At the age of 22, Amanda Gorman has made history by becoming the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration.

Reading her poem “The Hill We Climb”, she captivated viewers with her lines of “while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently denied,” and “even as we grieved, we grew,”. Her poem reflected unity, togetherness and hope.

The 22 year old also became the United States’s First Youth Poet Laureate at the age of 19, despite not being able to pronounce certain letters due to her speech impediment.

In an interview with Andy Cooper, Gorman spoke about the preparation she did once she found out she was going to be the inaugural poet in late December 2020. She researched all the previous inaugural poems and analysed literature of leaders who spoke to nations when they were divided. Amanda said the U.S Capitol riot inspired her to write a poem that provided a message of hope and healing. Planning to run for president in 2036, Gorman also explained how she taught herself to pronounce certain letters due to her speech impediment.

Watch the inspiring interview below and you can catch the complete version of Amanda’s inaugural poem in the video at the top.