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Extracts

Amanda Gorman: read a poem from Call Us What We Carry

From the presidential inaugural poet

Call Us What We Carry

Haunting... A soaring sense of history and solidarity pervades Gorman's debut collection... Call Us What We Carry is wide awake to the complex strata of human history and restlessly original in its poetic form... This is poetry rippling with communal recognition and empathy

A book of poetry so alive you want to hold it and protect it, to read it all at once, and then immediately read it again

Powerful... poignant... tender... Amanda Gorman's debut proves that she is poetry's brightest young thing

Between breath, light, water and soil, text messages and letters, and visual formations of ships, whales and flags, Gorman's Call Us What We Carry is an inventive literary resurrection

Amanda Gorman is a seer, a seeker, a speaker of our most difficult and astonishing truths. Reading these poems, I feel at once haunted, heartened and formidably ministered to

A new collection full of hope and healing from the young American poet who electrified the world

Guardian, *50 Biggest Books of Autumn 2021*

A thoughtful gift for Christmas, but make sure to get one for yourself too

In "penning a letter to the world as a daughter of it," Gorman doesn't merely transcribe a diary of a plague year; her bold, oracular pronouncements bear witness to collective experience, with an uncanny confidence and a prescient tone that are all the poet's own

Empathic... Gorman has a talent for speaking directly and precisely, but knows, too, the power of embellishment

The liberating force of the stories these poems tell about our resilience and survival showcase a powerful griot for our times

I think we all need more poetry - specifically her [Amanda Gorman's] poetry - in our lives

'The Hill We Climb': A young Black woman helping to turn the page to a more hopeful chapter in American leadership... It made me so happy

'The Hill We Climb': The perfect example of what poetry can do

An inspired anthem for the next generation-a remarkable poetry debut

Many forms (including some erasures, among other visual frameworks, such as poems that look like text message bubbles) give this collection impressive variety. Gorman's thoughtfulness and activist spirit shine through on every page

How Gorman has arrived so young at a place of such accomplishment is as compelling as her art itself... She is a Gen Z Angelino who brings the fresh self-awareness and frankness of youth to these pages with a prosody that is as playful as it is stern

Amanda Gorman is a force to be reckoned with... [an] impressive collection... she's most poignant and shows her masterful use of the English language... pretty inspiring stuff from a young poet who's just at the start of her career

Gorman is at her best when stripping things down... There, she's most poignant and shows her masterful use of the English language... inspiring stuff

Amanda Gorman is the youngest presidential inaugural poet in US history. She is a committed advocate for the environment, racial equality, and gender justice. 
 
In 2017, Urban Word named her the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate. Gorman's performance of her poem &quot;The Hill We Climb&quot; at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration received critical acclaim and international attention. The special edition of her inaugural poem debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was a Sunday Times Bestseller in the United Kingdom. She is also the author of the children's picture book Change Sings. 
 
After graduating cum laude from Harvard University, she now lives in her hometown of Los Angeles.

The breakout poetry collection by Sunday Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman 
 
&lsquo;Poetry so alive you want to hold it and protect it&rsquo; Malala Yousafzai 
 
The luminous poetry collection captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, these poems shine a light on a moment of reckoning and reveal that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future. 
 
&lsquo;A new collection full of hope and healing from the young American poet who electrified the world&rsquo; Guardian 
 
&lsquo;Reading these poems, I feel at once haunted, heartened and formidably ministered to&rsquo; Tracy K. Smith 
 
&lsquo;The liberating force of the stories these poems tell about our resilience and survival showcases a powerful griot for our times&rsquo; Oprah Daily

A Children's Anthem

Change Sings

"I can hear change humming 
In its loudest, proudest song. 
I don't fear change coming, 
And so I sing along." 
 
Discover this lyrical picture book from presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman and No.1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long 
 
Join a young girl as she leads a cast of characters on a musical journey. They learn that they have the power to make changes - big or small - in the world, in their communities, and most importantly, in themselves. 
 
 Packed with incredible illustrations, rhythmic text and an empowering and joyful message, young (and older) readers will adore Change Sings.

Amanda Gorman (Author) Amanda Gorman is the youngest presidential inaugural poet in US history. She is a committed advocate for the environment, racial equality, and gender justice. 
 
