Amanda Gorman Is Using Poetry to Create Social Change
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Amanda Gorman rocketed into public consciousness, stealing the show with a performance of her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s 2021 inauguration, in head-to-toe Prada and jewelry gifted by Oprah, no less. But she doesn’t want that poem to be all she’s known for. As amazing as the experience was, the now 26-year-old can’t fathom having peaked at 21. “That is not the plan,” she says with a laugh. In the years since, as she’s become the first poet to ever perform at the Super Bowl and published four books, she’s worked to forge an identity beyond her splashy debut. “While I’ll be eternally grateful for that opportunity, I am more than what I did that day,” she says. “I am more than my most famous moment. I am all the moments, the light and the dark.”
Right now, Gorman is basking in the light. She’s moved out of her parents’ house and into her own place, and is relishing the fact that her brain is now fully formed: “My frontal cortex is just like, ‘Oh! Decision-making, executive functioning,’” she jokes.
Professionally, Gorman continues to use poetry to create social change, on her terms. As Estée Lauder’s first-ever Global Changemaker, she’s collaborated with Writing Change, a three-year, three-million-dollar initiative to advance literacy through mentorship programs and creative writing workshops. “I feel like I’ve been able to take my philanthropic interest to another level,” she says. She hopes to promote literacy with her own work, too, particularly with her children’s books. Her most recent title, Something, Someday, encourages kids to enact change in their communities. “There’s such a rewarding opportunity when you can write stories in which young people can see themselves and witness representation across a broad array of humanity,” she says. “I knew that if I wanted to start somewhere, writing so that children have a mirror to themselves felt more empowering than anything else.”
While she’s drawn to various social causes (and even has plans to run for president in 2036), the idea of being a role model can be “daunting,” Gorman says. “How I try to internalize it in my own head is to say, ‘Maybe I’m the first, but I refuse to be the last.’ I hope I’m not a model of all there is or all that is possible for young voices, but rather an example of just how different and daring we can be.”
Gorman makes it clear that she’s not interested in saving the world. “It’s a lot to put on anyone,” she says, noting that she feels many unfairly look to Gen Z to rescue everyone. “That’s not to say that I don’t recognize the inimitable power of this generation, but I do think there’s something transactional that happens with it. So I’m like, ‘Yes, root for me, but please stand beside me.’ We need other generations to be active allies as opposed to silent bystanders saying, ‘You’ve got this covered.’ We’ve got it covered if we work together.”
On what she hopes will be her biggest impact
“I hope that my impact can be to inspire and encourage other people to engage with poetry as a form of social change.”
On the first woman who made an impression on her
“Obviously, my mother. The way she raised me always made me feel secure in my own strength and intelligence. As for a public figure, one of the earliest would be Oprah or Michelle Obama, because they first came into my consciousness when Barack Obama was running for president. There was a lot that he was doing with Oprah’s support. To see a Black woman be able to engage with and support a First Family like that was really inspiring.”
On being called a role model
“It’s daunting, and there is some pressure around that. How I try to internalize it in my own head is to say, ‘Maybe I’m the first, but I refuse to be the last.’ I hope I’m not a model of all there is or all that is possible for young voices, but rather an example of just how different and daring we can be.”
Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman
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On her career mantra
“There’s the line: ‘I am the daughter of Black writers. We are descended from freedom fighters who broke their chains and changed the world.’ It’s something that I started reciting to myself before I would go onstage and do a performance or a high-stakes interview. It comes from me rewriting the Moana soundtrack. There’s a song called “I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)” that I love, and I just tweaked it a little bit so that it felt representative of my background as an African American woman. For me, it just means stepping into my heritage, stepping into my history, and bringing that with me whenever I engage with the world.”
On how her definition of success has changed
“My definition of success has changed from ‘How much can I achieve?’ to ‘How much can I honor myself and my needs in the face of my achievements?’ Now, a successful day is when I get enough hours of sleep and can check in on a friend, take a long walk, or write something meaningful.”
On something she got wrong in the past that she learned from
“For the early part of my career, I spent so much time burned out and exhausted because I didn’t know what rest was. I was just ‘Nose to the grindstone,’ and really never said no. I’m reclaiming my ‘No,’ which is also empowering my ‘Yes.’ I wish I’d learned that sooner, but I know it now. So the most I can do is live by it in the present.”
On the biggest goal for her career
“We talked about the presidency. I’m like, ‘Bigger than that?’ I think that’s the answer. And the L.A. Olympics are happening in 2028. I would love to recite a poem as part of those opening ceremonies, so [that’s my] second one. I’ve always wanted to see poetry as part of the Olympics.”
A version of this article appears in the April 2024 issue of ELLE.
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