Poet Amanda Gorman Inspires Young People to Write and Express Themselves

詩人阿曼達．戈曼（Amanda Gorman）激勵年輕人寫作與表達自我

As 17-year-old Darius Jackson watched TV, listening in rapt attention to 22-year-old Amanda Gorman recite her poem The Hill We Climb at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden last month, he was struck by the "powerful words" of the young Black woman.       

上個月（編按：2021 年 1 月）阿曼達．戈曼（Amanda Gorman）在美國總統喬．拜登（Joe Biden）的就職典禮上朗誦了她的詩《我們爬的這座山》。那時，坐在電視機前全神貫注地傾聽著這場演說的 17 歲少年達里烏斯．傑克遜（Darius Jackson）被這位 22 歲年輕黑人少女「強而有力的話」深深地打動。

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Poet Amanda Gorman Inspires Young People to Write and Express Themselves
VOA News｜USA
February 13, 2021 12:53 AM (source)

Poet Amanda Gorman Inspires Young People to Write and Express Themselves

詩人阿曼達．戈曼（Amanda Gorman）激勵年輕人寫作與表達自我

February 13, 2021 12:53 AM

Deborah Block 

  VOA News 搶先看 

22 歲詩人阿曼達．戈曼在全球注目的美國總統就職典禮上所朗誦的詩詞在該國青年之間引起了重大的迴響。許多年輕人深深認同戈曼在字詞間傳達對於化解種族仇恨、使國家團結一致的訊息。此舉帶動了當代青年欲從詩詞創作與流行文化的結合中，找到自己的聲音、表達自己的政治訴求。戈曼成功的故事帶給這項具有千年歷史的藝術一股新風潮，也帶給更多青少年在創作中找到感動他人、尋找希望的動力。

As 17-year-old Darius Jackson watched TV, listening in rapt attention to 22-year-old Amanda Gorman recite her poem The Hill We Climb at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden last month, he was struck by the "powerful words" of the young Black woman.

It was a "defining moment in history," said Jackson, who is a high school senior at Central Visual and Performing Arts School in St. Louis, Missouri.

With her reading on Jan. 21, televised nationally and around the globe, Gorman has sparked additional interest in an art form that spans millennia, now drawing a new generation of enthusiasts.

Jackson told VOA he saw some similarities in her poem to Martin Luther King Jr.'s stirring I Have a Dream speech in 1963 that called for an end to racism.

"There's been tension and racial divide in America," Jackson explained, "and in this poem I feel she was trying to put a Band-Aid on the wound we've been going through" to try to bring the country together.

His English teacher, Maggie Schuh, said the inspirational poems Gorman recited at the inauguration and, more recently, at the Super Bowl of American football, resonate with her students.

Gorman, who became the first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, is inspiring children to reach out to poetry, which is "alive and well," she said, and includes more than just reading "stuffy old dead white guys' poems."

Today's poetry, which includes slam, spoken word and hip-hop, gives them more freedom to express themselves, she said.

According to Tyra Jenkins, an English teacher at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, Gorman's poetry, which focuses on issues such as civil rights, feminism, unity and social justice, is making her students think about "expressing their political voices."

Jenkins also said Gorman's smooth delivery gives them more confidence that they, too, can be good public speakers.

But there was a time when Gorman wasn't so confident.

The poet grew up in Los Angeles and turned to writing when she was young to cope with a speech impediment. When she was 14, she joined WriteGirl, an afterschool program that mentors teenage girls in underserved communities to give them a voice through creative writing.

Keren Taylor, founder and executive director of WriteGirl, recalled that when Gorman first came, "she was shy and terrified of the microphone." But always eager to learn, once she got over her fear of the microphone, she was "unstoppable."

"Gorman comes from a vibrant slam poetry tradition. She has a lot of energy and there's a freshness to her delivery" that resonates with young people today, explained Kiki Petrosino, a poetry professor at the University of Virginia.

"And now she's considered a shining star," said Taylor of Gorman, who recently graduated from Harvard University with a degree in sociology.

Gorman has also "captivated the imagination of young people because she is the voice of democracy, freedom, and a future of what's possible," said Laura Brief, chief executive officer of 826 National, a youth writing network for elementary and high school students in some under-resourced communities across the country. Gorman is on the group's board and mentors some of the students in its workshops, she said.

Beyance James, a senior at Northwestern High School, called Gorman “an inspiration who uses her words to touch everyone, especially in such difficult times.”

James said the last lines of The Hill We Climb are special to her because they are a reminder for her and other young people to make a difference, even when times are tough:

For there is always light,

if only we're brave enough to see it.

If only we're brave enough to be it.”