# Amanda Gorman poem at the inauguration **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104 "2021-01-21T15:35:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/21 "2021-01-23T10:06:51Z")
Very well written, it was maudlin and mawkish and really evoked a time and place that never was. A perfect encapsulation of the moment and the feelings of those watching. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/22 "2021-01-23T10:21:56Z")
I think it was magnificent. She is so polished for one so young. If she is an example of what America can be, then we are going to okay. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/23 "2021-01-23T10:44:23Z")
Poets who work for the government tend to have credibility problems afterwards. Ted Hughes anyone? [I got major Lisa Simpson vibes](https://youtu.be/XN3hJ4K9hCs?t=70) and someone else said Hamilton which is along the same lines. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/24 "2021-01-23T12:53:10Z")
> [@Manwich](#): > > Poets who work for the government tend to have credibility problems afterwards. Do they tend to? They plural? And I don’t understand what you mean by “work for the government.” Are you talking about Amanda Gorman? 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/25 "2021-01-23T19:55:52Z")
There’s lots of piss taking about the dreck British poets laureate end up writing because it they have to write about the latest inbred royals to pop out a nonce and make it sound noble and have gravitas. What happened to the guy at JFKs inauguration? Similar situation there. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/26 "2021-01-23T21:11:26Z")
> [@Manwich](#): > > What happened to the guy at JFKs inauguration? I’ve discovered he died in 1963, perhaps as a gesture to his beloved JFK like a pharoah’s subject or perhaps because he was 89 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/27 "2021-01-23T22:22:50Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > And I don’t understand what you mean by “work for the government.” My assumption is that he’s referring to being Poet Laureate as working for the government (based on the reference to Hughes). I have no idea what he means about “credibility problems”. In the US, the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (the official name) is given a $35,000 annual stipend from an endowment (no government funds are expended). I’m not personally aware of any particular credibility issues with any of our prior 52 Poets Laureate. Not sure about the UK other than to note that Hughes’ issues are entirely unrelated to his work as PL of the UK and, in fact, pre-date it by some years. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/28 "2021-01-23T22:43:20Z")
[Andrew Motion](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/AndrewMotion), who was laureate from 1999 to 2009, called the role “very, very damaging to my work”, saying while still in post: “I dried up completely about five years ago and can’t write anything except to commission.” > Blockquote "John Dryden was appointed to act as a propagandist for the recently restored Stuart monarchy. His duties included writing court odes on the king’s birthday. He was not only the first official Poet Laureate, he was also the only one ever to be sacked. He converted to Catholicism, but when James II was deposed and sent into exile by William III, Dryden refused to swear an oath of loyalty, for which he was excluded from the court. " Acceptance of catholisism seems entrenched in USA society now so she should be fine whatever her religious practices. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/29 "2021-01-23T23:56:06Z")
Just by the way, I guess, Amanda Gorman isn’t the U.S. Poet Laureate. That’s currently Joy Harjo. Amanda Gorman was chosen by the Biden-Harris Inaugural Committee (a private political organization) to deliver a poem at their inauguration. There’s no government involvement in that. She was also the “National Youth Poet Laureate” in 2017, but that’s an annual award from a private foundation, not an official position. She’s also been a UN Youth Delegate, but that’s not a paid position, and it’s more of an honorary/educational program than “work”. As far as I know, Amanda Gorman does not and has never worked for the government. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/30 "2021-01-24T00:04:16Z")
Interesting, I saw president Biden and my mind went to US government. The comparisons of her poem to Hamilton the musical seem harsh but deserved. Hopefully she can still be taken seriously as a poet after that. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/31 "2021-01-24T00:10:45Z")
> [@Manwich](#): > > The comparisons of her poem to Hamilton the musical seem harsh but deserved. The comparison was deliberate because she [explicitly referenced it and took it as an inspiration](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/21/us/amanda-gorman-hamilton-speech-impediment-trnd/index.html). I think she finds the comparison flattering rather than harsh 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/32 "2021-01-24T00:19:37Z")
I don’t usually love poetry, although there are certainly poems that move me. I usually hate poetry that was custom-written for an event. But I really liked her. I liked her wordplay, and her imagery. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/33 "2021-01-24T00:30:37Z")
> [@Manwich](#): > > The comparisons of her poem to Hamilton the musical seem harsh but deserved. Hopefully she can still be taken seriously as a poet after that. As far as I know, she _is_ still taken seriously as a poet. “The Hill We Climb” seems to be widely taken seriously and in fact praised by poetry critics. I don’t have any particular opinion on it, and of course you’re entitled to your opinion, but I don’t think most professional critics share it. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/34 "2021-01-24T00:56:23Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > “The Hill We Climb” seems to be widely taken seriously and in fact praised by poetry critics. As a poem though? Compared to all the other poems? Or good for what is was, when it was, with the delivery and who it was delivered by? The Democratics pick a reader and a poem to make a PR statement and so chose to have a young, female, black slam poet. They don’t choose good poetry usually. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/35 "2021-01-24T01:28:07Z")
Just one example I thought of and not suitable for this inaugeration but you know its good poetry because it evokes stuff. > **[Poem: "Magical Negro #80: Brooklyn" By Morgan Parker](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/poetmorganparker/poem-magical-negro-80-brooklyn-by-morgan-parker)** > > "Give us this day we light soy candles / for dead brothers." ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/36 "2021-01-24T01:30:58Z")
> [@Manwich](#): > > The comparisons of her poem to Hamilton the musical seem harsh but deserved. Hopefully she can still be taken seriously as a poet after that. Are you fucking high? ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/37 "2021-01-24T02:13:13Z")
> [@Manwich](#): > > As a poem though? Compared to all the other poems? Or good for what is was, when it was, with the delivery and who it was delivered by? > > The Democratics pick a reader and a poem to make a PR statement and so chose to have a young, female, black slam poet. They don’t choose good poetry usually. I’m not a poet, critic, or fan of poetry. But take a look at [Wikipedia’s entry on the reception.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hill_We_Climb#Reception) A number of journalists and critics, from organizations ranging from the BBC to the _Wall Street Journal_, not normally a bastion of praise for Democratic PR statements, are cited heaping praise on the poem as a poem and on Gorman’s delivery. It’s Wikipedia, of course, so what’s currently in the article isn’t definitive, but I haven’t come across _any_ negative critical opinions. Have you? Again, you’re certainly entitled to your opinion, and I don’t particularly have one (again, I’m not a fan of most poetry), so I’m not arguing against you, but your opinion seems to run counter to all of the critical commentary I can find. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/38 "2021-01-24T02:25:26Z")
Yeah they aren’t poetry critics though and I think they’re getting wrapped up in joy with Trump going and the sentiments of the poem and her delivery. Poetry critics and me won’t be extolling those words as a bunch of words ie a poem. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/39 "2021-01-24T02:34:05Z")
> [@Manwich](#): > > Poetry critics and me won’t be extolling those words as a bunch of words ie a poem. “Me” has a feeling you aren’t representative of poetry critics. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104/40 "2021-01-24T03:00:32Z")
I first heard of Amanda Gorman a year ago. This is her poem about the pandemic, The Miracle of Morning: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/61X2HtU83CM/maxresdefault.jpg "The Miracle of Morning by Amanda Gorman, Youth Poet Laureate - January 1, 2021 - CBS This Morning") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61X2HtU83CM) I thought she was amazing then, and even more so now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amanda-gorman-poem-at-the-inauguration/931104.md?page=3)