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 GORMANThrough poetry we shall catch the conscience of a nation.
More Amanda Gorman Quotes
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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.
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Let each dawn find us courageous, brought closer, heeding the lights before the fight is over.
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Poetry has never been the language of barriers, it’s always been the language of bridges.
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My Instagram doesn’t cover my insecurities, my lack of self-confidence, that week I spent crying, there’s a question of whether I should be sharing that online.
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What’s really funny about being National Youth Poet Laureate is that not everyone even knows it exists.
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The fight isn’t over – it’s just begun. It’s time to suit up for a battle that might determine the war.
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When you are learning through poetry how to speak English, it lends to a great understanding of sound, of pitch, of pronunciation, so I think of my speech impediment not as a weakness or a disability, but as one of my greatest strengths.
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I try to approach reading in front of millions of people as I would reading in somebody’s living room.
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If a woman doesn’t give herself permission, who will?
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When you’re someone who’s lived a life where certain resources were scarce, you always feel like abundance is forbidden fruit.
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I did a lot of sitting back and thinking about what I wanted for myself and what I wanted for my country: more unity, more support for the arts and more opportunities for young writers from marginalized groups.
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I was writing since I can remember – I just didn’t know it was poetry yet, or that writing could be a career.
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Whenever I listen to songs, I rewrite them in my head.
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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.
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Your daily challenge to not be like a boss, but the boss, in all things you.
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Through poetry we shall catch the conscience of a nation.
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When they tell you to go back to where you come from, tell them proudly that this is where you come from.
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Poetry and language are often at the heartbeat of movements for change.
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One of the most rewarding moments of my career is when I’m speaking to a child who tells me they have the same speech impediment that I had to overcome and that they’re going to keep writing or sharing their voice after hearing my story.
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As a public poet, people often don’t see the reality of my life.
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It was so incredible meeting Lady Gaga. I mean I’m gaga for Gaga, literally. We kind of just each flew to each other like magnets after the ceremony ended and we were both just crying and hugging.
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We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace and the norms and notions of what just is, isn’t always justice.
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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.
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My mom wanted to make sure I was prepared to grow up with Black skin in America.
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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.
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What a day. What a life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you
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