The Biden-Harris inaugural poet has talked about her early life education and her connection with icon writer Maya Angelou –during a conversation with Oprah Winfrey on the last episode of The Oprah Conversation.
Opening up about her early life, the inaugural poet shared with the icon Tv presenter Oprah–how being born early alongside her twin sister led to learning delays.
“One of my delays was in speech and pronunciation, and also the auditory processing issue just means I struggle as an auditory learner.”
Despite faced with speech issues, Amanda Gorman–is grateful for her experiences as it made her “much stronger of a writer,” adding;
“when you had to teach yourself how to say words from scratch. 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 a weakness or a disability, but as one of my greatest strengths.”
During the episode, Gorman recalled how she “grounded herself” with the poem “On the Pulse of the Morning” by the late Maya Angelou. This read also led to a fantastic discovery as they both shared issues with speech.
Gorman told Oprah Winfrey–
“It was an amazing discovery when I was reading; I know why the caged bird sings, her autobiography and reading about (Angelou’s) issues with speech.”
Amanda shared a connection with the late Maya Angelou deeper than the title of an inaugural poet. The 23-year-old revealed how Angelou’s books serve as “a beacon” for her life after the educator fails to tell her the similarity she shared with the author of the books she was reading.
“I was a black girl with a speech impediment, and no one thought it was relevant to tell me that the great orator that I’m reading had a similar struggle?
Been able to connect with her and relate with that was a real beacon for me in my life”.
Amanda Gorman Sitting With Oprah Winfrey- during the Virtual Interview|PC:USA Today
During the virtual interview, the National Youth Poet Laureate– also credited Toni Morrisson– for liberating her writing incredibly, especially after reading Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”.
When I read it(The bluest eye), it thoroughly distrusted everything I thought literature was and could be. From that moment on, my characters got darker, they got a lot more like me, and I was just so liberated to write stories about,y people and my community”.
Amanda Gorman made her name to mainstream headlines after reciting her orator ” The Hill We Climb” during the historic Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Inauguration – in early 2021. The poet since then made a significant breakthrough as the first poet to perform at the Super Bowl, inked a deal with IMG Models, the cover of Time Magazine, and becoming an Amazon best-selling author before any of her work is released.
She is set to release the print copy of her inaugural poem on 30th March 2021.
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