORMAN

Enjoyment Greatness Language Poet Poetry
I think we run into issues when our online brands are not rooted in who we are, and I think we need to have explicit discussions with ourselves about who we want to be, what we want to represent, and how we want to express that.
AMANDA GORMAN

Expression Issues Myself Need Ourselves Run Thinking

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

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

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