22-year old poet Amanda Gorman was chosen to read at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. I am linking back to my post from 2019, below, where I had introduced her while writing about reasons for optimism. The poem I chose, “In This Place (An American Lyric),” was her work for the 2017 inauguration of U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. It celebrated poetry as a tool in the service of and fight for democracy.

Reasons for Optimism

Apparently Jill Biden recommended her for this week’s inaugural reading. The poet lives in L.A., hence today’s choice of photographs.

As reported in the Baltimore Sun: “She is calling her inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb” while otherwise declining to preview any lines. Gorman says she was not given specific instructions on what to write, but was encouraged to emphasize unity and hope over “denigrating anyone” or declaring “ding, dong, the witch is dead” over the departure of President Donald Trump.”

Now, personally, I wouldn’t mind hearing ding, dong the witch is dead on Wednesday. Except that would be a lie – let us not, ever, forget that we are dealing not with a singular witch but a coven, which is going to have its tentacles in our political and social fabric for a long time. Or was that the Kraken? Getting my metaphors mixed here, which is why you’ll never hear anything written by yours truly at any inauguration of any kind or anybody.

Better that way. I am sure the powerhouse that is Amanda Gorman will move us all with her words, the words of a generation that has to live with the consequences of the disastrous policies of the last 30 years – yes, I mean it – longest.

I was thrilled when I heard the news, just at the moment when I finished reading Anand Giridharadas’ short piece in the.Ink proclaiming hope and optimism.

“And I see then that this is both a very dark time and, potentially, a very bright time. It’s important to hold these truths together.

When I look down at the ground of the present right now, I feel depressed. If I lift my head to the horizon, I see a different picture.

This is not the chaos of the beginning of something. This is the chaos of the end of something.”

……

“We are living through a revolt against the future. The future will prevail.”

AMEN!

Poetry matters, but so do books from 2020 about politics, by Black women writers. MLK would have approved – Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King!

Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America, by Stacey Abrams

Reclaiming Her Time: The Power of Maxine Waters, by Helena Andrews-Dyer and R. Eric Thomas

Say It Louder!: Black Voters, White Narratives, and Saving Our Democracy, by Tiffany D. Cross

The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart, by Alicia Garza

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All, by Martha S. Jones

Hood Feminism: Notes From the Women That a Movement Forgot, by Mikki Kendall

The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide, by Zerlina Maxwell

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America, by Ijeoma Oluo

This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey From Refugee to Congresswoman,by Ilhan Omar

No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America, by Symone D. Sanders

For short reviews of each, go here.