In 2017, Urban Word named her the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate. Gorman's performance of her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration received critical acclaim and international attention. The special edition of her inaugural poem debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was a Sunday Times Bestseller in the United Kingdom. She is also the author of the children's picture book Change Sings. 
 
After graduating cum laude from Harvard University, she now lives in her hometown of Los Angeles. Loren Long (Illustrator) Loren Long is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Otis series which is in development as an animated television series. He's also the illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama and Love by Matt de la Pena. He recently illustrated a modern edition of the Clement C. Moore classic The Night Before Christmas. He lives near Cincinnati with his wife and rescue hound, Charlie.

""I can hear change humming 
In its loudest, proudest song. 
I don't fear change coming, 
And so I sing along." 
 
Discover this lyrical picture book from presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman and No.1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long 
 
Join a young girl as she leads a cast of characters on a musical journey. They learn that they have the power to make changes - big or small - in the world, in their communities, and most importantly, in themselves. 
 
Packed with incredible illustrations, rhythmic text and an empowering and joyful message, young (and older) readers will adore Change Sings.

An Inaugural Poem

The Hill We Climb

'For there is always light 
If only we're brave enough to be it. 
If only we're brave enough to see it.' 
 
**Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller** 
 
'I was profoundly moved... The power of your words blew me away' Michelle Obama 
 
'A moment of history in book form' Stylist 
 
'Deeply rousing and uplifting' Vogue 
 
On 20 January 2021, Amanda Gorman spoke a message of truth and hope to millions. 
 
Aged twenty-two, she delivered a poetry reading at the inauguration of US President Joe Biden. Her poem, 'The Hill We Climb', addressed the country and reached across the world: a call for a brave future. 
 
This special edition, which includes an enduring foreword by Oprah Winfrey, marks that poem and offers us courage, consolation and the inspiration to make change. 
 
'I was thrilled' Hillary Clinton 
 
'She spoke truth to power and embodied clear-eyed hope to a weary nation. She revealed us to ourselves' TIME

I was profoundly moved as I watched you read your poem 'The Hill We Climb' at last month's Inauguration. The power of your words blew me away - but it was more than that. It was your presence onstage, the confidence you exuded as a young Black woman helping to turn the page to a more hopeful chapter in American leadership... It made me so happy

When that young, vibrant, charismatic woman walked to the front of the platform in her bright yellow coat and that magnificent presence, I was thrilled

If the hardest part of an artist's job is to fully and honestly meet the moment, Amanda delivered a master class [at the inauguration]. She spoke truth to power and embodied clear-eyed hope to a weary nation. She revealed us to ourselves

Amanda Gorman moved me deeply, as she did many others, with her inaugural poem "The Hill We Climb."

The words travelled through her body. It was a moment of beautiful performance. That was exactly a moment of showing everything we've been talking about. The world stopped and looked

To have Amanda Gorman's poem being able to articulate everyone's feelings, the feelings of the past, the present and the future - that was just the perfect example of what poetry can do

Amanda Gorman is an incredible example of the power of both poetry and activism. Seeing her standing on one of the highest, most prestigious stages showing what poetry can do was really interesting to see. She is a poet, but she's also using poetry as a message to talk about bigger issue

Amanda Gorman's performance was completely mesmerising. I watched it live and she transported me with her words. She really connected with people across the world - she shone!

The perfect souvenir of a momentous occasion

'For there is always light 
If only we're brave enough to be it. 
If only we're brave enough to see it.' 
 
**Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller** 
 
'I was profoundly moved... The power of your words blew me away' Michelle Obama, TIME 
 
'A moment of history in book form' Stylist 
 
'Deeply rousing and uplifting' Vogue 
 
On 20 January 2021, Amanda Gorman spoke a message of truth and hope to millions. 
 
Aged twenty-two, she delivered a poetry reading at the inauguration of US President Joe Biden. Her poem, 'The Hill We Climb', addressed the country and reached across the world: a call for a brave future. 
 
This special edition, which includes an enduring foreword by Oprah Winfrey, marks that poem and offers us courage, consolation and the inspiration to make change. 
 
'I was thrilled' Hillary Clinton 
 
'She spoke truth to power and embodied clear-eyed hope to a weary nation. She revealed us to ourselves' Lin-Manuel Miranda, TIME

Amanda Gorman

Books by Amanda Gorman

Articles featuring Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman: read a poem from Call Us What We Carry

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