At a time of division and hatred I’m sure US hosts are proud of this amazing young woman for her heartfelt, wonderful poem that talks about hope and togetherness.
I was impressed as well. It was a breath of fresh air to hear some literary excellence after 4 years of illiterate tweets.
I had never heard of her before so did some research. She’s overcome an auditory disorder and speech impediment so her performance is all the more impressive.
So nice to now have a working educator as first lady, too, instead of a trophy wife with a plastic face, no discernable talent for anything and nothing to offer.
No need to insult his wife. She hardly set out to be a “political wife”. Best to leave her alone.
I actually felt sorry for her at the beginning, because she always looked so miserable.
But no, she showed her true colors long ago. She proved herself to be just as arrogant and lacking in self-awareness as the rest of that family, whether they were family by blood or by marriage. There is good reason to call her out.
What kind of person, let alone a First Lady, goes to where immigrant children are locked up in cages wearing a jacket that says “I don’t really care, do you?”
Back to the topic… Ms. Gorman said that by 10pm on Inauguration Day, her first book was Amazon’s best seller, and her coming book of songs for children had presale of over 100,000. Poetry is not a big seller, and poets can’t depend on book sales for a living. Most of them have to teach, edit, or write prose to keep a roof over their heads.
Ms. Gorman graduated from Harvard last spring, and had been busy since her selection traveling, speaking, and doing readings. Since her appearance at the Inauguration, she’s had several job offers from universities. IMHO she should apply for a Fulbright Scholarship so that our government pays for her graduate degrees and she can study overseas and become a WORLD poet.
I really appreciated it when Bill Clinton had Maya Angelou as his Inaugural Poet, but Biden really nailed it selecting Ms. Gorman, a poet of and for our future.
Biden loves Irish poetry, and I was expecting to hear from Seamus Heaney, one of his favorites. I’m so glad that we have a President that appreciates poetry and poets. That gives me hope.
I’ve read that Dr. Biden was familiar with Gorman’s work and that it was at her suggestion that she was chosen. I’ve also read that she plans to run for president. So too much schooling might not be best.
Not so sure I agree with that, it depends on her financial situation. She apparently went to private schools, so maybe the family is well-off. Free graduate education should go first to those who really need help. If there’s plenty of scholarships to go around, then sure.
The program is more than the scholarships. They run both ways, paying for foreign students to come here and vice versa. When a friend got one for her doctorate in oriental music, her father, who had paid for masters for both daughters, was very grateful.
The program opened other doors, as well as connections with musicians and composers from all over the world. Her degree was from Harvard, but she did a year each in Japan and Korea for research and performances.
Unfortunately, she’s one of the many folks with doctorates who have found that tenure track positions are very few and hard to find. So she has adjunct faculty positions at 3 Korean universities and performs at US and European oriental and new music festivals during the summer.
Amanda Gorman is fielding multiple job offers as well has having bestselling books that will be published soon.