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Amanda Gorman
@TheAmandaGorman
Poet
Los Angeles, Californiaamandagormanbooks.comJoined June 2014

Amanda Gorman’s Tweets

It takes a monster to kill children. But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn’t just insanity—it’s inhumanity.
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I AM ON THE FLOOR MY BOOKS ARE #1 & #2 ON AMAZON AFTER 1 DAY! Thank you so much to everyone for supporting me and my words. As Yeats put it: "For words alone are certain good: Sing, then"
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Thank you! I would be nowhere without the women whose footsteps I dance in. While reciting my poem, I wore a ring with a caged bird—a gift from for the occasion , to symbolize Maya Angelou, a previous inaugural poet. Here’s to the women who have climbed my hills before.
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I have never been prouder to see another young woman rise! Brava Brava, @TheAmandaGorman! Maya Angelou is cheering—and so am I.
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Poetry at the Super Bowl is a feat for art & our country, because it means we’re thinking imaginatively about human connection even when we feel siloed. I’ll honor 3 heroes who exemplify the best of this effort. Here’s to them, to poetry, & to a #SuperBowl like no other 💛
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A security guard tailed me on my walk home tonight. He demanded if I lived there because “you look suspicious.” I showed my keys & buzzed myself into my building. He left, no apology. This is the reality of black girls: One day you’re called an icon, the next day, a threat.
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Wow, a fantastic @washingtonpost piece by @nnekamcguire . We live in a contradictory society that can celebrate a black girl poet & also pepper spray a 9 yr old. Yes see me, but also see all other black girls who've been made invisible. I can not, will not, rise alone. twitter.com/nnekamcguire/s…
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2 years ago today, and still so immensely grateful for the moment of a lifetime 💛 thank you to everyone who has followed my journey before and after this life-changing day 💛
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Schools scared to death. The truth is, one education under desks, Stooped low from bullets; That plunge when we ask Where our children Shall live & how & if
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Got to hold my book for the first time today and wow…can’t believe that all that work and sweat and love is now in something I can carry. Can’t wait for it to be yours this Dec 💛💙
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Self-love is revolutionary. We cannot fight for others when we're fighting a war inside ourselves. Compassion is a power that we first bestow on ourselves & then give away through our actions—to people, to our planet. When we recognize this, that is when love becomes our legacy.
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Meghan was the Crown's greatest opportunity for change, regeneration, and reconciliation in a new era. They didn't just maltreat her light--they missed out on it.
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In a sense, he was right. I AM A THREAT: a threat to injustice, to inequality, to ignorance. Anyone who speaks the truth and walks with hope is an obvious and fatal danger to the powers that be.
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A security guard tailed me on my walk home tonight. He demanded if I lived there because “you look suspicious.” I showed my keys & buzzed myself into my building. He left, no apology. This is the reality of black girls: One day you’re called an icon, the next day, a threat. twitter.com/TheAmandaGorma…
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Honored to be the first poet EVER on the cover of , & what a joy to do so while wearing a Black designer, . This is called the Rise of Amanda Gorman, but it's truly for all of you, both named & unseen, who lift me up 🕊🦋 Love, Amanda
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.@TheAmandaGorman is our May cover star! Poet, activist, optimist, style icon—Gorman has become so much more than a literary star. Meet the phenomenon in the making: vogue.cm/eb0wD9V
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What an honor to be on 's new cover. From the interview: "In all the forms of expression of human life, we’re seeing that artistry be informed by the Black experience. I can’t imagine anything more exciting than that."
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TIME's new cover: Amanda Gorman in conversation with Michelle Obama, Ibram X. Kendi on the Black Renaissance and more ti.me/3cDteBF
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This is 99 year old Althea. Her aide Cristy sent me this video of her responding to my inaugural poem that just warmed my heart. Part of the privilege of writing poetry is getting to touch other people’s lives. Thank you so much Althea for this gift 💛🙏🏿
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Wow second week atop the NYT best-seller list! So much gratitude as I look back on how I first started performing poetry years ago despite my speech impediment. All I can say is to any young writer, keep writing. Keep going. Your day will come.
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Though we strobed That we came in peace, He was already at war. We have battled hard to be. Nothing— Nothing— Can keep you safe. Silence least of all. Look alive, everyone. May such a prayer, A people, A peace, A promise, Be ours. Be right & radiant & real.
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I also can’t reiterate how exciting it is for me that others are excited to see poetry at a football game. What a time to be alive
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Poetry at the Super Bowl is a feat for art & our country, because it means we’re thinking imaginatively about human connection even when we feel siloed. I’ll honor 3 heroes who exemplify the best of this effort. Here’s to them, to poetry, & to a #SuperBowl like no other 💛
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Holding a space for those estranged/distant from family, mourning the loss of loved ones, or struggling privately. You are not alone. This holiday season give yourself the gift of gentle loving. Even where it’s hard to find joy there is always a journey back to ourselves. -A
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I am so thankful for the outpouring of support since the incident last night. It won't change the truth of what happened, and continues to happen to Black Americans, but it reassures me of what I already know: There is always far more good in this world than bad. Love, Amanda
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In a sense, he was right. I AM A THREAT: a threat to injustice, to inequality, to ignorance. Anyone who speaks the truth and walks with hope is an obvious and fatal danger to the powers that be. twitter.com/TheAmandaGorma…
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Meghan is living the life Diana should have, if only those around her had been as brave as she was. Meghan isn’t living a life without pain, but a life without a prison.
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So the parent who got my inaugural poem The Hill We Climb banned for elementary students @BGEC_Bobcats has ties to WHITE SUPREMACIST ORGS. Anyone surprised? This is a shame for the children in your school system who deserve to have access to poetry.
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This is the one parent who successfully got Amanda Gorman’s poem banned. Will the Miami-Dade school district reverse this decision now that it’s surfaced that parent as ties to a white supremacist organization? Or does the comfort of a white supremacist matter more? twitter.com/MIAagainstFash…
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These are the pages of my inaugural poem that an objecting parent cited as "not educational and have indirectly hate messages". And now because of that one complaint, my poem is now banned for elementary school students at a school in .
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Replying to @TheAmandaGorman @Oprah and @FLFreedomRead
In case anyone is wondering what pages 12 and 13 say, here they are. Someone please tell me what is hateful about this…
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1/6 Today I turn 23🥳🎉 As I reflect gratefully on this whirlwind year, I can’t help but believe that the best gift is one that pays your blessings forward. If you’ve been touched by my words, please consider donating or sharing these wonderful nonprofits. Even $1 works magic
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They won't call it a ban. Yet not only has my book been moved, but now elementary schoolers must request a copy from a specialist at its new site AND then also PROVE their reading level before seeing a copy. All these hurdles for a young reader just to access a poem in history… Show more
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It's not a ban, they said. It just on another shelf, they said. But the truth about the ban on @TheAmandaGorman's book—as is often the case with book banners—was something quite different: An elaborate—& daunting—process for elementary school children simply to access a poem. twitter.com/jonfreadom/sta…
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O say can we see, by the Gone’s early flight, What so loudly we failed at the mornlight’s past gleaming, Whose flawed stripes and strifed scars, through the perilous plight, Our wan hearts, we watched, stirred and valiantly screaming. (1/2)
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Proud to be in the #TIME100NEXT list! This intro is a gift. When we met yrs ago, I shoved a poem into his hands & said "I'm too nervous to speak but this is what I'd say if I could!" He hugged me & said he'd keep it to say he knew me when. Look at us now.
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.@Lin_Manuel: “If the hardest part of an artist’s job is to fully and honestly meet the moment, @TheAmandaGorman delivered a master class. She spoke truth to power and embodied clear-eyed hope to a weary nation” #TIME100Next ti.me/2Ni3AYV
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As Afghanistan suffers, America has to take a long look at how we've perpetuated horror & how we can provide healing. We must welcome refugees & at last become the country we say we are. Today is the day to take in the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
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HOW AM I JUST NOW SEEING THIS I’M SCREAMING (also I’d be so down for poetrypuff girls)
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.@TheAmandaGorman 👸🏾✍🏾📚 The youngest Inaugural Poet, Amanda made history and captivated the country with her poignant words during the Presidential Inauguration 🇺🇸 💙💖💚 #amandagorman #Inauguration #inaugurationpoet #cartoonnetwork #powerpuffgirls #blackgirlmagic
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History made: The Hill We Climb now has the biggest week 1 sales of any Poetry title ever published 🤯 📒It is the 1st book of poetry ever to claim the top spot on the list since its start in 1993. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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Wow, a fantastic piece by . We live in a contradictory society that can celebrate a black girl poet & also pepper spray a 9 yr old. Yes see me, but also see all other black girls who've been made invisible. I can not, will not, rise alone.
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The best interviews are the ones you never want to end, when you’re talking to brilliant thinkers about other brilliant thinkers. Thank you, @MarcusSharon, @salamishah, @ToiDerricotte, @jenbenka and Tracy K. Smith for your insights on @TheAmandaGorman. washingtonpost.com/entertainment/
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There is no such thing as gentle war. There is no peace That can’t be flung aside. Our only enemy is that which would Make us enemies to each other.
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To be a family, a country, doesn’t necessitate that we be the same or agree on everything, only that we continue to try to see the best in each other and move forward into a shared future. Whether we like it or not, we are in this together.
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(2/2) And the rifle’s dread glare, bullets bursting in air, Gave truth in our sight that our flag was not spared. O say does that scar-mangled banner yet save Our land of the free and the home of the brave?
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Whenever I feel unable to write, I remember that Thomas Jefferson singled out young black poetess Phillis Wheatley with shallow disdain: "Among the blacks is misery enough, God knows, but no poetry." Then I crack my knuckles and get to work.
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Historian of abolition here. This conservative rag @spectator has published a literary criticism of @TheAmandaGorman ode to democracy. Reminds me of Jefferson’s criticism of Phillis Wheatley’s poetry as beneath criticism. It’s pretentious crap spectator.co.uk/article/amanda
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Unclear if this will change the Royal family, but Meghan's strength will certainly redefine family everywhere. Think of the women who will be inspired to stand up for their lives, the partners who will be kinder & more courageous than the kin they were born into.
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May we not just grieve, but give: May we not just ache, but act; May our signed right to bear arms Never blind our sight from shared harm; May we choose our children over chaos. May another innocent never be lost.
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Read a new poem from @TheAmandaGorman, “Hymn for the Hurting” — written after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, this week. nyti.ms/3lPu1CS
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Wasn’t ready for this today—today we lost a titan, an icon. She was a writer who made us feel seen all the way down to our bones. When I say rest in power, it’s with the knowledge of all the power she’s given to the rest of us. Keep empowering, empress. 💔🙏🏿
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For those claiming my book wasn’t banned, just “aged-up”—The Hill We Climb is an inaugural poem for the world. Relocating it to older age group library shelves by its nature bars younger and equally deserving generations from accessing said moment in history.
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.⁦@raeganmiller⁩ said the issue of a book’s age-appropriateness is often used as a loophole to restrict books because of the vague nature of the classification. The same, she said, is happening with books challenged on the grounds of sexual content. latimes.com/entertainment-
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#SidneyPoitier was a pioneer for artists of color everywhere. At 9 I read he imitated broadcasters since he was ridiculed for his accent. For the next 10 yrs I did the same to overcome my own speech impediment. I owe my voice to him. Never EVER doubt that representation matters.
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Above all, I dare you to do good So that the world might be great.
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"I only ask that you care before it’s too late, That you live aware and awake, That you lead with love in hours of hate." At #UNGA, poet, activist & @unicef supporter @theamandagorman shared a powerful poem calling for urgent action to achieve the #GlobalGoals.
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I also wanted to be the first to say that while it might seem like this opportunity must’ve came from my inauguration fame, I’ve actually been talking with the Super Bowl for weeks now, far prior to my invite to the inauguration. Had to keep my blessing secret till now🙏🏿
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